Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

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Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by trevor60 » Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:02 am

Good Afternoon

I am looking to purchase one of these reels. Would you mind sharing your ,opinions, They both come up occasionally for sale.
is the 36mm vs 34mm spool size a deal breaker for the 50th
I plan to put it into my rotation and use often

Any other pro's con's

Much appreciated
Trevor

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by toddmc » Mon Jun 18, 2018 2:21 pm

What will you be using it for? The main difference is the spools. The 50th spool is much heavier and suited for heavier lines and lures?

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by trevor60 » Mon Jun 18, 2018 5:10 pm

Reels would be for horizontal fishing... cranks, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, top water, swimjigs, and frogs. weight will range from mid to heavy 3/8's to 1ounch primarily 3/8 to 5/8.
Line = braid
Rod = 7'+

Thanks
Trevor

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by iabass8 » Mon Jun 18, 2018 5:14 pm

Unless you're nostalgic, get an SV103. There's countless spool options available for them. You can use 34mm spools in the 50th but you need some machined spacers for the gap.

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by njbasscat » Tue Jun 19, 2018 7:07 am

I have both. If your keeping them stock, than I would go with the SV103. If you can find a TDZ 100M spool to put in the 50th, that would make the choice harder.

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by LgMouthGambler » Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:44 am

SV103 is gonna have a more stout drag, otherwise both will suite you just fine for those applications. You may want to buy a deeper spool for the SV if you go that route for use with thicker diameter lines.
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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by Cal » Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:57 am

If you're open to the idea of the old 50th Anniversary Zillion, why not go on the hunt for a JDream?

Daiwa "created" the SV103 after the Zillion TWS debacle and it's always felt like an afterthought to me. If you want the pinnacle in that Zillion platform, the JDream is it.
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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by BigG » Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:14 am

Cal wrote:If you're open to the idea of the old 50th Anniversary Zillion, why not go on the hunt for a JDream?

Daiwa "created" the SV103 after the Zillion TWS debacle and it's always felt like an afterthought to me. If you want the pinnacle in that Zillion platform, the JDream is it.
Yes Sir, I've had most of the OG Zillions and JDream is the cream of the crop, with the HCL close behind.

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by Tokugawa » Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:53 am

Agreed. Of the OG Zillions, it would be jdream/IP, JDM 50th, USDM 50th, HLC and then the standard Zillions.

I have an SV103 on a 777 Record Breaker and it is great for pitching and flipping and applications that don't require ultra long casts.

You can also get a PE spool for the OG Zillion platform for braid use.

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by toddmc » Thu Jun 21, 2018 9:43 am

trevor60 wrote:Reels would be for horizontal fishing... cranks, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, top water, swimjigs, and frogs. weight will range from mid to heavy 3/8's to 1ounch primarily 3/8 to 5/8.
Line = braid
Rod = 7'+

Thanks
Trevor
You had better have several ratios for all of those different baits! All of these are maxed out on the bearing count. Whatever you buy, I would make sure that you have bearings in handle and level wind.
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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by trevor60 » Thu Jun 21, 2018 2:56 pm

Thank you everyone for your feed back I am not nostalgic on the 50th looking for quality reel(s) :D will consider the Jdream
Trevor

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by Big-Bass » Fri Jun 22, 2018 7:46 pm

Cal wrote:If you're open to the idea of the old 50th Anniversary Zillion, why not go on the hunt for a JDream?

Daiwa "created" the SV103 after the Zillion TWS debacle and it's always felt like an afterthought to me. If you want the pinnacle in that Zillion platform, the JDream is it.
Cal,

I have a J-Dream 7.9, Zillion 50th, and 10 SV103 reels (5 in each ratio). Why do you consider them an afterthought? I view them as one of Daiwa's best and most versatile reels...best of both the TD-Z and spool options and the OG Zillion for toughness. Thanks and best wishes on the water.

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by toddmc » Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:56 pm

The pinnacle of the platform must have all of the top features. The bearing count and the lack of a clicking CCC make the SV103 less desirable to some. I agree that the SV103 has the best all around spool. You can add the other features to most any reel, but you can't make up for a lack of spool options. Add bearings to the handle knobs and the level wind, and the SV103 becomes the king, if you like the aesthetics.

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by trevor60 » Mon Jun 24, 2019 5:23 am

It has been a year so here is a quick update.

I was able to source both the J Dream 6.3 and the SV103 6.3 from ebay.

I have had a ¾ of a season with the sv103 and 6hrs with the J dream.

There is a notable difference between these two reels the J Dream feels smoother and casts noticeable further.

I am a lipless crankbait junkie all my reels start out on this platform (searching for the one) and move to other techniques. The sv103 lasted ½ a season and I switched back to my Lew’s team PRO Z.

The impressions I have is sv103 spool / braking combination isn’t quite there. In an effort to get the distance I achieved with the PRO Z the brakes were near off, which increased the number of overruns.

I flushed and re-lubed the bearing of the sv103 there was no notable difference in performance

The J dream is something entirely different. Once I got dialed in it easily outcast all previous combinations, and it took a real effort on my part to get the reel to backlash.

The J dream’s retrieve feels more connected then the sv103.

The drag system has only been tested on the SV103 and it works well there is no jerkiness when a fish goes on a run. The J dream drag has not been tested on any sizable fish.

The J dream is my new lipless crankbait setup

Sv103 is now on my chatterbait, squarebill rod

Lew’s Pro Z is on my jerkbait combo

Thanks to everyone for their input and recommending the J dream.

Trevor

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Re: Daiwa SV103 or 50th Anniversary opinions

Post by Aquaftm45 » Mon Jun 24, 2019 7:47 am

trevor60 wrote:
Mon Jun 24, 2019 5:23 am
It has been a year so here is a quick update.
I was able to source both the J Dream 6.3 and the SV103 6.3 from ebay.
I have had a ¾ of a season with the sv103 and 6hrs with the J dream.
There is a notable difference between these two reels the J Dream feels smoother and casts noticeable further.
I am a lipless crankbait junkie all my reels start out on this platform (searching for the one) and move to other techniques. The sv103 lasted ½ a season and I switched back to my Lew’s team PRO Z.
The impressions I have is sv103 spool / braking combination isn’t quite there. In an effort to get the distance I achieved with the PRO Z the brakes were near off, which increased the number of overruns.
I flushed and re-lubed the bearing of the sv103 there was no notable difference in performance
The J dream is something entirely different. Once I got dialed in it easily outcast all previous combinations, and it took a real effort on my part to get the reel to backlash.
The J dream’s retrieve feels more connected then the sv103.
The drag system has only been tested on the SV103 and it works well there is no jerkiness when a fish goes on a run. The J dream drag has not been tested on any sizable fish.
The J dream is my new lipless crankbait setup
Sv103 is now on my chatterbait, squarebill rod
Lew’s Pro Z is on my jerkbait combo
Thanks to everyone for their input and recommending the J dream.
Trevor
As I was reading down this post (thinking it was new) I was going to recommend the MB IP Series over the J.Dream as the pinnacle. Anyhoo...

It is really hard to beat a 36MM Daiwa spool for pure distance. I too am a lipless junkie (Jackall TN Series only). If you want to step it up another notch, get a HLC spool for that J.Dream. It is a great spool even for a 10 gram lipless, but will all but empty the spool with a 14 or 18 gram lipless. (TN60/TN70)

Thanks for posting a backend analysis of your purchases, would like to see more of these.

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