Product Review: Tsunami Evict Spinning Reel
Background: Tsunami Evict Spinning Reels are the new go-to spinning reel! Tsunami Tackle has outfitted these reels with a stainless steel main gear, stainless steel pinion, and a sealed stainless steel main shaft. Pair this with a CF3 carbon fiber drag system, and you can use the Evict like a winch to get those big fish off the bottom. The Evict features an aluminum body, graphite rotor, aluminum braid ready spool, and a great aluminum ball handle. There is an EVA paddle knob included in the box on the smaller models if you want to swap it out. Aside from all the stainless steel components, the Evict has eight sealed stainless steel ball bearings making the reel smooth and increasing corrosion resistance. When you put all of these things together, there is not another spinning reel on the market that does what this one can in the price range. From topwater fishing to live bait fishing, the Evict casts great and keeps performing day after day. If you want a spinning reel with upgraded internals but don't want to break the bank, add a Tsunami Evict Spinning Reel to your arsenal!
Why I Fish It: Tsunami continues to impress with their new lines of spinning reels. We have had trouble keeping the Shield in stock with so many anglers coming in to get one, and we have yet to have one come back. People have raved to us about the reels' ability to hold up over time while their other reels break down. However, there was still a slight gap in weight and smoothness when comparing the Shield to the top Shimano, Penn, and Daiwa lines, which is to be expected when only paying $99.99 for a reel.
What makes the Evict so different is that although it comes in starting at $139.99, right out of the box, you can turn the handle and tell that this reel was built to compete with the top $200-$300 reels out there on the market. Crank it a few times, and you will immediately notice how smooth it is, free of any gear resistance. Better yet, Tsunami designs their reels to stay smooth over the fishing seasons by sealing key areas of the reel. The Evict does not feature quite as many seals as the Shield, but it does have them in key areas found throughout the reel body, meaning those 8 ball bearings you depend upon in the heat of battle won't be seizing up on you because saltwater leaked into them last season.
The materials that make up the Evict are almost entirely stainless steel, which you don't find in reels too often these days. The use of stainless steel throughout the gears, shaft, etc allows you to apply more pressure on fish with this reel than you would be able to otherwise, as stainless steel is the hardest metal used on gears. When combined with the 3-stack carbon fiber drag system and power handle, you'll be amazed by the cranking power this reel can provide!
How I Fish It: I recently took a trip down to the Everglades to break in my new Evict 5000 on the toughest fish I could think of- the tarpon. I spooled my reel up with 30lb braid and kept a 4000 Evict with 20lb braid at the ready in case any snook or reds decided to slide by during our pursuit of rolling tarpon. Over 2 days of fishing we jumped over 20 tarpon on plugs and soft baits, with fish ranging in size from 50lbs to 120lbs. Through it all, my Evict never skipped a beat. The drag was smooth throughout and my arm didn't ever get worn down from throwing lures at rolling tarpon all day long. Even the power handle, which I was originally not a fan of, more than proved its mettle after helping me through some lengthy battles with the silver king. Now I can't wait to get back up to NC to try this reel out on some winter surf reds!
Features: - Aluminum body
- Fully machined aluminum spool w/ braid ready spool band
- Graphite rotor w/ aluminum bailwire
- Stainless steel drive and pinion gear
- Stainless steel sealed main shaft
- 7 sealed bearings plus 1 anti-reverse bearing
- EVA paddle knob included in box (2000-4000)
- Machined aluminum handle arm and power knob
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