First, a little background. I've been on the lookout for a low-pro bait caster to use with my Proteus H, on those days that are a might "nautical" out in the deep. I refuse to just give up and head into shallow waters on rougher trips, if I KNOW the fish are there. Its really just a matter of being able to present baits in a manner attractive to the fish, whilst dealing with such adverse conditions. This normally involves stepping up to 5 or 6oz bucktails, and in the event that even those do not hold bottom, then out come the B/S Rigs, with 8-10oz sinkers. That, along with the deployment of the drift sock usually does the trick, in my experience.
What is needed in this specific application is a compact low-profile bait caster, one that can "take it" when is comes to handling heavier bucktails and/or sinkered rigs. This is considerably more difficult to find than one would think.
After reviewing every new low-pro bait caster on the market, I could not find one that absolutely checked every box on my "must have" list. This one has a plastic side plate, that one doesn't offer an appropriately low gear ratio. On and on, with disqualifications of every current model. I was really considering pulling one of my round Abu customs out of semi-retirement. But then this reel happened.
Sometimes a deal comes forward that one cannot pass up. I am a BIG proponent of the last generation of the Daiwa Zillion bait casting series. Just super reels, from the aluminum frame and side plate, to the variety of gear ratios still available for swaps, to the overall construction and quality of components, they are just about as good as it gets in a palm-sized reel. They were never inexpensive, normally retailing in the $350-range for the more common versions; on up to $500+ for the more feature-laden and far more rare JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) Zillions.
I've been looking for one of two specific JDM versions, the Zillion 100H HLC and/or the Zillion 100H PE, for a VERY long time. Both were released to the Japanese market around 2008, and were available for a few seasons thereafter. Well, after years of religiously checking the various Japanese re-sellers of used tackle, as well as the Japanese and US-versions of Ebay, I FINALLY found an HLC in the condition I prefer, and for roughly the price I am crazy enough to pay. Right around $190 - which IMO is super fair. My new reel is truly mint - maybe one or two TINY flea bite-sized flaws in the finish. Believe me when I say this is like finding a freakin' needle in the proverbial haystack. Take a look:
I don't know what it is about those Japanese FW bass fishers, they must literally throw their tackle around in the boat, as I have never seen such a clean HLC - most look like the former owner took a rasp file to them. Horrible condition reels, offered for $300-$400 all day long. Maybe someone else would pay that for a beat-up looking reel, but that ain't me.
So let me speak to what makes this reel special. First, its a Zillion. that right there says something. This is no cheapie Tatula or whatever Tatula-like reel was in the Daiwa line-up back then. This is/was nearly top of the Daiwa line, and you can feel it the first time you turn the handle.
In the case of the HLC, they took the base Zillion (as though the word "base" applies to such a reel), and added ABEC-5-rated corrosion-resistant bearings throughout, used a Steez aluminum drive shaft (the Steez IS the top of Daiwa's casting reel line), a CR (corrosion resistant) bearing on the level wind worm, a specific "Hyper Long Cast" spool that spins when you breath on it - which is in GREAT demand on the FW Bass fishing websites - I can easily sell just this spool for the $190 I paid for the entire reel if I so choose (Can you believe that? How crazy are these FW bass fanatics? Nothing like you and me!
). Also, a very specific mag-cast braking system, a unique at the time carbon-fiber handle with cork knobs, weight-saving cut-outs atop the aluminum frame, and finally, factory purple highlights in several fairly subtle locations. Subtle? Hah, well I'm gonna fix that "flaw," THAT'S for sure!
The HLC was a super hot seller for a low-production edition, but Daiwa never brought it to the US market. I guess they didn't think we enjoy using high-end stuff. They couldn't be more wrong - as the rarity of finding one in good condition attests. Anyone who owns a mint condition specimen hangs onto it.
What we're gonna do is to make it far more suitable for what I do - deep fluking with bucktails and B/S-Rigs carrying up to 10oz sinkers in deep water. To do this we will need a few mechanical upgrades, as well some extraneous blingy stuff to make it uniquely "Leppy." Look here:
What we have clockwise is a set of purple aluminum screws, a purple aluminum spool tension nut, a shiny new nose plate, a Ray's Studio 100mm carbon-fiber curved handle with custom-installed Abu Toro grips (No small feat to make this happen - it took me a few hours of trial fitting, filing, and adjusting to make it perfect), a 4.9:1 ratio set of Zillion Crazy Cranker gears to replace the mint factory 6.3:1 gears, a set of sexy purple handle-securing hardware and lastly, a purple mag changer securing screw. The HLC was already a fully ounce lighter than a standard Zillion - and these upgrades should bring it down to the 7oz level - pretty darn good for such a solid reel.
What is needed in this specific application is a compact low-profile bait caster, one that can "take it" when is comes to handling heavier bucktails and/or sinkered rigs. This is considerably more difficult to find than one would think.
After reviewing every new low-pro bait caster on the market, I could not find one that absolutely checked every box on my "must have" list. This one has a plastic side plate, that one doesn't offer an appropriately low gear ratio. On and on, with disqualifications of every current model. I was really considering pulling one of my round Abu customs out of semi-retirement. But then this reel happened.
Sometimes a deal comes forward that one cannot pass up. I am a BIG proponent of the last generation of the Daiwa Zillion bait casting series. Just super reels, from the aluminum frame and side plate, to the variety of gear ratios still available for swaps, to the overall construction and quality of components, they are just about as good as it gets in a palm-sized reel. They were never inexpensive, normally retailing in the $350-range for the more common versions; on up to $500+ for the more feature-laden and far more rare JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) Zillions.
I've been looking for one of two specific JDM versions, the Zillion 100H HLC and/or the Zillion 100H PE, for a VERY long time. Both were released to the Japanese market around 2008, and were available for a few seasons thereafter. Well, after years of religiously checking the various Japanese re-sellers of used tackle, as well as the Japanese and US-versions of Ebay, I FINALLY found an HLC in the condition I prefer, and for roughly the price I am crazy enough to pay. Right around $190 - which IMO is super fair. My new reel is truly mint - maybe one or two TINY flea bite-sized flaws in the finish. Believe me when I say this is like finding a freakin' needle in the proverbial haystack. Take a look:
I don't know what it is about those Japanese FW bass fishers, they must literally throw their tackle around in the boat, as I have never seen such a clean HLC - most look like the former owner took a rasp file to them. Horrible condition reels, offered for $300-$400 all day long. Maybe someone else would pay that for a beat-up looking reel, but that ain't me.
So let me speak to what makes this reel special. First, its a Zillion. that right there says something. This is no cheapie Tatula or whatever Tatula-like reel was in the Daiwa line-up back then. This is/was nearly top of the Daiwa line, and you can feel it the first time you turn the handle.
In the case of the HLC, they took the base Zillion (as though the word "base" applies to such a reel), and added ABEC-5-rated corrosion-resistant bearings throughout, used a Steez aluminum drive shaft (the Steez IS the top of Daiwa's casting reel line), a CR (corrosion resistant) bearing on the level wind worm, a specific "Hyper Long Cast" spool that spins when you breath on it - which is in GREAT demand on the FW Bass fishing websites - I can easily sell just this spool for the $190 I paid for the entire reel if I so choose (Can you believe that? How crazy are these FW bass fanatics? Nothing like you and me!
). Also, a very specific mag-cast braking system, a unique at the time carbon-fiber handle with cork knobs, weight-saving cut-outs atop the aluminum frame, and finally, factory purple highlights in several fairly subtle locations. Subtle? Hah, well I'm gonna fix that "flaw," THAT'S for sure!The HLC was a super hot seller for a low-production edition, but Daiwa never brought it to the US market. I guess they didn't think we enjoy using high-end stuff. They couldn't be more wrong - as the rarity of finding one in good condition attests. Anyone who owns a mint condition specimen hangs onto it.
What we're gonna do is to make it far more suitable for what I do - deep fluking with bucktails and B/S-Rigs carrying up to 10oz sinkers in deep water. To do this we will need a few mechanical upgrades, as well some extraneous blingy stuff to make it uniquely "Leppy." Look here:
What we have clockwise is a set of purple aluminum screws, a purple aluminum spool tension nut, a shiny new nose plate, a Ray's Studio 100mm carbon-fiber curved handle with custom-installed Abu Toro grips (No small feat to make this happen - it took me a few hours of trial fitting, filing, and adjusting to make it perfect), a 4.9:1 ratio set of Zillion Crazy Cranker gears to replace the mint factory 6.3:1 gears, a set of sexy purple handle-securing hardware and lastly, a purple mag changer securing screw. The HLC was already a fully ounce lighter than a standard Zillion - and these upgrades should bring it down to the 7oz level - pretty darn good for such a solid reel.
. Mag brake would not be functional afterwards,haha. Looks very sharp.
