Daiwa "T3 Ballistic" Hot

Daiwa's T3 Ballistic is the lower end version of the T3 family. It is about half the price of the regular T3. It certainly does not feel as refined as the T3, but for the price it is a good reel. The T3 Ballistic is made of Daiwa's zaion material, which is basically Daiwa's version of carbon fiber. There is definitely a different feeling between a zaion reel and a metal reel. Some folks call it "hollow" and don't care for it. I personally see no problem at all with the feel of the reel.

The T3 Ballistic comes in 3 different gear ratios: 6.3:1, 7:1, and 8:1 to cover just about any fishing situation you will find yourself in. I own both the 7;1 and 8;1 versions and love them both.

I use the 7:1 for bottom contact presentations and I use the 8:1 for frog and other topwater presentations. I have used them in both fresh and salt water and have never had a bit of trouble with them.

The 3D braking system has 3 settings, "Max Brake", "All around", and "Long Cast". Most of my uses are on the All Around setting and I get plenty of distance with the lures I use. Flipping to Long Cast will make a bit more thumbing necessary while the Max Brake setting it is pretty much cast and no thumb on the spool...of course on this setting the distance is a bit lacking. The 10 pounds of drag are plenty for almost any fish you will come up against. I have caught largemouth bass up to 6 pounds and redfish up to 13 pounds and this reel never stuttered at all.

Unfortunately this reel is no longer produced by Daiwa, but a search will lead you to find them if you still want them. The T Wing System is a bit unique and may take a while to get used to, but once you do you will love this casting system.