Daiwa’s unveils new saltwater reels at ICAST, including an addition to the Saltiga lineup

Introduction: This season Daiwa introduced three new freshwater reels, one of which was the already released Daiwa Zillion HyperSpeed. While we will get into the other freshwater reels shortly the company did make a major push into saltwater once again with new Saltiga and Saltist reels.

Saltwater anglers have a lot to be excited about this year from Daiwa, front and center is the new Saltiga Lever Drag reels

The Saltiga gets a Lever Drag: The Saltiga family of reels brought Daiwa’s saltwater offerings to a whole new level and the reel’s are now commonplace among hardcore saltwater anglers looking for a machined reel with plenty of refinement but the lack of a lever drag version has stopped the most hard-core anglers from adopting the series. That will no longer be the case after this ICAST as Daiwa unveiled new Lever Drag single speed and two speed versions. The new reels bear the same basic look as the originals with a silver frame and blue highlights. The round porting has been replaced with flatter more angular designs and the same anodized blue is used on the lever drag. 

Daiwa's new Saltiga Lever Drag reels feature a machined aluminum frame and left sideplate

The two-speed versions allow fast transition between high power and high speed winding with a simple touch of your finger or thumb. For greater reliability in a saltwater environment, the optimized mechanism was designed to perform efficiently with fewer moving parts.

The lever drag is anodized to match the spool, the contrast between the silver and blue is striking

The Single speed models are very fast, with gear ratios up to 7.3 to 1 pulling up to 52.6 inches of line with a single crank. This is a big advantage for fishermen trying to entice a high speed jig strike. Like the other Saltiga reels, these compact lever drag models offer the drag performance and durability to take full advantage of Daiwa's ultra-strong braided lines including the company’s own “Samurai Braid.”

On the non handle side is Daiwa's new logo and clicker

To ensure the ultra smooth, ultra consistent performance needed to control hard running, open-water species, drag systems are Daiwa's Ultimate Tournament Carbon drag (UT Drag). A seal prevents water entry while the gears are engaged.

The Saltiga Lever Drag reels are available in both single and 2 speed variations

For maximum strength, helical stainless steel gearing is firmly anchored within a rigid, machined aluminum frame.  The angled, helical cut of the gears ensures quieter, smoother winding than the straight-cut spur type gears often found in similar reels. 

The reels are available in five different sizes

To fully support the drive train, Daiwa uses six of their exclusive CRBB ball bearings. These special bearings are made from ultra-hard stainless with an exclusive surface treatment for maximum corrosion resistance. Sealed to keep grit, salt crystals and other abrasives out, they can last up to twelve times longer than ordinary stainless bearings in a saltwater environment.

The soft touch grip is mounted on an offset power handle

Next Section: Saltist BG & Hyperspeed reels and a Hybrid