Product Review: 24 Tatula TW 100

By Simon Goldsmith

The Tatula family celebrated its 10^th birthday in 2023 and befitting such a noteworthy occasion welcomed a new Tatula TW 100 reel to the range to mark the milestone. A much-loved reel since it was first released the latest 100 size Tatula is loaded with many of Daiwa’s latest baitcaster to deliver anglers a reel that ticks a lot of boxes.

Before we delve into my on-water experience and thoughts on the reel let’s look at the reel’s run sheet of specs and data. 

What Have You Got for Us?

The 23 Tatula TW 100 features two new design features over the previous model, the introduction of Daiwa’s newest baitcaster design concept, Hyperdrive Design, and a new frame design. Let’s look at each of those before we run through the rest of the features and technologies of the reel.

Getting it into Hyperdrive

A multi-faceted design concept Hyperdrive Design features four key design elements, Hyper Armed Housing, Hyper Double Support, Hyperdrive Digigear, and Hyper Tough Clutch. All these elements combine to create a reel that is stronger, better supported, more rigid during operation, smoother, and longer wearing and performing. The information below provides a more detailed breakdown on Hyperdrive Design.

Getting Framed

A new aluminium frame has been designed to partner Hyperdrive Design and ticks the boxes when it comes to looks, form and function. A low-profile design that sits low and stealthily on the rod rather than high and proud like baitcasters of the past, the frame has also been designed with angler hand and wrist comfort in mind and sits seamlessly in the hand for ultimate palm-ability.

Casting Off

Casting performance is quintessential Daiwa with Zero Adjuster minimising the challenge in getting the reel dialled in for optimum casting performance and useability, while TWS (T-Wing System) and Magforce Z work together to facilitate trouble free casting, reduce back lashes, maximise casting distance, and generally make the whole casting experience as effortless as possible. 

In a Spin

Next to how a reel feels and performs during is a cast is how it feels during the retrieve and the 23 Tatula TW 100 reaps the benefits of a host of Daiwa’s features. Hyperdrive Digigear, Air Rotation, and Infinite Anti-Reverse helps create a reel that is buttery smooths, maintains is smoothness and precision for longer, and is precise and crisp on the retrieve and when clicked in and out of gear.

Rotational balance is an aspect that is often not acknowledge or considered when it comes to baitcaster, and for the unaware is a reel’s habitat to wobble from side-to-side when retrieved. While more common on larger reels where the handle and applied cranking pressure is further away from the centre balance point of the reel its occurrence is something that is accounted for in all Daiwa baitcasters.

The 23 Tatula’s aluminium Swept Handle eliminates this by reducing weight and bringing the reel handle closer to the centre of the reel to enhance rotational balance and cranking efficiency. The Swept Handle looks good and feels good, and that’s a winning combination.

Life’s a Drag

Daiwa’s tried and tested UTD Drag features in the 23 Tatula with its multi washer drag stack integrating carbon washers, and alloy and stainless-steel drag plates with specially designed grease to create am ultra-smooth, low drag inertia drag that produces up to 6kg of drag. Whether it’s bass, jacks, barra or yellowbelly the UTD is up to the job.

Nothing what we finished looking at the design run sheet and all the features under the bonnet of the 23 Tatula let’s take it for a run on the water and see how it goes.

Hitting the Water

As a bass baitcaster the 23 Tatula is the great allrounder. It’s a reel that is ideal as an angler’s first baitcaster yet equally suited to adding to an experienced angler’s collection of reels. 

As an angler who spends 95% of their baitcaster time throwing lures for bass and sooty grunter the Tatula TW 100 is the perfect size and style of reel. A 100 size baitcaster is on the mark for me, and any anglers chasing similar species, with the size of the reel matching and balancing perfectly on the rods that we use and providing plenty of spool capacity for the line ranges that we generally use (10-30lb PE).

When it comes to my bass fishing the Tatula 100 get’s matched to my medium/light (e.g. Tatula 691MLRB) up to medium/heavy rods (Tatula 762MHRB). Rods lighter than this (e.g. Tatula 661LFB) get matched to a smaller reel such as a Alphas 80 or Tatula 70, while heavier rods such as Tatula 732HFB are matched to a larger reel such as a Tatula 150.

With a variety of retrieve ratios in the Tatula 100 range the reel is equally at home throwing cranks, spinnerbaits and jighead plastics where a 6.3:1 is my preferred retrieve ratio yet is just as adept at fast moving techniques such as burning spinnerbaits, or fast line pickup techniques such as flipping jigs. For these the 7.1:1 and 8.1:1 models are the best reels for the job.

Beyond bass fishing my second favourite place to use a baitcaster is chasing sooty on the lakes with Eungella Dam near Mackay by go-to destination for and impoundment sooty fix. Long days on the water throwing large spinnerbaits and crankbaits exclusively with baitcaster tackle is par for the course at Eungella. The Tatula 100 TW is the perfect reel for this whether it’s rolling a 60mm shallow crankbait along a lily line, buzzing a 5/8oz spinnerbait across a weedy flat or deep in the trees or bombing out a 4 metre deep running crankbait and fishing it along an old riverbed. It’s the perfect reel for one of my favourite fisheries.

Form and Function

How are reel performs on the water can be broken into a few categories, namely how it casts, how it feels when being cranked and under load, how performs during the fight, and how it feels in your hands. Let’s look at how the 23 Tatula 100 TW performs in each of those.

The Cast

While a reel may wow or fail to impress you when you initially pick it up, it’s when you make that first cast, or series of casts that you get a real-world sense of what a baitcaster is like. The 23 Tatula TW 100 hits its mark when it comes to impressing you in those early casts. The reel’s ‘Zero Adjuster’ eliminates the need to have to adjust a spool tension knob when you first use a reel, with the angler only needing to set the ‘mag adjustment dial’ on the side plate of the reel to get the reel dialled. Setting the dial to the weight of the lure being used and the conditions you’re fishing in (e.g. windy or calm) is always the name of the game when you’re setting in a new reel.

Once set the Tatula is effortless and whisper quiet to cast with. Fluid and trouble free through all phases of the cast I found it one of the easiest baitcasters going around to use. Some reels in contrast can be somewhat fickle to use with often excessive casting force needed to get the spool rotating, too fast of rotation during the mid-phase of the cast, or a willingness to slower up too soon. The latter can greatly reduce casting distance and accuracy.

Many of these unwanted traits can be eliminated or mitigated by making sure you have the perfect balance between reel, rod, line, and lure. All these combined to make up a system and the system need to be correctly matched. Have a rod that doesn’t match the lure, line, and technique that you’re using and the baitcaster set-up can be an absolute nightmare to fish with. Backlashes and troubles in casting distance and accuracy can often be attributed to a mis-matched baitcaster set-up.

The Retrieve

Once the cast is made it’s then on to the retrieve and the Tatula is silky smooth, and in my mind more so than the previous Tatula. This can be attributed to the new Hyperdrive Design, a design concept that enhances reel rigidity, precision and gear smoothness and longevity. Essentially it makes a reel feel smoother and stronger and makes it feel and perform that way for longer.

The reel handle and knobs also play a key role in the touchpoint between angler and reel, with the aluminium swept handle minimising rotational weight and optimising reel balance when cranking the handle, while the knobs have a tapered profile and are super grippy to touch. Some anglers however may find them on the smaller side. As a generalisation Aussie baitcasters lovers tend to like a larger sized knob on their baitcasters. Personally, I like them a lot and I think they perfectly match the intended use (finesse to mid weight baitcaster fishing) of the reel.

The Fight

The cranking and drag performance is equally impressive during the fight. Hyperdrive Design once again makes the reel quiet, smooth, and powerful, while the Tatula’s UTD drag offers 6kg of pressure with its carbon washer/aluminium and stainless-steel drag plate drag stack delivering smooth pressure from the first initial pull all the way through to maximum pressure.

In the Hand

The frame of the reel and how it fits (aka palms) in the hand plays a big part during the fight just like it does during the cast and crank phases, and the Tatula TW 100 ticks the boxes when it comes to being comfortable. A low-profile reel that sits low and understated on the rod, its curved side plate blends into the angler’s hand effortless and allows the fingers to position themselves on the taper top section of the reel. This not only makes things comfortable but allows maximum control and power to be place on and through the rod and reel.   

How Does it Compare?

So, we’ve looked at how the 23 Tatula 100 TW performs I guess the final question is how does it compare to the Tatula 100 before it? The 23 versions takes all the good things that made the 18 model such a great as reel and takes it up a notch by packaging them in the new Hyperdrive Design concept. The result is a reel that stronger, smoother, and more refined, and you can feel all of that when you use it. The improvement is noticeable in all areas of use. Whether it’s cast, cranking or during the fight the 23 Tatula 100 TW is a great reel to fish with and is a reel that delivers you performance that ten years ago would have cost you a lot more money.