Saltist Big Game 30 2 Speed- pair of lemons?

[rapchizzle]

This past summer I fished in the Keys as a captain with the Boy Scouts of America taking kids from all over the country out for a day of fishing. Instead of using the 6/0s and TLD25s we were given, I bought a pair of the Daiwa Saltist Lever Drag Big Game 30 2 Speed reels at the beginning of the summer and they performed great... for the first couple trips. Without putting any amount of unreasonable stress on them, washing them after every day of fishing and backing the drag off, they have both become a pain in the *** to work with. With one of the reels, the clicker broke after the first half dozen trips, clicker switch sticks hard, the drag sticks, the head on one of the clamp bolts sheered off and when I try to put it in free spool, it feels like there's a few pounds of drag. On the other reel, the free spool is even worse, one of the clamp bolts sheered off (again...), the 2 speed button sticks when I press it and the drag sticks just as much as the other reel. Another thing I noticed with both of the reels is that when I'm reeling them in fast (clearing lines and whatnot) they sound like they are going to explode with high pitched pings. I know the Boy Scouts are tough on stuff but I was so disappointed with the performance of these two reels that I hung them up and started using the set of TLDs and 6/0 I was given. I got these reels specifically for fishing with the Boy Scouts because of the line capacity and 2 speed capabilities but I'm somewhat regretting my purchase.

I've also got a Saltist 4500H spinning reel and absolutely love it. It's laughed at everything I've thrown at it and then ***** slapped the fish as they swam off. The quality of my 4500H is what really persuaded me to get the conventionals.

Perhaps I got a pair of lemons but for $389.00 a piece (MY money, not the Boy Scouts) I would sure hope not... Is there anyone at Daiwa that can help me with these reels?

[rapchizzle]

Nothing?

[Postalita]

My equipment got stolen recently, so I'm in the market for new (to me) equipment. I just had lunch with a good friend who is an avid fisherman. This guys lives full-time in Miami and has a place in Key Largo. He owns a 32 SeeVee. I had TLD 25s and just purchase one. He told me to get a Saltist b/c it can withstand more than just dolphins, like Wahoos for example. In fact, I found your post b/c I put Saltist in the search box. Now I'm not sure if I should just get a few more 25s. Anyways, point is he swears by them!

This past summer I fished in the Keys as a captain with the Boy Scouts of America taking kids from all over the country out for a day of fishing. Instead of using the 6/0s and TLD25s we were given, I bought a pair of the Daiwa Saltist Lever Drag Big Game 30 2 Speed reels at the beginning of the summer and they performed great... for the first couple trips. Without putting any amount of unreasonable stress on them, washing them after every day of fishing and backing the drag off, they have both become a pain in the *** to work with. With one of the reels, the clicker broke after the first half dozen trips, clicker switch sticks hard, the drag sticks, the head on one of the clamp bolts sheered off and when I try to put it in free spool, it feels like there's a few pounds of drag. On the other reel, the free spool is even worse, one of the clamp bolts sheered off (again...), the 2 speed button sticks when I press it and the drag sticks just as much as the other reel. Another thing I noticed with both of the reels is that when I'm reeling them in fast (clearing lines and whatnot) they sound like they are going to explode with high pitched pings. I know the Boy Scouts are tough on stuff but I was so disappointed with the performance of these two reels that I hung them up and started using the set of TLDs and 6/0 I was given. I got these reels specifically for fishing with the Boy Scouts because of the line capacity and 2 speed capabilities but I'm somewhat regretting my purchase.

I've also got a Saltist 4500H spinning reel and absolutely love it. It's laughed at everything I've thrown at it and then ***** slapped the fish as they swam off. The quality of my 4500H is what really persuaded me to get the conventionals.

Perhaps I got a pair of lemons but for $389.00 a piece (MY money, not the Boy Scouts) I would sure hope not... Is there anyone at Daiwa that can help me with these reels?

[rapchizzle]

Looks like I'm never buying another Daiwa product again.

[Barrell]

Yeaahh, They never responded to my complaint either.

[bluewater34]

Just came across this post.....PM me and maybe I can assist.

[rapchizzle]

I just got the reels back in the mail today. Jaime helped me once I was able to get ahold of them. Daiwa replaced the broken parts and repaired the reels for free.

If anyone has any problems with customer service, shoot me a PM and I can give you the email of the fella who helped me out.