Cast Izm Review By Willis Luttrell

Fishing- Born and bred in coastal Taranaki, Casting from the shore has been a passion of mine for a big part of my life. Having grown up with a nice boat in the shed, even still, nothing in my eyes beats a good fish off the land. 

Taranaki has a rough and rugged coast and is a very challenging, yet rewarding, place to cast from shore. It’s a harsh environment and demands the most from your gear. In Taranaki we don’t have many deep drop-offs, so the need of a long surfcasting style rod is key. The terrain ranges from volcanic boulders with famous surf breaks, to long sandy beaches, bays, and stream mouths.  

From Fishing off the beach to fishing off big boulders, gaining distance is a big part of the challenge in Taranaki. When I had the chance to fish with the new Daiwa Cast IZM rod, I was excited to say the least. I’ve been lucky enough to fish with many high-end rods over the years and having the chance to thrash a new one got the blood pumping. 

The glossy burnt orange colour is immediately eye catching. The rod has a slim and yet very sleek looking design which looks almost too pretty to use. Don’t let the cosmetics fool you though, after a few sessions fishing its raw power and robustness shine through. I have slipped, tripped, and fallen with this rod over countless rocks and the well-known Daiwa quality of build stands out. This rod seems almost indestructible and comes out with hardly a scratch. The durability of this rod truly blew me away as my 2 Cast IZMs have almost a year of abuse and look brand new.  

One eye catching feature is the sleek designed reel seat. This is a choice feature that will never fill with sand or loosen on you ever again. The Fuji K guides are super slick on the eye and the line flys through them super smooth. This have always been something that gets compromised when jumping around rocks and kelpy areas. Not these, mine are still in great condition after multiple slips and falls.   

The Cast IZM Hybrid tip is primo when it comes to bite detection, especially when the fish are shy on the bite. While either wading back in waist deep water, or at your feet in around rocky weedy spots, you can expect a hooked fish to do a quick power run or head shake. This hybrid tip absorbed the sudden bursts of power without pulling hooks or breaking bite leader. During the fight, the hybrid tips folds away and the combination of the power of the mid-section makes playing a fish a breeze and not feeling like you’re at work. 

The Sensor Surf ScW reel is a great match for CAST IZM rod, I have mine spooled with various sizes of the Daiwa ShoreCast monofilament line and performs well in the Taranaki waters. Overall, the Daiwa CAST IZM Rod performs exceptionally and gets a 5 star review from me.