Daiwa Ryoga 

+Capt Daves Sportfishing Charters Wow Dave....your not messing around! I'm wishing I had gone up to the 2020 size now. Love how small the 1016 is in hand, but I'm running pretty heavy line and I get down close to the spook on about every cast. Oh-well, I'm running braid to leader so I will just bring the braid down from 80lb to 65lb....get a little extra on there. They are really sweet reels for sure. It's too bad Daiwa pulled the Pluton out of circulation.

Congrats on the Conquest Edito. Those are special reels indeed. I would like one day to add one to my assortment as well. This generation Ryoga I'm showing here has been discontinued for I believe two years now. In addition to this one, I also have the slightly larger 2020 size Ryoga of the same generation that I bought used about a year ago. I happen to REALLY love the look of this generation, but if you have a hard time finding a used one in good shape, and are open to a different look, the new 2018 Ryoga is coming out shortly. And yea man....these higher end reels are nothing more than jewelry for anglers. You pay for it, but the fit, finish, and precision is definitely top tier stuff.

***** Ha ha....I'm doin' you wrong Dave! Awesome though. I'm glad the review here helped you feel comfortable enough to pull the trigger. I've always been curious about that centrifugal system.....let me know how that performs. Thanks Dave

KeepinItReelFishing also sent you a "message" about a piece of equipment you may like, via a few video's I made about it.

+genie0390 I fish nearly every weekend and sometimes through the week. I bought an expensive reel 20 years ago and still use it today. Every so called cheap reel (some well over $100) I have bought since then is in the bin before 3 years hard use. I have just bought another couple of $600 Conquests (the rest of the world will get them for less) and expect to get at least another 25 years constant use out of them. 600/25 years = $24 a year. Replacing a $100 reel every 3 years at best is $833 every 25 years. Thats 25 years of wobbly parts, poor casting, jerky drags, rough winding and day ending failures. Preparing my boat costs a lot of money for a 2 night sleep out and we probably use another $180 fuel on top of that. Having the reels play up after all this effort is not an option. Cheap reels cost more in the long run if you fish a lot.

Neil tube Now I'm green with envy

My wife and I both have to sacrifice a lot of other things to be able to do this. On the other end of the scale, you can fish with a hand line for $5 and have no equipment faliures as well. Enjoy your weekend :)

Neil tube I have caught good sized fish with a hand line and hook made out of a tree branch. Makes me feel like an Neanderthal living off the land. I also use Shimano high end stuff and feel like a sucker, but it's fun. Enjoy your weekend too

***** Yeah Dave - the spool is neither shallow or deep. 100 yards of 16lb test.

KeepinItReelFishing well that ain't gonna cut diddly.......I fish in 20'- 75' of water. Guess that's why the guy sold it cheap. Guess I'll just use it for chucking lures. I'll put 15# braid on it and maybe get 140 yards. Oh well, that blows the purpose of the reel, I had in mind. I can get a big time Daiwa JDM super saltwater reel with 30 pounds of drag for just $350 approx.......guess I'll have to go spend more. Dammit. Does you reel at least have a Aluminum thumb bar? Or plastic. Should be aluminum.

Hey Wes. Funny you should ask. I've had my other, larger one (2020 size) on my desk all week to remind me to spool it up. The update is both are chugging along great. Just as smooth as when I got them and I have done nothing other than oil the spool bearings twice a year and a basic exterior cleaning. The machined stainless exterior does take a beating.....each has quite a few nicks and scratches. But, I don't baby my gear and while beautiful they are first and foremost tools. My last video I uploaded with a big pickerel I was using the 1016 model (the one is this video here) quite a bit and the fish came on the reel as well (in case you wanted to see the reel in action).

@@KeepinItReelFishing I’m new to the channel so excuse me if you’ve already addressed it. I’ve not seen your other content yet. I’m newly getting into swimbaits for largemouth, in that 4-6” range and 3/4 - 3oz range... Looking back would you say that the traditional round baitcaster was a necessary tool over say just sticking with a standard low profile you would’ve already had.

@@WesMoran No worries at all man. My videos are long....I don't expect anyone to watch them in full to find out bits of info. Feel free to comment or message me on any questions you have. Regarding the reel, IMO no, a round reel is absolutely NOT necessary. I think the association stems from back in the day....I mean way back there were no low profile 300 size reels. So, all the guys in the 90's through early 2000's used things like the Shimano Calcutta or Cardiff, etc because they were using 20lb+ test lines. That was also largely before braid caught on so you HAD to use mono or copolymer. The low profile 200 size reels of the time simply could not hold enough of that lb test line (you could easily spool out all your line on a long cast). So....the combination of big heavy lures, necessitating heavy line, in turn necessitated a 300 (or 400) size reel....hence round reels and big swimbaits going hand in hand. Now days you CAN use a 200 size reel ( I do it a lot) because you can run something like 50lb braid (which has 12lb mono equivalent diameter) and then tie on a leader at the end. The one area where some people insist on a large reel is because having a very large spool means that the IPT (inches per turn) of line coming in doesnt change much if you don't cast out a high percentage of the line on your spool. So, if you have a 200 size reel and bomb a cast you may have sent out 50% of your line. Your IPT now is less that it would be when your spool is more full. I've heard of people like Butch Brown and Matt Allen say this is important to them because they want to keep things like Huddleston trouts swimming at a consistent speed and having a very large spool 300 or 400 (I think Butch uses 400's) keeps the IPT very close from the very beginning of a cast all the way in to the boat. Thats advanced level stuff and I never worried about it that much, but some hard core dudes scrutinize all this stuff.

@@KeepinItReelFishing I’ve read similar on the IPT desire, but for me personally... so far, throwing a 1oz glide bait on a 200 size Okuma LP, I’m not casting really past 40-50 yds. So I don’t see that I’m needing that extra spool capacity. I was more so curious about the round baitcasters I guess from a reliability and durability standpoint... The only other thing I’d ask your opinion on, is do you have any tips on casting these baits in a way that prevents helicoptering. I read on a forum that a direct tie to the bait could help, but didn’t get much time to practice before the south just had this winter apocalypse. I’ve gone to a Phenix M1 swimbait rod that should give me the leverage for big cast, but still seem to be snap casting (I’m new to baitcasters also) that are contributing to the bait cartwheeling. I’m sure it’s a 100% technique issue, but was curious if you have any content or input on the matter. Is it likely a cause of a two handed sidearm cast? Should I try to transition to and overhead? Is it possibly a line feed rate issue, where I’ve got spool tension to high for the momentum of the bait to really be able to shed line from the reel?

@@KeepinItReelFishing I’m finding that your answering more of my questions like the clutch reliability, as I get deeper into the table top review.

I forget if there is actually a rating from Daiwa. BFS (baitcasting finesse) reels state those things, but standard size reels usually make no mention. I would not use something crazy light, like 1/8oz, but you could probably use anything 1/4 and up. This reel is somewhat of an anomaly in that it is a round reel, which people normally associate with heavier lures and big rigs. But, it is really small. In practice I think it behaves like most any 150 or 200 size reel. I have used it with my full size 8" Huddleston trouts (5oz) in the past, and now I things usually in the 1.5 - 3oz range.

@@KeepinItReelFishing awesome man ! I'm thinking buying either this or shimano Calcutta conquest.. hard to decide , anyway thank you for replying man!

TD (Team Diawa) Zillion

+Adam Hatton I would estimate for 20lb 832 (I don't see 15lb anywhere) that it would hold in the range of 240 yards. 20lb braid has 6lb mono diameter equivalent, so when you do that math it comes out in that range. Your talking 600 - 700ft......a ton.

cbass180 yeah its called the shimano metanium DC7

cbass180 and no dont get the Rhoda for sendos and stuff like that the yoga is more for swimbaits and heavy lures

Luna is a great reel. I was between the Ryoga/Pluton and the Luna and it just happened I found a great deal on the Ryoga. I love that Diawa has been making the Luna essentially unchanged for almost 10 years now. Its a testament to the quality and thoroughness of the original design. Only "downside" to the Luna is it sits higher than some other reels. But, almost all round reels you do not palm anyway so thats not a big deal at all. Based on everything I know about the Luna and my handling of it I would totally recommend it. Great deals to be had on them new, and even better deals used, on Ebay.

+KeepinItReelFishing thank you for quick response sir! I want ryoga but my budget is not enough so probably i will get the luna.

+KeepinItReelFishing which do you think is better team daiwa luna size 253 or 300?

Lure Action No - it is a fixed levelwind during the cast.

Daniel Gutman I go into the detail in my two video's on them, but generally I like to keep it simple.....weighted, screw-in swimbait hook. 5/0 for the 4.8's and 6/0 for the 5.8's

KeepinItReelFishing I used a 4/0 weighted screw-in swimbait hook, but on a carolina rig. I'm a total noob and don't really understand the differences between rigs. So, will that work or is the carolina rig unecessary with a weighted hook?

Daniel Gutman Hey Daniel - You can't be too much of a noob....the Carolina rig is one of the more involved rigs there is! But, the premise behind it is to keep the lure near the bottom, but off it. So make sure to not use that weighted hook....just a plain swimbait hook.

KeepinItReelFishing RU-vid and Google my friend, probably learned the carolina rig from you lol. Ok, that means a 4th trip to Cableas today. But, how should I use the weighted swimbait hook since that's all I have?

Yes. This reel's big brother...the Ryoga 2020. I'm also curious to try the Shimano Cardiff.

Nice. If you want something small, have a look into the Ringa SSS and Ringa SLC, they're amazing as well.

lol USDM cardiff is nowhere near the same as the JDM cardiff. The US version is made in china. the JDM version is waaaaay more expensive than $100.

Its made in Japan if you have the JDM version, and all DC Cardiffs are JDM. If you were to buy a Cardiff from something like Tacklewarehouse, they're made in china.

Hey Pinto - the 2020 really isn't meant for light lures. I would say 1/2oz+ is minimum to get decent performance. However, most of your casting distance is determined by the rod with respect to the lure and if the rod is rated to handle the weight of the lure. If the rod doesn't properly "load" up on the cast, then it just can't impart enough energy to make the lure cast far....regardless of the reel. Specialized "finesse" baitcasters for lures1/2oz and less will definitely help your distance. But, the key is to not only have the right reel, but most importantly the correct rod for the lure weight you are using. My Ryoga handles my large swimbaits....things in the 1oz - 8oz category.

i used daiwa provisor rod line 8-20 ,so it means what gram minimal should i can use for a long cast?

usually rod come with line & lure spec, as for 8-20lbs line, usually lure are between 7-21/7-28g, do check the spec on rod

very well thanks bro wandyhee

cant beat how robust the ryoga could perform.. but.. the cranking power of the calcutta conquest is out of this world.. 2 reels in a class of their own.. i cant decide at first, so i got both.. lol

Hey Alex, thanks for the heads up brotha! Yeah....I JUST saw this vid before I went to bed last night. Like many, I have been wondering for a while what Diawa was going to replace the previous generation with. I like how most of the same profile and design lines have carried over...especially the braking implementation. Honestly, I LOVE the brushed stainless look of mine as opposed to the black. But, performance wise I'm interested to see if they cranked it up a notch. Thanks again for thinking of me and sending that over.

Actually Alex, I take back what I said about design lines. The prominent, angular gearbox of the previous gen has been downsized considerably. Performance wise I'm sure thats due to a smaller, but more efficient gearing. But, previous design visually was so cool. Smooth, flowing round lines abruptly contrasted with a squared off and large gearbox. That design coupled to the material used and its light reflecting properties made for what I think is one of THE most visually stunning and artful designs of round baitcaster. I also have the 2020 size and man.....I'll never get rid of these EVER! lol

Hey, no worries. Everyone are waiting on pins and needles for the specs. Daiwa South East Asia has only released a couple of pics of the reel today. Apart from the implied smoothness of the Hyper Mesh Gearing, I am hoping it will be lighter. Your original version no doubt is a beautiful piece. I wish I hadn't held out on that reel and since I didn't go for the recent Ryoga SV Red neither, I think is really time to pull the pin on this 2018 Ryoga. Can't wait until we get more specs on the reel. I haven't bought a top end reel for ages, this could be the one. According to Daiwa South East Asia, the reel will start selling between March to April. facebook.com/daiwa.sea.fishing/posts/1776005209372338