Diawa Ryoga Info

[jrobbe18]

In the market for a diawa ryoga wondering if they are worth buying a used one, any experiences, problems etc. 

[Obtuse_Angler]

I have liked the SLP Works I have had for the last couple years. Still seem svery smooth and durable. 

[chevro1et]

There was a thread around where a few guys that owned them didn't feel like they were worth the price tag due to an issue with the side plate being sloppy and some plastic clips that  should have been metal for the class of reel that it is.

[lmv_bassfishing]

I have an SLP Works as well and easily 1 of the smoothest reels I own, highly recommend

[El_Weruso]

@chevro1et mentioned one issue which is replacing a plastic piece (that should of been metal) to make it more applicable for swimbaits. Besides that, the reel is excellent in my opinion. I've got some bass on it and even caught barracuda on it with surface irons lol

Edited May 18, 2023 by El_Weruso

[riverrat_84]

I might be the odd one on this but want to throw it out there as it may be something to consider too.

I have one and it is great. Smooth like everyone says. But I don’t like the overall size of it for swimbaiting since it feels small in my hands (not really large/wide hands, but long and skinny) and doesn’t feel comfortable on a larger swimbait rod.

So it is just used for the occasional conventional fishing (I know don’t come at me please lol)

[Jackon Gill]

I agree with the user above, my only drawback is it’s the size of a 200 conquest pretty much. It has a smaller spool than the tatula 200 even. Really cool reel but I think there needed to be a larger ryoga that is a size between the 1520 and the shrapnel 

[lux036]

I have 4 (Ryoga/Pluton) of the fresh water models. They're all great. Have performed wonderfully for what I need them for. I haven't had any issues with the 18 Ryoga either. I bought all of these 2nd hand, and have had zero issues. They're rock solid and work well for me, as I do have smaller hands, even the Shrapnel.

Here's what I've noticed with the line setup I have currently on them. 

I have 25lbs fluro on both my Ryoga 2020HL and Pluton 200HL, on a long cast it goes down to about 1/2 the spool. I have 20lbs fluro on my Ryoga 1520HL, goes down maybe 1/4 on a long cast. I have 25lbs fluro on my Shrapnel, goes down about 1/4, maybe 1/3 on a long cast.

I think if you can find one for a very good price sub $300, I would say do it and buy one.

[chefchris]

I loved mine except for the horrible casting distance they all seemed to have

throwing 40/50 lb braid on em 

I’ve owned the silver plutons and black ryogas (standard and the slp versions) alL super smooth and zero issues 

but the casting distance was awful (in my findings) tried different rods/lure weights etc and all not great 

buddy has a couple and he has the same results and prefers his lunas over his ryogas 

[lux036]

6 minutes ago, chefchris said:

I loved mine except for the horrible casting distance they all seemed to have

throwing 40/50 lb braid on em 

I’ve owned the silver plutons and black ryogas (standard and the slp versions) alL super smooth and zero issues 

but the casting distance was awful (in my findings) tried different rods/lure weights etc and all not great 

buddy has a couple and he has the same results and prefers his lunas over his ryogas 

I actually felt that too. But I found switching over to ceramic bearings made a huge difference. I have some in my pluton to compare to my stock ryoga. The pluton feels effortless when casting and visually casts farther. I would be putting ceramics in all my ryogas soon. I didn't think it would make such a difference, but it did for me. 

[Jon P]

I got a 1520 this spring and I've been loving it. I put an HLC spool in mine for added casting distance and will be swapping the bearings next. Only complaint is that the brakes don't do much, either they're turned off or they're set too high. Meanwhile the spool tension is a pain to actually move and is just as awkward to adjust. I can get some pretty bomber casts on 35lb braid to 18 lb shock leader but it seems like it could have been an insanely good reel for just a little more engineering. Next up I want to try a Pluton, Black Sheep, or one of the Abu Morrum series reels. Should also be clear about the fact I'm using this as a magnum crankbait - crankdown swimbait reel and prioritizing casting distance. If I were running this as a short casting reel it's small faults would be largely negligible.

[BrettRay81]

Own one silver 1016H, 1 SLP Ryoga 1016H, 1 2018 1016CC, and 1 2018 1016H. All were bought used except the SLP. By far the smoothest reels I’ve ever felt. You can feel absolutely zero tooth meshing and far and away smoother than the new Zillion HD I just bought. I don’t see how a reel could get any better than the 2018 Ryoga except I hope they come out with a 300 and 400 size updated Ryoga and keep the micro mesh gears instead of the digigear.