Daiwa Tanacom 300J Electric Reels

The Tanacom S300J shrinks Daiwa's power-assist family down to a reel you can palm, and it erases the worst part of deep-water fishing, the long grind back up. The motor retrieves at over 600 feet per minute, and at 540 g (about 19 oz) the reel is light enough to fish hand-held all day instead of living in a rod holder. On our SoCal deep drops that means rockfish, reds, and lingcod without the sore arm the next morning; it covers snapper, grouper, and halibut duty just as well.

Power under your thumb

The compact BRITZ motor sits ahead of the spool, Daiwa's FF construction, keeping the profile low and comfortable in the hand, while the MAGMIGHT structure wrings maximum torque out of the small housing, so slow lifts under load stay smooth. Control runs through the JOG POWER LEVER: winding speed and clutch on/off under one thumb, so you feather the throttle and actually fight the fish the way you would on conventional gear, with your other hand on the rod.

Drag, gears, and the drop

The UTD drag puts out up to 28.7 lb (13 kg) and starts smooth, without the sticky initial hit that pops light leaders, while Infinite Anti-Reverse keeps the handle solid on the hookset. On the way down, the fall-brake dial sets drop speed across a 180° range. Slow the fall so a bait swims naturally or a mid-column squid gets a look, and you'll catch bites on the sink you'd never feel otherwise. Cranked by hand, the 5.1:1 gearing picks up 70 cm (27.5") per turn on 12 ball bearings plus a roller, through a 72.5 mm handle arm with an EVA round knob.

The electric brains

Built-in auto jigging runs one-, two-, or three-step lift patterns, or a random mix of them, at the press of the PICKUP button, with the JOG lever setting the working speed, so the reel jigs while you watch the rod tip. An adjustable auto-stop winds the rig up and halts it short of the surface, with approach beeps on the way; fixed-speed winding, a timer and chum timer, fukase (bite-alarm) mode, and a line-release assist round out the menu. And if load or temperature ever spikes, an overload-protection breaker pauses the motor before any damage is done.

A counter you can read

The large dot-LCD counter reads depth in feet or meters, in any of nine display languages, and its backlight stays lit whenever the reel is powered, legible against deck glare, gray-light mornings, and night drops alike.

Like every electric reel it wants a dedicated battery: it runs on DC 12-16.8V. Daiwa's Super Lithium or Tough Battery series is the recommended source, and it will not run on household AC or 24V boat power.

Key features

• BRITZ motor, MAGMIGHT + FF construction: 600+ ft/min retrieve from a low-profile, palmable body
• JOG POWER LEVER: winding speed and clutch under one thumb
• UTD drag: 28.7 lb (13 kg) max, smooth from initial engagement
• Auto jigging + adjustable auto-stop: 1/2/3-step and random patterns, hands-free
• Fall-brake dial: drop-speed control across a 180° range
• Dot-LCD counter: feet or meters, nine languages, always-on backlight
• 540 g (19 oz): hand-held comfort all day

Specifications