“The FUEGO just gets the job done,” said Tom Neustrom, Minnesota’s National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Famer and fishing guide. “Day-in, day-out, it’s a reel I can trust to fish walleyes, bass, pike, whatever — as well as my clients — because it’s smooth, provides great drag performance, and stands up to real-world fishing. It should cost a whole lot more, I’ll tell you that.”
Looking at the new Daiwa FUEGO — compared to the existing FUEGO LT generation — the design changes are significant.
“First, we went to a true ZAION V carbon-fiber body, not a nylon-based plastic that you see in other manufacturers’ reels at this price,” said Marc Mills, Daiwa senior marketing manager. “The new FUEGO stands alone in the marketplace at this price. You get some weight reduction because of this material design change. We also went to an Airdrive rotor that reduces weight, too, and incorporated a solid Airdrive bail versus a tubular design. The reason for that is the metal we’re using is very strong, rigid, and doesn’t bend — yet, it’s thinner and lighter. Our goal was to reduce the weight of the rotation, which decreases the weight of the reel as well. It also makes it easier to turn the handle. We’re making the performance better and better with each generation of FUEGO.
“The other big deal with the FUEGO redesign is we added true 5000- and 6000-size reels, which allows us to step into the inshore market, especially with northeast anglers chasing striped bass.”
Daiwa FUEGO Features
• New ZAION V body (3-5 percent lighter than current model)
• New Airdrive rotor
• New Solid Airdrive bail
• New 5000 and 6000 sizes for saltwater
• Magsealed
• Tough Digigear
• Machined aluminum screw-in handle
• Ball bearing-supported Advanced Tournament Drag
• Gear ratios between 5.2:1 and 6.2:1 for effectively playing fish
• Line per turn: 25.5 inches (1000 size) to 36.2 inches (6000 size)
MSRP: $109.99-$129.99
