New Catalina

[Duncan O'Connell]

Looks pretty schmik!

[Steve Li]

Beautiful! Any idea on the pricing and availability??? 

[Rob Langridge]

I had a read of the Alan Hawk review on this reel. It looks neat and if it comes out with the same kind of insides as the Saltiga as mentioned in the review. I think daiwa will see a slump in Saltiga sales.

[Sam Walker]

Rob can you post a link to the review - I didn't see it on Alan Hawk's site, just a review for the 2010 Saltiga

[Mark Harris]

There is no Alan Hawk review yet (unsurprising as the production models of this reel have yet to come out it seems).  He has though made a few comments at Stripers. See: http://www.stripersonline.com/t/831864/new-daiwa-2012-catalina.

Will Daiwa be releasing grown up sizes of the new Catalina? Alan Hawk seems to think so, but Daiwa Australia (http://daiwafishing.com.au/?p=10485) don't.  A 6500 or 6000 Catalina is potentially good news for GT fisherman looking for a reel which is step down from a Stella 18000 or Saltiga 6500 but still good enough.  I think we would need to see the price and detailed specs first though. In 6500 size (if one is released), would not surprise me if this baby is not far short of a thousand bucks which would make it kind of pointless.

Also, 4 words that would make me reluctant to buy one: two piece bail arm

[Rob Langridge]

Sam i did read some kind of a report on the reel from Alan Hawk. But i cant seem to find it again. What caught my eye was he said the New Catalina had the same gearing system as the Saltiga. Thats why i made my comment (I think daiwa will see a slump in Saltiga sales) Sorry if i have gone off like a bull at a gate but i did read a report about the reel.

Three months back i bought 2 Catalina`s 6500`6000 new out of the box at a very nice price with the thought of putting the Saltiga Dog Fight gearing system in the 6500 for popping and the S-Extreme gearing system in the 6000 for jigging. Call me crazy call me what you will but when you live on a shoe string budget like i do you do anything to cut corners to save some bucks. With the gearing systems costing around $360 each and $50 to install them i will end up with two Saltiga`s for a saving of around $700 . Well two Catalina`s with Saltiga gears. sound crazy..?

[Duncan O'Connell]

I have been playing withthe new Catalina reel at the Osaka fishing show today. Very smooth like the Saltiga, looks like a superb reel. The guys said the gears are the same as the Saltiga, most of the savings have been made by way of fewer bearings and by keeping everything simple on the body (ie no carbon fibre inlays). The are no reels above a 5000 size...Yet. I'm yet to see the final price locally for the reels, but I do think they will be very popular - moreso than saltigas, we will have to see.

Cheers

Duncan

[Mark Harris]

Rob - I posted the link to Alan Hawk's comments above.. please read my previous post and you will see.

Duncan. Great to hear hot news from Osaka .  Does it really have a two piece bail arm?  Can you see the weld?  That seems like a daft thing to save money on as it will put off so many potential buyers.

[Steve Li]

The New Catalinas are equipped with Daiwa's "Hyper Gears" which are the same gears used for the Saltigas. Definitely worth a thought if they are priced right. You can always upgrade or add bearings to make it as smooth as a Saltiga but a fair bit cheaper. The other thing I might change is the EVA knob......   

[Nathan Cefai]

Was playing with some yesterday,nice reels,the 6500 are a long way befor in the country yet..