Review: Daiwa Gekkabjin Air 2003 Reel

Say hello to Daiwa’s latest finesse offering in it’s light tackle spin reels. The Gekkabijin Air 2003 is a specifically designed lightweight reel with finesse fishing at its core.

FEATURES

INTRODUCTION/IMPRESSIONS

First impressions after picking up this reel for the first time was “light, light, light!”. Having not owned a Exist or luvias in the past I was unsure what a sub 180g reel was going to be like, and I was suitably impressed with what I felt. Along with its lightweight pedigree the looks of the gekka air was what also got me very excited, the charcoal and red colour scheme oozes sexiness and the slot less spool adds to its unique look.

SPOOL AND DRAG

Sporting the Daiwa 2003 size shallow spool the Gekka Air holds plenty of light line for the light tackle estuary and freshwater species that it is designed for. The Gekka is a specialist reel and only comes in the one 2003 size spool.
Daiwa’s ATD (Automatic tournament drag) is imbedded in the spool and is as reliable as ever having seen years of use in nearly all of the other high end Daiwa spin reels. Proof that the design of the drag is second to none. Smooth drags are important if you going to be running lightweight braids for finesse species.

PRICE & APPLICATION

The Gekkabijin Air 2003 sits in the top half of the Daiwa range and is generally aimed at the serious angler. A price tag of around $400AUS makes it well within reach of enthusiast anglers looking for that lightweight reel to match a shorter or lightweight rod.
The reel is essentially designed for lightweight lines from 6lb and under, but saying that, I have been running some super thin 13lb Morethan 12 braid on mine and I absolutely love it.

CONSTRUCTION & DURABILITY

I might sound like a bit of a broken record in this regard, but I can never get over how well made and finished the Daiwa products are, it doesn’t matter from which Daiwa factory it is, the quality is always second to none. The Gekkabijin Air comes from Daiwa’s Chinese factory.
Ive been using my Gekka Air for quite a while now, and as you can imagine my reels get quite a bit of use compared to peoples normal gear. Its been used mainly for saltwater applications, boat and kayak and it is still working as perfectly as I could have hoped for. The finish has also stayed looking great.

CONCLUSION

If you are after a lightweight finesse reel with shallow spool that wont break the bank, then check out the Gekka Air. It truly is value for money and will stand up all your finesse fishing demands and look great while doing it.

WHERE TO BUY

The Gekkabijin Air 2003 can be purchased from most good tackle stores. A list of Daiwa stockists can be found here.