Fairy Wands: What’s The Difference

A Review of the Daiwa Tatula Elite Series Spinning Rods with the Pros that Designed Them

Call them “fairy wands”, if you must, but the facts are spinning rods and spinning rod techniques catch big bass and top pros rely on them to cash checks more than you think. Whether it is for finessing light baits on light line, tempting highly pressured fish, clear water dropshotting, chasing giant spots or a variety of other reasons, spinning rods are a part of a full arsenal for any angler.

But, a spinning rod is a spinning rod right? Wrong!

There are many differences that set spinning rods apart from one another. Here is a look at the new Daiwa Tatula Elite Series spinning rods and what they were designed for.

The new Daiwa Tatula Elite Series features six spinning rods that range from casting tiny lures to those capable of handling big bass in heavy cover on braided line. Each and every detail of the design of these rods was left up to that pro whose name is on the rod and in this article they share what the rods were built for.

AGS Series

If you look at the new Daiwa Tatula Elite rod selection, you will notice two different versions, the standard rods and the AGS (Air Guide System) lineup. The AGS rods offer a big difference in the guides used. The AGS rods use carbon fiber guides that are 20-40 percent lighter than standard guides. There are three rods in each lineup and each was built with a specific purpose.

Brent Ehrler’s 7’ Medium Spinning Rod

Ehrler prefers a rod with a little more backbone when he is finesse fishing. He feels that to get the best hookset, a medium is the way to go.

“Some people really like the medium light, but for me, I think you get a much better chance of landing the fish with a medium and I just feel that I land more fish with it,” he says and adds that the action also makes the rod more versatile. “You can drop-shot with it, throw a shaky head or Neko rig all with the same rod.”

Cody Meyer’s 7’4” Medium Spinning Rod

This rod is the perfect tube rod, according to Meyer. It offers the right length to be able to cast a tube a long way and the action is light enough to detect bites but has enough backbone to drive an exposed hook.

“The rod is also great for fishing a wacky-rig and this is the rod I used to catch my 10.80lb spotted bass with that technique earlier this year,” he says.

Seth Feider’s 7’6” Medium-Light Spinning Rod

The rod designed by Feider was built with light baits in mind.

“It is a pretty specific rod and is for casting lightweight baits like a marabou jig, but will really cast anything that is very light,” he says. His signature series Outkast Tackle Feider Fly weighs just 3/32 oz. and is a challenge to cast on standard gear. “Casting distance is key for fishing these jigs and the length of this rod is needed to get it out there. Most rods that are 7’6” are really whippy and hard to cast, but this one has a nice crisp action with a fast tip,” says Feider.

Read Related: Reaction Bait Rod Selection with Cody Meyer

Standard Tatula Elite rods:

Cody Meyer’s 7’ Medium-Light Spinning Rod

As opposed to Ehrler’s choice of a medium for drop-shot fishing, Meyer prefers a medium-light.

“The rod is the right length and perfectly balanced and also very comfortable to fish with. It also has a great weight keeper, which is a must for drop-shot fishing,” he says.

Randy Howell’s 7’1 Medium-Heavy Spinning Rod

This rod is a Power Spin model and was designed to fish heavier cover where a spinning rod is necessary. Howell based it on a high-end Daiwa Steez model and made it slightly longer to get a better tip action.

“I use this most rod for fishing Yamamoto Senkos with braided line. There are times when you need a spinning rod to cast weightless lures but need to fish them in heavy grass. This rod gives you the power you need when fishing thick cover,” he says. Besides fishing Senkos in grass, he also uses it for skipping docks and says even though it is a medium heavy; it can still be used for finesse fishing. “It has a great soft tip and makes a great shaky head rod,” he says.

Randy Howell’s 7’3 Medium Spinning Rod

Like his other signature rod, Howell based this version of one of his all-time favorites and improved on it. He referenced a Daiwa Fuego from nearly a decade ago that he found to be the perfect drop-shot rod.

“That rod has a really soft tip but has a good backbone. It is perfect for both casting and dropping straight down with a drop-shot,” he began and said he also finds it to be the right feel for several other finesse techniques. “I also use it for small underspins and spybaits. It has a shorter handle that allows you to get better casting accuracy, but you can still get a good two-handed cast with it.”

When it comes to spinning rods, there are a variety of options available from something that will cast a light hair jig to a Senko on heavy braid. Knowing your spinning rods and having the right tool for the job can make sure you can have everything you need to land a giant on a fairy wand.

More on the Daiwa Elite Series Rods: Technique Specific Designs by Ish Monroe, Brent Erhler and More