Review: Daiwa M-ONE Mooching Reel.

In the “bang for your buck” category, there are few pieces of salmon fishing gear, if any, that come close to matching the Daiwa M-ONE Mooching Reel.

They are tough as nails, low to no maintenance required, and super easy to use. Reel handles are comfortable paddle style, and the big drag knob in the centre is easily accessible and maybe best of all, is not hyper sensitive. In other words, turning it 1/4 of an inch in either direction is not going to send it into free spool, or lock it up to help you lose a big fish. There is a handy, free spool switch tucked into the back of the reel which is almost impossible to trip accidentally, but right there when you want it. In short, it’s everything you want in a mooching reel.

You can spend ten times as much on a “prettier” salmon reel, but I can guarantee it won’t work ten times better or land you any more fish than the Daiwa. How do I know? In over three decades of guiding and personal fishing for salmon along the entire BC coast, I’ve used them all.

And of the 10 or so reels I currently have over my two boats, all but one are Daiwa M-ONE’s (the other was a gift. lol).  And over the years, they’ve landed hundreds if not thousands of salmon, many in the 30, 40 and 50 pounds plus range (not to mention the countless unexpected big ling cod and halibut) for everyone from complete beginners to expert anglers.

In a normal year, my two main reels each see a minimum of 100 days of use. I do nothing in terms of maintenance on them, and in the past 5 years, the only issues I’ve had were two broken reel handles.

If you can afford the flash and bling of the pricier reels, that’s cool too, but imo you should still have a Daiwa (or two) loaded up and stashed onboard as a backup. At the price point, its the best and cheapest insurance that you can buy in case your pretty reel gets sea sick one day.

Daiwa M-ONE reels in action.