Daiwa Tierra Series Spinning Reels

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Daiwa Tierra Series Spinning Reels

by Capt. Terry Rand


A smooth little freshwater/saltwater reel from Daiwa.....

Daiwa Tierra Series Spinning Reels

The Daiwa Tierra is a small profile spinning reel built for both freshwater and saltwater applications. The sizes range from a 1500 to a 4000 model, so they are somewhat restricted to inshore species in the saltwater realm. One of the few blue bodied spinning reels on the market, the Tierra is a handsome little reel with a rugged appearance. It has gained some recent popularity in both the bass tournament world and the redfish tournament arena.

First Impressions

For our reviewing purposes we chose the Tierra 4000, the largest of the Daiwa Tierra series. This is a small and attractive reel with a matte blue body and frame with brushed silver trimmings. But, don’t let the pretty paint job sway you. Even though it is light in weight due to its small aluminum body, it still feels quite rugged in your hands. Upon giving the reel handle a spin you are treated to a very well integrated gearing system that rotates effortlessly and feels rather silky, likely due to the eight ball bearings, two of which are corrosion resistant. 

The Tierra features a number of Daiwa’s most recent reel technologies like the Air Bail, an oversized bail wire that is actually a hollow bail wire that increases the bails durability as well as the overall size. It is a nice feature when you reach down and turn over the bail. It feels very solid and reliable in your hand and snaps over very easily with a quick turn of the reel handle. It also uses the Daiwa DigiGear technology, ensuring a perfect meshing of the gears. 

The Tierra also uses a washable sealed drag design that prevents moisture and debris from entering the drag washers.

The spool of the Tierra series is aluminum and each reel comes with an additional aluminum spool which is not common in reels of this price range. The 4000 size can hold over 200 yards of 14lb test monofilament making it great for inshore species such as seatrout, redfish and snook. Using braided line, this reel will accommodate plenty of 20-30lb braid and should be suitable for large specimens of snook and reds as well as small tunas, big stripers and bluefish.

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