STEEZ AIR TW 500H for Pond Fishing

Updated: Dec 22, 2021

Steez. The name itself gives you a feeling that you’re holding something special in your hand. I had the opportunity to try the Steez Air TW out on my local ponds. My first impression was, “Wow! Interesting.” I was able to cast out a LC 0.3 size crankbait (1/10oz or 3.0g) a lot farther than I thought it would go. And, after a few casts, I was impressed by the smoothness of each cast and the retrieve. In addition, the accuracy of each cast was on point. My lure wasn’t just flying far, it was flying far with less effort and minimal thumbing on the spool. I can honestly say that the Steez Air TW performs as advertised.

To put my thoughts about this reel in context, lately, my “go-to” reel for pond fishing has been the Daiwa Alphas SV 105 that I bought used on eBay. While I was satisfied with its overall performance for throwing small crankbaits, I ended up modifying it to maximize my casts (SDS Customs BFS titanium spool + hybrid micro-ceramic spool bearings). With the mods, the Alphas SV is able to cast very small crankbaits just as far as the Steez Air TW; however, more effort (larger motion casts) and user skill (spool thumbing) is necessary. The only way I can describe the sensation of using the Steez Air TW is that it felt somewhat similar to the memory I have of when I used a Team Daiwa TD-Z for the first time. It's that “all you need is a flick of your wrist” kind of feeling BUT with the Steez Air TW you have better control AND the ability to cast very very light baits. For pond fishing the Steez Air TW might be the best choice...depending on your budget. The best way to illustrate this, is that I recently bought a JDM Shimano SLX BFS for my son. Below are my thoughts when comparing it to the Steez Air TW:

Both are very good looking reels that are very comfortable to palm.
Both can cast very light baits to similar distances, but it's easier with the Steez Air TW.
SLX BFS has that "exciting sound" drag feature--I must say that it adds to the fun when catching feisty pond fish.
The drag for the Steez Air TW is silky smooth--probably the best I've experienced. I landed a 4 lbs+ bass and during the fight, the drag saved me twice when the large fish made sudden surges near the shore.
SLX BFS price is very reasonable; the Steez Air is crazy expensive.
Overall performance, Steez is better.

All in all, the Steez Air TW lives up to its "Style with Ease" motto. The engineers and designers at Daiwa focused on a particular style of fishing and maximized the feeling of effortless casts and the ultimate BFS user experience with this reel. Therefore, if you are truly passionate about chasing pond fish (bluegills and 1-3lbs bass) and the majority of your fishing consists of making short to mid-range precision casts with very light baits, then the Steez Air TW is definitely worth it. However, if casting light baits is just a small part of your fishing style, or if you are interested in getting into BFS, then a solid BFS tuned reel such as the Shimano SLX BFS will get the job done just fine. In closing, here are some of my thoughts on line selection for the Steez Air TW.

Pros (positives) and Cons (negatives) for Each Type of Line:

Fluorocarbon

Pro: Casts the farthest (when the line is "fresh").
Pro: Low stretch and good sensitivity.
Pro: Great when fishing "gin-clear" waters.
Con: If you use a line that is thinner in diameter than what is recommended by Daiwa, the coils in the line will sometimes get wrapped in between the spool and the frame when you backlash.
Con: Even with high quality soft fluoro, (I used SeaGuar Tatsu) due to the small spool diameter, line memory/coiling eventually occurs and will diminish casting performance.
Con: Line breakage sometimes occurs within the spool after a bad backlash. My guess is that the coils of the line slapping against the reel frame creates kinks in light lines and leads to breakage. It's scary and unsettling when this happens because it seems so random and it occurs at the worst times.
Con: Sinks--makes it hard to use top water lures. (Ponds I fish are usually not that deep so the advantage of using sinking line is minimal.)
Con: Cost. Sooo $$$

Mono/Copolymer

Pro: Low cost. You can buy good quality lines in bulk at a reasonable price and respool whenever performance starts to diminish.
Con: If you use a line that is thinner in diameter than what is recommended by Daiwa, the coils in line will sometimes get wrapped in between the spool and the frame when you backlash.
Con: Line memory. With mono, I actually like a little line memory. In my opinion, once the line gets "settled in" on the spool, a little bit of line memory helps make smooth casts and minimizes backlash. However, eventually the line takes on too much memory and the tighter and permanent coils become problematic. Line conditioner sprays like Line and Lure help, but only for a while.
Con: Line stretch. I use ultra light rods, so it's harder to get a good hook set with stretchy lines.

Braid/PE

Pro: Very low line memory. Works consistently well even with the small spool diameter of the Steez Air TW.
Pro: Zero/very low line stretch. Even with a soft tipped ultra light rod, you can confidently set the hook using braid.
Pro: Sensitivity. You can easily feel how your lure is moving and what it's hitting--even with tiny lures--using braid/PE.
Pro: Line color does eventual fade, but braid/PE seems to last forever with minimal decrease in performance.
Pro: Cost. It's reasonable for the amount of usage you get per spool. You can even "flip" the line onto another reel and double your line usage.
Con: Braid/PE floats but mono performs best with top water lures.
Con: Line visibility. Although most ponds have poor water clarity, certain times of the year the water can get clear and line visibility can become an issue depending on the type of lure you are using.

Note: I use braid/PE 90% of the time for pond fishing. And, in general I don't like to use leaders, but I sometimes do when I have to. In my opinion, more knots = more potential problems, especially when using light lines.