Some context here. I had never touched a fishing rod or never considered fishing in my life until a week ago. Got invited to a local fishing trip with some friends last minute so I scrambled to grab something. One other moderately experienced friend and I scrambled to dicks to get me something. A quick Google search recommended the Daiwa Aird X. The dicks guy said it was good and I grabbed the first reel I thought would fit. Not sure if ultra light setups are bad for beginners but this thing breaks constantly. All of my friends rods cast far and stay together. Had the line put on by someone who knew what they were doing but it continues to come loose. Constantly getting knots, loose line, line is never tight. It’s been cut and reset with line multiple times by different people. It never works. And when it’s in one piece the thing doesn’t cast far at all, no matter who uses it. It goes high up in the air for a moment and just plops. Feels loose, doesn’t cast smooth, doesn’t go far no matter the line, bait, or user. Is it set up wrong? Is this a shitty reel? Bad rod? Looking for advice.
Posted by Head-Passage-5719
9 Comments
The rod and the reel aren’t bad the issue is the line is junk and put on badly from the looks of it. Take the reel to a tackle shop and have line put on properly. Believe me. We’ve all been there as beginners , you’ll get this sorted out.
Its ridiculously under-spooled for one thing. What type of line are you using? Your description of how the lure moves in the air sounds like poor casting technique.
What breaks constantly? The reel? Cuz the rod is fine
Daiwa Aird X is a great rod for the money. You bought a short, ultralight rod with a fast tip. To cast properly you need a good lightweight line, lightweight lures, and the proper amount of line on your spinning reel.
The reason for most of the tangles and knots is the line in way to loose on the reel
That reel is primarily for ice fishing, but I would think it could still cast a ways. A 2-piece rod that won’t stay together means you’re probably not making sure they’re pushed together securely, or the joint is just loose.
The line, though, needs to be re-spooled with some fresh line and done properly. Look up how to spool a spinning reel on YouTube. It’s easy to do.
Also note, that rod is only rated to throw lures up to 1/8 oz. You’ll have difficulty casting with lures that weigh much more than that, and risk snapping it if you aren’t casting with care.
Personally LOVE the Aird X rods from Diawa. They are a go to for travel and are wildly robust. That as well as the super cheap price tag is just a wet, juicy chefs kiss.
Right now you need to fill the spool up, but that is also a very small capacity reel with it having a max of 110 yard of 4lb monofilament. What line are you using and what is the test strength? Also a 5’6 is not really a “casting” rod, but you won’t be able to cast right without the right line weight, and the spool is not very large. It’s basically an ice fishing reel.
I’ll start off by saying the daiwa arid x is a great rod especially for beginners. That reel isnt bad either, its just set up poorly.
You dont have enough line on that spool. Its should be like 1/8″ from the spool edge. Also the line looks way too thick for an ultralight and that size reel. You should be using 6-8lb mono.