Reel Recommendations for a Daiwa 20 Emeraldas V

[Andrews]

Hey Everyone,

I have just upgraded my EGI rod to the Daiwa 20 Emeraldas V in 7'9" and need reel to pair it with.
I understand it is a short rod for land based fishing compared to the 8'3" and 8'6", I'm planning on getting a boat in the next two years and the 8' is a good medium balance.

I am between two reels of the Shimano Stradic FL 2500 HG ($268) and the Daiwa Freams LT 2500 ($216).

I'm looking for the best quality and long term purchase to pair with this rod.
I will be running 10lb braid with 15lb fluro leader and fishing depths from 1-4m deep.

SPECS:
Shimano Stradic FL 2500 HG: Bearings 6+1, max drag 9kg, gear ratio 6.0:1, 220g.
https://www.shimanofish.com.au/content/ ... ct_image_2
Daiwa Freams LT 2500D: Bearings 5+1, max drag 10kg, gear ratio 5.3, 205g.
https://daiwafishing.com.au/products/freams-lt

I am leaning towards one model over the other, but would appreciate everyone sharing thier opinions and experience!

Thank you!

[purple5ive]

is it 100% a dedicated squid rod?
if so get a shallow spool reel. not a deep spool. purely for reasons of being wasted line usage.
the LT models take ernomous amounts of line for reasons i still have nfi why..

id personally stick the Emeraldas LT reel on it. its not much more if not similarly priced an will match nicely, comes in high speed model, shallow spool and if needed double handle.

https://www.google.com/search?q=emerald ... 27&bih=637

[Andrews]

is it 100% a dedicated squid rod?
if so get a shallow spool reel. not a deep spool. purely for reasons of being wasted line usage.
the LT models take ernomous amounts of line for reasons i still have nfi why..

id personally stick the Emeraldas LT reel on it. its not much more if not similarly priced an will match nicely, comes in high speed model, shallow spool and if needed double handle.

https://www.google.com/search?q=emerald ... 27&bih=637

That is a good question, this will be a dedicated squid rod but ideally I'd like a reel that I could swap to another rod to target other species.
I spoke with Daiwa earlier and they also recommended the Emeraldas LT, but only if I wanted to use that reel for that rod. If I wanted to swap the reel to another rod and target other species, they recommended the Freams over it.

[purple5ive]

what other species?
pinkies, salmon, flathead, whiting etc can all still be knocked over by the Emeraldas reel.

if you fish deeper water like 15m plus with decent current for big snapper or similar then maybe look at the stradic or freams
otherwise i would stick with a shallow spool reel.

personally if getting a boat eventually id get 2 different combos, a squid one and a general purpose one. when there a hot bite going last thing you want to do is **** around and swap reels between rods, easier to just pick up the second outfit and start casting..

[cobby]

is it 100% a dedicated squid rod?
if so get a shallow spool reel. not a deep spool. purely for reasons of being wasted line usage.
the LT models take ernomous amounts of line for reasons i still have nfi why..

id personally stick the Emeraldas LT reel on it. its not much more if not similarly priced an will match nicely, comes in high speed model, shallow spool and if needed double handle.

https://www.google.com/search?q=emerald ... 27&bih=637

That is a good question, this will be a dedicated squid rod but ideally I'd like a reel that I could swap to another rod to target other species.
I spoke with Daiwa earlier and they also recommended the Emeraldas LT, but only if I wanted to use that reel for that rod. If I wanted to swap the reel to another rod and target other species, they recommended the Freams over it.

If it's only for bread and butter sort of fishing on 1-3kg-2-5kg rods then the Emma will be next to no different to the Freams except it'll only hold around 150m of pe1 braid instead of 200m+, is 40gm heavier (3000 size vs 2500 size), slightly higher gear ratio (5.3 or 5.6) and has the double handle with eva knobs that **** all over T or I knobs. Freddys have them at $229 https://www.freddys.com.au/products/da ... sQAvD_BwE

Or you have the option of going the Freams, spending another $99 on a custom project 2508 size finesse shallow spool and swapping the spool to the stock deeper model when not using the Emma rod. But you still miss out on the sweet eva knobs unless you spend another $50 on one

[purple5ive]

If it's only for bread and butter sort of fishing on 1-3kg-2-5kg rods then the Emma will be next to no different to the Freams except it'll only hold around 150m of pe1 braid instead of 200m+, is 40gm heavier (3000 size vs 2500 size), slightly higher gear ratio (5.3 or 5.6) and has the double handle with eva knobs that **** all over T or I knobs. Freddys have them at $229 https://www.freddys.com.au/products/da ... sQAvD_BwE

Or you have the option of going the Freams, spending another $99 on a custom project 2508 size finesse shallow spool and swapping the spool to the stock deeper model when not using the Emma rod. But you still miss out on the sweet eva knobs unless you spend another $50 on one

The CP and RCS spools wont fit any of the new LT models AFAIK..
unless ofcourse he manages to find an older model Freams.

also for the OP
The LT3000 is the older 2500 in daiwa, so an LT2500 is a smaller reel than the older 2500 daiwa, almost a older 2000 equivalent

Daiwa have made it a royal PITA by switching sizes and ******* everyone with older daiwa reels up in the process as they are not backward compatible now except for handles from what i know.

[cobby]

If it's only for bread and butter sort of fishing on 1-3kg-2-5kg rods then the Emma will be next to no different to the Freams except it'll only hold around 150m of pe1 braid instead of 200m+, is 40gm heavier (3000 size vs 2500 size), slightly higher gear ratio (5.3 or 5.6) and has the double handle with eva knobs that **** all over T or I knobs. Freddys have them at $229 https://www.freddys.com.au/products/da ... sQAvD_BwE

Or you have the option of going the Freams, spending another $99 on a custom project 2508 size finesse shallow spool and swapping the spool to the stock deeper model when not using the Emma rod. But you still miss out on the sweet eva knobs unless you spend another $50 on one

The CP and RCS spools wont fit any of the new LT models AFAIK..
unless ofcourse he manages to find an older model Freams.

also for the OP
The LT3000 is the older 2500 in daiwa, so an LT2500 is a smaller reel than the older 2500 daiwa, almost a older 2000 equivalent

Daiwa have made it a royal PITA by switching sizes and ******* everyone with older daiwa reels up in the process as they are not backward compatible now except for handles from what i know.

Are you ******* kidding me? Its no wonder I stick to pre2010 Daiwas...

[ducky]

If it's only for bread and butter sort of fishing on 1-3kg-2-5kg rods then the Emma will be next to no different to the Freams except it'll only hold around 150m of pe1 braid instead of 200m+, is 40gm heavier (3000 size vs 2500 size), slightly higher gear ratio (5.3 or 5.6) and has the double handle with eva knobs that **** all over T or I knobs. Freddys have them at $229 https://www.freddys.com.au/products/da ... sQAvD_BwE

Or you have the option of going the Freams, spending another $99 on a custom project 2508 size finesse shallow spool and swapping the spool to the stock deeper model when not using the Emma rod. But you still miss out on the sweet eva knobs unless you spend another $50 on one

The CP and RCS spools wont fit any of the new LT models AFAIK..
unless ofcourse he manages to find an older model Freams.

also for the OP
The LT3000 is the older 2500 in daiwa, so an LT2500 is a smaller reel than the older 2500 daiwa, almost a older 2000 equivalent

Daiwa have made it a royal PITA by switching sizes and ******* everyone with older daiwa reels up in the process as they are not backward compatible now except for handles from what i know.

Are you ******* kidding me? Its no wonder I stick to pre2010 Daiwas...

I feel you on this dawg. My 4 x 2012 luvias’s are getting to the point where they’ll need replacement in the next couple years. Stuffed if I know what I’ll replace em with.

[Irishfisherman]

I have the fl in 3000 size, and it hasn’t missed a beat. Super smooth and well built. If you were to opt for the fl I would suggest getting the 3000 as it is the same weight and size but holds more line. Additionally, it has a carbon drag as apposed to the 2500 which has a felt drag which is supposed to be less durable. Also, I got my stradic from southern sports fishing and it was $250 back in December.

[Andrews]

I think you're all right, thinking about it I wasn't giving the Emeraldas reel enough credit, the specs look pretty nice on it. I think it'll be my pick.

I couldn't agree more, the rough idea in my mind is running two general 2-4kg rods drifting for squid, then the emeraldas in-hand working the rod. I'll figure it out down the track.

I agree with the double handle, plus now Daiwa has those customizable parts if I ever had to replace the eva knobs.

I'm looking at the Daiwa Emeraldas LT 3000 and there is two models where everything is the name apart from the gear ratio:
19 EMERALDAS LT 3000S-C-DH with a 5.3 gear ratio.
19 EMERALDAS LT 3000S-CH-DH with a 5.6 gear ratio.
https://daiwafishing.com.au/products/emeraldas-lt
If they're the same price, is it better to get the one with the higher gears? If the higher gear is more expensive, is it worthwhile?

I answered my own question, I'm not paying an extra $20 for a 0.3 of a turn. Keeping it up for future searches. Thank you!