The Daiwa Silvercast Spincast – Has cast a spell over me

A new world record largemouth bass was reported on a week or so ago. Twenty plus pounds! Such a large animal has probably seen her fair share of lures. It makes me wonder why she finally gave in? I caught a nice 7+ pound fish two seasons ago in my “daily” lake, and I think it bit because I threw a fantastic lure (a Cotton Cordell Super Spot), the likes of which she had never seen. I hope that’s the case with the record bass - I always like to think the giants will only fall to a good lure.

With any big fish, you’ll need some serious tackle to horse them in. Believe it or not, Daiwa’s Silvercast Spincast is as serious a reel as they come. A season back I was looking for a new reel. I wanted a tool that was quick, trouble-free and hefty without being heavy. It also needed to be economical and eye pleasing to boot. I checked out a number of baitcasting and spinning reels, but they (to a man) failed to meet at least a couple of my sticking points. So I turned to spincasters, despite their reputation of being a beginner’s reel. After a bit of searching I uncovered a smart, cracker-jack reel - the Daiwa Silvercast. Now this little reel had everything I was looking for, and then some. In fact, it’s become my go to reel for spinnerbait fishing, and when paired with a medium action rod, has enough grunt and drag power to bring in the big girls (and the feisty males). After a period of getting used to the drag adjustments on casting (- for distance, and + on hook set), a common requirement for all spincast reels, I wouldn’t hit the lake without one – It’s that good.

Topwater Bottom Line: If you’re like me, you don’t want to be fussing with baitcasting bird’s nests and loose looping spinning reels – you want to be fishing. The Daiwa’s Silvercast (at $29.99 a piece) lets you do just that, pounding many of the more expensive baitcasting, spinning and even spincasting options available. On top of all that, this reel flat out looks good, with just the right amount of blue metal accent and steampunk machine design. The paint on the plastic thumb bar will wear over time, but that’s ok with me – it shows that I use the reel and I use it hard (lubricate seasonally with Abu Garcia Silicote Reel Oil). Dead-stop can and does happen, but it's rare compared to other spincasters. As always, please practice catch and release with this reel.

Topwater Rating:

 
5 out of 5 bobbers
 

This compact performer is a well built workhorse.