My favorite reel Meet the Daiwa Pixzilla silver and blue

[Dug]

I got this reel in Feb of this year, and have done some upgrades and modifcations.
Changed out stock drag with smooth drag  carbonex washers
changed out stock bearings for boca bearings Orange Seal Ceramic Abec 7 bearings
Changed out stock handle for Daiwa HTSA  Swept handle
Changed out Stock Knobs for Daiwa Ito cork knobs
Changed out Stock spool for Ito CP305 spool

cost ----- Way too much   ......
Fishing with it, priceless.........  I love this reel...  I just did a new paint job on it to match my custom avid rod.   And I just wanted to show it off.





dug

[islandbass]

Dug,

What a combo!!! I'll take one with fries and a shake.

Can a copy the picture for my desktop background? 

Beautiful. When I get my pixy, I'm going to call her Pixylette. She'll get the Pixilla innards though.

[fishinwithfranklin]

Looks great!!! and i really like the cork knobs.

[Bassinkorea]

Looks like a very nice reel Dug.

So, after all of those modifications, what differences do you see or feel.
And if you don't mind answering, how much did that little baby cost you, including buying the reel and all the mods?? was it worth the cost??

[Dug]

Looks like a very nice reel Dug.

So, after all of those modifications, what differences do you see or feel.
And if you don't mind answering, how much did that little baby cost you, including buying the reel and all the mods?? was it worth the cost??

      With all the mods, around $670  unmodded 270.00, cheapest mod the cork knobs.  most expensive the zpi Spool.  The best mod the Orange Seal Bearings, I can spin the spool with a flick of the thumb for a good minute or more, and it casts so beautifully.  I like the longer swept handle, it just feels more side to side balanced.. the Cork handles are very comfortable, but very recently Daiwa stopped making them...  The drag improvement is noticable with the carbonex change out.  Pixys aren't a great drag out of the box, so the upgrade is a vast improvement.   

Considering it's the 1 reel I always have with me, and fish the most, then yes it was worth it.   

      Had I done the bearing change out first, I probably wouldn't have bought the rare cp305 spool.  I put the orange seal bearings on the OEM spool and it performs better than the ZPI spool.  (didn't put orange seals on the ZPI spool as I didn't order the right size)  With this reel I can cast 1/16th oz lures a fair bit, and it's just fun to fish, that and it weights less than 6 ozs.

Dug

[Bassinkorea]

Thanks for sharing that info with us Dug.

Holy cow, $670    I would love to do something like this to a reel, but with that and the shipping costs to Korea, I would need to re-morgage my house to do it 

What % further do you think you can cast the 1/16thoz bait after you made the mods.

Like you, I fish from the bank quite a lot, so even the slightest extra distance on a cast makes a huge difference.

[Dug]

Thanks for sharing that info with us Dug.

Holy cow, $670    I would love to do something like this to a reel, but with that and the shipping costs to Korea, I would need to re-morgage my house to do it 

What % further do you think you can cast the 1/16thoz bait after you made the mods.

Like you, I fish from the bank quite a lot, so even the slightest extra distance on a cast makes a huge difference.

hey keep in mind, initial layout for the reel was 270.00  and it's a great reel out of the box...... and I bought a peice here and there for the final reel.
by just adding the 3 abec 7 ceramic bearings for just the spool bearing replacement and for another 50 bucks and for 320.00 total.   you have a casting monster.    I would have to actually go out and measure it, but I believe I doubled my distance.   The other mods where drag and bling... 

Don't tell my wife!!  :-)

Doug

[Bassinkorea]

Double distance.....now that's what I'm talking about. I will have to think about doing something like this. Thanks again for the info Dug.

[Dug]

The spool bearing is the hardest to swap out, you run a chance of damaging the spool if your not careful, but it's not very difficult.  Take your best light lure reel, and convert those 3 bearings... the side plates and the spool bearings, and it will increase your distance, but  practice practice practice, because this thing can really take off and cause a big overrun.  Adjustments are more critical.  I like the daiwas for this because of their free spool setups and brakes.   the models that best
benefit from a bearing upgrade and can launch lite lures are:

Daiwa Pixy
Daiwa Presso
Daiwa Alpha R
Daiwa Sol
Basspro Prolite
Shimano core

I know I am missing a few, but they are out there and you can find good deals on some of them sometimes.  The key is a light rod so you get some spine but some flex, enough to cast the light lure.

Dug
 

[Bassinkorea]

Looks like I will be shopping again soon