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High Speed Exceler just arrived!
by Bradley 29th Nov 2010

Introducing for the first time a high speed Digigear drive spinning reel – the Exceler TSH-DA – with just one turn of the handle you will notice the ultra smooth blazing speed of the Exceler. Developed with all of Daiwa’s innovative features like Digigear, Airbail, Twistbuster etc this is one feature packed series and for a first it features a spare spool of a different size for a wider choice of lines classes.


The Green Machine vs Barra
by Bradley 22nd Nov 2010

Well known in the ABT bass circuit as one of the best bass tournament anglers and sponsored Daiwa angler, Dave Green (otherwise known as The Green Machine) has expanded his horizons to take on the mighty Awoonga barra. Dave received the latest Luvias 701HFS rod and Luvias 3000 reel from Daiwa just before the trip and christened the outfit on this great barra. All he could say was that the outfit was incredible, ultra light, powerful and one of the most comfortable outfits he is using. Congratulations Dave!


This Week on Hooked with Dave Butfield
by Bradley 22nd Nov 2010


Part 2 .This week it back to the steel city of Whyalla chasing big reds. Whyalla holds some of the biggest snapper you’ll ever see. We also take a look at some new Daiwa gear in Dave’s Tackle Box.
If your a big snapper fan well this is one show not to be missed.Hooked with Dave Butfield can be seen on the Aurora TV network. For more information go …to www.hookedtv.com.au


Monster Mesh Max now available
by Bradley 22nd Nov 2010

The new Monster Mesh Max series will set the heavy duty jigging and offshore sport fishing scene on fire. Built on the latest ultra slim carbon blank, the new Monster Mesh max series is one of the strongest lightest jigging blanks ever developed. The enormous hoop strength comes from combining the latest carbon technology with old style weaving under incredible pressure to produce the most incredibly strong blank. High performance blanks need the right components and MM Max uses Fuji’s best alconite M style guides, Fuji reel seats and quality aluminium custom components. All guides are triple bound for ultimate strength, so to make these the most reliable jigging rods now available.


This Week on Hooked with Dave Butfield
by Bradley 17th Nov 2010

It’s that time of the year when the big snapper come out to play off Whyalla. We catch up with Darren from Whyalla Fishing Adventures and use Daiwa’s latest rods and reels like the TMZ interline, Saltist Demon Blood,  Seagate 3500 and Phantom J.

Hooked with Dave Butfield can be seen on the Aurora TV network. For more information go …to www.hookedtv.com.au


New Tournament Master Surf rods now available.
by Bradley 17th Nov 2010

If you want ultimate casting distance then go no further than the Tournament Master Surf series, designed to match many of Daiwa’s long distance casting reels like Emblem Pro and Windcast. Developed by Australia and built on a Japanese designed M500 three piece carbon blank, these highly sensitive and powerful blanks are designed to load from the tip to the butt for maximum power and fast cast acceleration. The TMS rods use only the best guides, the latest Fuji Low Rider tournament casting guides for increased speed and accelerated rifling. For maximum distance look no further than the Tournament master Surf rods.


New Luvias R rods now available
by Bradley 17th Nov 2010

The new Luvias – R rods are built on HVF (high volume fibre) blanks which are constructed with ultra high amounts of carbon fibres laid longitudinally with minimal resin use, and then rolled at extremely high temperatures and pressure to produce an exceptionally light but incredibly strong blank. These blanks are incredibly fast and “tippy” but fold away under pressure in an even arch to displace pressure through the whole blank for maximum fighting power.

Finished off with matching cosmetics and the finest components available these rods are the ideal choice for the serious angler. Luvias rods feature Daiwa’s neo concept ergonomic ratcheted reel seats, Airfoam grips and Fuji’s premium silicone carbide titanium new concept guides.

The new Luvias-R is the perfect choice for the serious angler.


Shaun Clancy’s ABT Grand Final Story.
by Bradley 12th Nov 2010

Shaun Clancy has taken out the 2010 Daiwa BREAM Grand Final. In one of the closest BREAM Grand Finals in ABT’s history Clancy’s 15/15, 13.24kg overall tournament bag secured the title, and the accompanying ten thousand dollar first prize cheque. By producing heavier tournament limits for each day of the tournament, Clancy steadily moved from 19th to 10th and ultimately took out the title with the tournaments heaviest bag on day three with 5.58kg
“I couldn’t believe it when the scales finally stopped and I realised that I had secured the win. It was unexpected and a great honour to achieve this result against the best bream anglers in the country. One of my goals was to represent myself and all my sponsors by competing over the entire event. I am especially pleased at finishing strongly with a good bag. To achieve this result at Mallacoota, my home waters and a system I love to fish, is very special.”
On day one Clancy initially travelled to a shallow water bay in Bottom Lake. Fishing in 1-4 feet of water using an Ecogear SX40 Long Cast (Colours 369/307) Clancy found no fish. This prompted a move to rockwall structure in Top Lake. The first legal fish soon followed, before a move to deeper water in Bottom Lake provided the fish Clancy was ultimately searching for. Fishing in 4-5 meters of water Clancy used Ecogear ZX35 (colour 416) and VX35 and VX40 (colours 401/439/443/445) to fill his five fish limit and upgrade once.
“The key was the Humminbird Side Imaging feature. I was able to identify where patches of fish were concentrated and effectively target them”.
Day two saw Clancy return to his first two locations from day one, again for no luck. Heading back to his deep water spot in Bottom Lake, Clancy had his first legal fish with his first cast. With Clancy’s non-boater Tyler White contributing to the shared weight with an impressive 38cm fork length yellowfin bream, caught on an Ecogear VX35 (colour 443), Clancy ultimately filled his limit with one upgrade before heading to Top Lake.
Fishing stretches of bank identified in the prefish proved difficult as other competitors were already working the areas. Eventually finding his own patch, Clancy tried to find further fish with no luck.
“I had an edge bite plan and knew that my areas held good fish. As it turned out the edge bite didn’t really materialize during the first two days and when wind came through on day two the bite shut down”.
“The key with the wind and conditions on day two was being able to use my Humminbird sounder and the spot lock feature on my Minnkota electric motor, to find the fish and stay on them when they were active”.
“Also of important note was how a competitor, Spiro Spyropoulos, was catching fish. Spiro was nearby to where I was fishing at one point, and was boating far more fish than anybody else. I studied his action and emulated it to good effect. As such I need to thank him for the demonstration”.
“Come day three I was worried about the wind in the morning and its repercussions. I headed straight to the deep water spot from the previous two days, sounded fish and used spot lock, but wasn’t able to get any fish. I travelled into shallower water at the same location, again with no luck. I then travelled back to the bank area I had fished the previous two days with no luck to try and find fish”.
Using an Ecogear prototype lure, a sinking stickbait, rigged on 3lb Famell Spinning Fluro straight through, Clancy worked shallow rocky edges in search of fish. With the first legal hitting the boat shortly afterward, Clancy employed a drogue and his electric in tandem to combat the wind blowing across the bank.

“After hooking fish I would use the electric to motor into deeper water where I would fight the fish. I employed spot lock so after landing the fish I could retie the lure, check my hooks and return to the same place I hooked the fish in the shortest possible time. By employing this method my time was maximised, I could return to areas where the fish were active and I was confident that my setup was capable of handling the next potential capture. Spot lock was the key to making it all happen”.
“My key area was 200 meters of a 600 meter stretch of bank. By focusing my efforts on this active stretch I was able to catch my five fish limit by 9.30 am. The Blue Eye sunglasses I was using made the job a lot easier. After I got my limit I was able to still find two further upgrades with one 39cm fork length fish replacing a 30.5cm fork length model. In the end my fork lengths read as such; two 39cm fish, a 36.5cm, a 36cm and a final fish that weighed no less than 900grams. As it turned out I still had time to travel to Top Lake where I didn’t find any upgrades. As it turned out my day was finished by 10.30am”.
Clancy’s outfits consisted of a 701 Daiwa Tournament Master ZG MLFS rod teamed with a Daiwa Luvias 2000 reel spooled with 3lb Famell Spinning Fluro and a 701 Daiwa Luvias LFS rod teamed with a Daiwa Sol 2000 reel spooled with 4lb Daiwa TD Sensor braid and 4lb Yamatoyo Harris Fighter FC leader. “Heading to the weigh in I knew I had a good bag, over 5kg. It was always going to depend on what other competitors had caught. Being in 10th place heading out on the final day I was hoping for a top five finish. At the tubs I saw a couple of the other anglers had got their five fish. After I weighed in I secured the hot seat and just had to wait. I was 1.44kg behind the tournament leader Chris Wright after two days. I knew Chris had caught fish, but didn’t know the quality. In the end it was between me and Chris, I knew what he needed and when the scales went down I looked across and realised that I had won by 110 grams”.
“To take the win and have the quality of competitor such as Chris Wright there congratulating me is something I will never forget. Accepting a humble, genuine congratulations from a friend and one of the best bream anglers in the country, made the moment all the more special”.
“Obviously without the support of friends, family and my sponsors I would find it difficult to attend tournaments so a big thanks to all those people. A big thank you to my two non-boaters, Andrew Hamilton and Tyler White, for their efforts and contributions. To my close friends Wayne Friebe and Jarrod Healey, we worked as a team and shared prefish knowledge in order to help one another. Without their support I would have found the tournament far more arduous, so a big thanks”.


This week on Adventure Bound
by Bradley 10th Nov 2010

This years series has now finished but some of the best shows from the past year are now being repeated. This week the boys head down to Portland in Victoria’s south west to take on southern bluefin to 100kgs.

Adventure Bound can be seen on TVS, TVW and Channel 31 and check out their website at www.adventurebound.com.au


Warren Keelan joins up with Daiwa.
by Bradley 9th Nov 2010

After almost a decade writing and touring in the Australian original music scene, Warren decided to devote more time to his other passion – fishing. In 2007 he designed and built a successful online fishing community website called The Fishin Hub, which has since gone on to host numerous fishing expos and charity events, all in the name of bringing people together, sharing information and enjoying this great Aussie pastime.

Waz Keelan is a self taught web developer and runs his own business – Shellfish Creations, building many websites in the industry for clients including Boab Boat Hire and Daiwa’s own Alistair McGlashan. It was at this point where he decided to step it up a notch by delving into the world of fishing photography and journalism, and is now a regular contributor to many of this country’s leading fishing magazines including Modern Fishing, Freshwater Fishing, Sportfishing Australia and Fishing Monthly.

His passion for fishing and his ‘count me in’ attitude has seem him venture to many of Australia’s best locations, catching native fish in the New England River system, bluefin tuna off Bermagui and monster flathead on the NSW South Coast, not to mention chasing barramundi, mudcrabs, golden snapper and GT’s in Australia’s Top End.

After trying his hand in the comp scene, Waz and his boating partner qualified for the grand final of the 9 round Squidgie Southern Bream Series events – enjoying the pressure and the excitement of catching fish when it counts. Though competition aside, he’s more at home chasing many of the estuary’s finest species, and loves nothing more than capturing it on film and writing about it.

Warren has just released the first of his Blue Yonder Adventures DVD’s (Northern Territory and Cape Don) and is currently working on the second edition, which will feature a recent trip to Seisia in Cape York – catching GT’s, golden snapper and everything in between. He’s also been busy onscreen and is featured in Al McGlashan’s highly successful Strikezone TV series, targeting marlin, bluefin, kingfish albacore and a list of bread and butter species along the east coast of NSW.

“I am over the moon with the support from Daiwa and I can’t wait to put my new gear to the test”.


Daiwa’s amazing New Era flyreels coming soon!
by Bradley 8th Nov 2010

Here’s a peak at Daiwa’s New Era fly reels which introduce new innovations and unparalleled designs, it’s what you’ve come to expect from the world leader in fishing tackle. More information coming soon.


Shaun Clancy wins ABT Daiwa Bream Grand Final
by Bradley 7th Nov 2010

Congratulations to Shaun Clancy for winning the 2010 ABT Daiwa Bream Grand Final. Details on his win coming shortly!


New Shinobi Braid
by Bradley 2nd Nov 2010

Great news for those anglers on a tight budget is Daiwa’s latest release due out in stores soon is Shinobi Braid Super PE. This smooth, round profile braid is constructed using PE for improved casting distance and high abrasion resistance. Perfectly suited for spin and baitcaster reels, the Shinobi is a super high visibility yellow braid that is ideal for lure casting applications.

It also comes in a unique dispensing spool, this design allows you to apply tension to the spool when winding onto your reel.

For more information check out Shinobi Braid in our Line section.


This Week on Adventure Bound
by Bradley 2nd Nov 2010

This years series has now finished but some of the best shows from the past year are now being repeated. This week the boys head down to Welshpool in Victoria’s south east to take on some of the states biggest snapper.

Adventure Bound can be seen on TVS, TVW and Channel 31 and check out their website at www.adventurebound.com.au