Daiwa Saltist Saltwater Spinning Fishing Reels Review: Get Ready for the Big One

Daiwa Saltist Saltwater Spinning Fishing Reels Review: Get Ready for the Big One


Listen to article
Audio is generated by DropInBlog's AI and may have slight pronunciation nuances. Learn more

Daiwa Saltist spinning reels were designed for serious offshore saltwater anglers. This reel is mainly intended for heavy action on the high seas and deep waters. If you’re up for the challenge and ready to move into serious saltwater fishing, then you are looking in the right direction, and that’s Daiwa Saltist. Daiwa Saltist, as its name implies, features superior strength and durability, suitable for targeting large marine species. And this reel comes in five different sizes: 4000H, 4500H, 5000H, 6000H, and 6500H.

Click here for all Fishing Reels on Sale.

Here is a quick preview of the Daiwa Saltist 4500H and 6500H specs:

STT4500H

      • Gear Ratio: 6.2: 1,
      • Weight:44.5
      • Line capacity: 14/300, 17/220
      • Braid: 40/440,55/330

STT6500H

      • Gear Ratio: 6.2: 1,
      • Weight: 53.1
      • Line capacity: 25/300,30/250
      • Braid: 70/550,80/440)

More experienced anglers and pros pick some brands to be the best quality spinning reels, yet an often mistake is not seeing other reels with the same standard quality as those expensive and branded reels. Moreover, others may not have enough money and budget for one expensive reel. This presents a challenge for Daiwa.

And because Daiwa is most intently passionate about technological advancement and creating a reel at its finest yet affordable, the Saltist is rooted to life. The Saltists are made of high-grade aluminum alloy body as most offshore spinning reels are in the market. It also has a side plate. Aluminum is an ideal material for great strength because not only is it a stronger material than graphite, but it is also corrosive resistant.

Ruggedly Dangerous

These spinning reels are pretty good-looking and rugged that fighting fish will find it difficult to bust out against its drag. Though both the STT4500H and STT6500H have the same 6.2:1 high-speed ratio, you would love to pick the 6500H because it works perfectly with jogging, popping, or surface lures that require fast retrieval. And in fact, both these reels are optimized to perform like deep-sea jigging reels. For anglers who fish a lot offshore, especially those who know a lot of the Rooster Fish and are fanatics, the high-speed ratio of the Saltist is an advantage. Rooster Fish tends to see it as fake if you retrieve your lure too slow. This fish will follow and turn away.

Fusion Power

There are many ways to get line twists during fishing, such as the fishing technique applied, type of rod, line, and lures. Anglers also experience a line being twisted from a fish pulling outline against the drag. And with Daiwa’s exclusive and innovative system, the Twist Buster II was developed to reduce line twist problems on spinning reels typical of ordinary spinning reels caused by line retrieval.

The Twist Buster II and Air Bail feature fusion during the retrieve, magnifying increased line pick-up, and maximum casting distance. The addition of a titanium nitride line roller further enhances the reel’s line management capability that guarantees line roller longevity, smoothness, and strength.

Game Retrieved

Since the 6500H has a 53’’ reel rating due to its larger spool compared to the STT4500H. Best spinning reels will have to have larger spools because this would mean more line retrieve per crank. Daiwa’s ABS spool is made of aluminum, which would make these spinning reels have greater strength and rigidity under pressure. Also, the ABS spool is a reversed taper spool. With this feature, there is no need to bunch the line on top to produce the taper. Now the game is rolling for both Saltists. Here, the STT6500H got the point over the STT4500H.

Bear It Smooth

Ball bearings play an important role in exhibiting smoothness, support, and stability. What’s good about these Saltists is that their bearings are corrosion-resistant ball bearings. And having more than four of these bearings adds up to the smoother performance of your reel. These bearings are also shielded for extra protection from sand, fine grit, salt crystal, and other abrasives that may get into the insides of your reel. Both the 4500H and 6500H gained a fair share on this one.

Daiwa Saltist Saltwater Spinning Reels Review Get Ready for the Big One1

Play It Hard

As mentioned, both STT4500H and STT6500H have a high-speed gear ratio. And the addition of Daiwa’s innovation of the Digigear system redefines smoothness and power. It is engineered from strong, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy. The Digigear drive system, which is 15% more powerful than the average spinning reel, allows flawless gear meshing and revolutionary cranking smoothness without the hassle of wear and tear.

Choose Your Player

The primary usage of the Daiwa Saltist STT4500H is for reef fish, live baiting, and pitching jigs. Because usually, in giving a pitch, you will need to accelerate the reel turn. A longer handle which should probably be longer than 80mm, will make pitching jigs easier to exhibit. Long handle in reels provides more power to help you with the heavy jig, the deep water, and battling with a big fish.

This reel has braid-friendly air bail tubular stainless steel bail like the STT6500 but has a fishing line capacity of PE 3 (400 meters of 30lb braid) or 300 meters of 40lb. The drag pressure rating of this player is a maximum of 10kgs. Both of these models are quite the same on some features, and the difference is that the maximum drag of the STT4500H is 22 while the Saltist 6500H has a max drag of 33.

In distance casting tournaments, even inches gained can be significant. The 6500 model of Daiwa Saltist spinning reel has a fishing line capacity of PE5 500 meters of 50lb braid and a drag pressure rating of maximum 30kgs, which makes it a better value for money and probably a better reel than the STT4500H.

In addition, the spool on the Saltist 6500H is 1 1/8 inches tall, which is fine for surf fishing. You can rely on this spinning reel, powerful exquisite drag in fishing blue water tuna, grouper, and other big species. The Saltist can easily handle all your surf fishing needs.

The Saltist 6500 does not have any significant shortcomings. It’s a reel player and a way to go when targeting jig Bluefin, Mackos, and Tuna. Indeed, this reel is a high-end fishing reel that can even compete with other brands in that particular field.

Lock It Up

The manual and the bail lock add-up feature of Daiwa Saltist will give you the winning experience. The benefit of a manual bail versus a trip system is that it ensures that your line is running over the so-called bail line guide properly.

The bail spring, or what most trip systems are in most spinning reels, is compressed and decompressed with every cast regardless of whether it’s tripped by cranking or closed by hand, resulting in wear and tear. The rapid snap of the bail also wears out the contact surfaces of the bail.

How the automatic feature works for most reels, especially expensive reels, is a ramp on the frame and a rod that has to support the ramp. This rod trips the bail far enough for the spring to kick it closed. Making it simple, the trip mechanism automatically closes when you turn the handle. This always works when a reel is new and hasn’t been used, but this will not last long. Even the most expensive reels will have a trip problem when you close it by cranking.

Bail springs usually fail at the least you expect it. This presents a significant problem to most reel companies that what reel companies now recommend and design their reel on is a manual bail system. A manual return bail closure system makes the reel stronger and more durable. They are also way better designed for surf fishing.

And because Daiwa Saltist has a bail lock feature, it eliminates the bail to flip, which will cost you many plugs constantly. Also, manually closing the bail each time you cast will significantly reduce the amount of birds nesting and tangles you get because it helps reduce a loop on the reel or lose the line. In addition, it has a bail arm brake when the bail is open. The bail arms do not spin around during the cast, but you can move them with your hand. Anglers like this a lot because they can reach over and rotate the bail arms with their fingers. You can easily snap the bail shut and pull the line into the roller in the same way.

Win It!

The 6500 has the biggest line capacity and is most suitable for bringing monstrous fish on an off-the-shore action. Surprisingly, even if the 4500 has a smaller size than 6500, the Daiwa Saltist 6500 is not the heaviest one among the Daiwa Saltist saltwater spinning reels series. If you would be checking on the weight of both 6000 and 5000, they weigh 1 oz more than 6500. Daiwa must have used higher quality materials in 6500 to make it lighter. Because the handle of this Saltist is a little longer, it will provide and extend comfort and reduce fatigue and cramps on your joints. The price of the reel is also affordable. You can have it for $239.51, a price that is worth the excellent quality this reel gives. You wouldn’t even have to look at the 4500H’s price of about $221 because this reel is an all-in package!

Most buyers and anglers are attracted to a reel that has a very high cranking speed, high potential durability, and, if possible, a reasonable value price. And in looking for a potentially good spinning reel, a lot of questions and concerns spins through your mind, such as will it cast sufficiently far? How about its smoothness, and is it comfortable to use? Is the drag adequate? Is it also resistant to wind knots? Or does it have high durability? Will it last long? And in this competitive game of comparison between the Daiwa Saltist Saltwater 4500H and the Daiwa Saltist Saltwater 6500H, you agree on a full slate that the winning team is the 6500H.

Daiwa Saltist Saltwater spinning reel 6500H has an amazing smoothness and unrivaled strength that you will never regret buying this big player. It is considered a mid-priced high-speed spinning reel efficient for surf fishing.

If you are up for the challenge and would want to start targeting deep-sea creatures such as stingrays and medium-sized sharks with a grinder, then you should gear up with Daiwa Saltist 6500H. With Saltist, you got the game, and you will never lose the game fighting with a firm, defiant monstrous fish. This reel is the absolute ultimate player that will never turn you down.

Click here for all Fishing Reels on Sale.

« Back to Blog