TiCA Talisman G800052 Spin Reel Review

I believe the TiCA Talisman should be heralded as the flagship reel for the brand.

Over the last few months I have had the TiCA Talisman G800052 with me on two offshore excursions and thoroughly enjoyed using it – predominantly as a casting reel, coupled with the Kilwell Snake Skin LFSSGT heavy-duty casting rod and, to a lesser extent, with a Heavy Metal jig rod.

The Talisman has been getting some good raps on various international fishing websites too, and noted Whakatane skipper Rick Pollock, of Pursuit fame, has had one on board for some time and speaks highly of it.

The TiCA Talisman is predominantly designed for casting poppers and stick-baits; ‘locally’ this means targeting kingfish, while in the tropics it’s yellowfin tuna and various reef species, including giant trevally, dogtooth tuna and coral trout.

I had it set up on a jig rod in New Caledonia, but when one of the other angler’s reels failed, it was brought into service for casting lures. Subsequently, the reel helped land several species, including red bass and giant trevally.

Over the course of two trips it performed faultlessly with lines, leaders and lures giving up the ghost before the reel even looked like flinching.

At the heart of the reel is a multi-disc drag system that can generate 30kg-plus of pressure – more than most anglers can handle, other than in short bursts!

Everything about the Talisman’s construction says ‘heavy-duty’. It is constructed using 14 rust-resistant bearings and one roller bearing. The stainless steel main gear is machine cut and the stainless main shaft is hardened, with the worm drive also manufactured from stainless steel. The body and rotor are aluminium, and the spool is forged alloy to prevent distortion when under extreme pressure. The rotor is computer balanced, with an anti-twist feature for ease of use, and a heavy-duty line roller and manual bail-trip.

On extended trips it is not always easy to clean tackle as well as you would on land. However, the Talisman has a sealed waterproof body and drag to reduce the chance of any malfunction, even in the most extreme conditions.

The gear ratio is 4.3:1, making it ideal for mechanical jigging and working stick-baits and poppers, without compromising its fish-fighting ability. Line capacity is 300 metres of 37kg SureCatch braid, leaving room for the trace material, which in this instance was a metre or so of Varivas 130lb shock leader.

The Kilwell Live Fibre Snake Skin popper rod is one of the premium range of sticks handcrafted by Kilwell at its Rotorua factory. The rod designers here have developed a new technology called SSKN, which uses off-axis woven carbon, offering more lifting power without increasing the rod’s weight. The gold ‘Snake Skin’ weave through the lower section of the rod is appealing to the eye and sets it off nicely.

Top quality ALPS components are used on this heavy-duty casting rod, and as it’s two-piece, it’s ideal for the travelling angler.

While the rod is apparently rated for 150g lures, over the course of two trips I constantly used 180-220g poppers and stick-baits of various brands, yet none appeared to max out the rod’s casting capabilities.

The mechanical-jigging rod tested with the Talisman was one of three new sticks added to this season’s Kilwell Talon line-up. Called the Talon Heavy Metal 550JS, it is designed specifically with PE8-10 rated lines in mind – one for the lock-and-load brigade. Handcrafted in Kilwell’s Rotorua factory, the blanks are manufactured using multi-layer technology that utilises 30- to 43-million modulus, high-carbon cloth to produce an extremely light blank that possesses immense power. In fact, with the addition of a kevlar wrap in the butt section, this rod has a dead-lift capacity of up to 41kg.

Quality ALPS components have been used throughout, from the triangular reel seat with anti-corrosion titanium-carbide coating, to stainless/titanium deep-pressed, zirconian-oxide, PVD-coated guides. Better still, ALPS anodised gimbal and spacers are colour-coded to match each model. And, same as all New Zealand-made Kilwell rods, the Heavy Metal Talon rods carry a five-year warranty.

I have one more mission for the popper tackle before I reluctantly return it to Kilwell. I should be targeting GTs in Vava’u, Tonga, in the near future, so I can’t wait to put a serious bend in the rod. The fish up there might not as plentiful as in some other places, but they certainly are big – a bit like the Tongan World Cup rugby team!

	This article is reproduced with express permission of NZ Fishing News written by Grant Dixon - 2011 Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited Originally published in New Zealand Fishing News