Product Review: 22 TD Zero 702LFS

By Joey Urquhart

Heading down to the local tackle shop to purchase a new rod can be a daunting task these days, with the market flooded with new products every week it can sometimes leave us scratching our head looking for the answer to which rod do I need!

With the every day cost of living going through the roof it’s hard to justify buying multiple outfits to suit a range of species, so I went in search of a rod that I could target as many species as possible with while not skipping on performance. The Daiwa 22 TD Zero caught my eye, particularly the 702LFS as it would fill a gap in my spinning rod arsenal that I hadn’t covered before. Immediately I discovered that this little 2-4kg rod was punching well above its weight after a weekend of pulling big bass out of snags. While targeting these bass I was using the Bait Junkie Kikker Curly were I would punch it deep into cover and begin the slow retrieve awaiting a huge surface explosion. After hooking several large bass tight in cover I found that the power in the lower end of such a light rod was very impressive, allowing me to steer them away from their snaggy homes. 

With the 702LFS really becoming a go to I decided to give it a real test and take it offshore chasing shallow water snapper on plastics. While only fishing 10lb J-Braid Grand I found the casting distance was fantastic even while using a 1/4 Bait Junkie Jighead the rod handled it with ease. The real test was to come when I hooked up to a solid snapper that had other plans than to come into the net. Realising that this fish was probably going to take me into the reef a used the lower end power yet again and managed to steer him to the surface and into the net. To say I was blown away with the performance of such a light but powerful rod would be an understatement, especially after repeating this on numerous fish for the after noon. 

A few weeks had past and a late season trout trip was on and yep you guessed it the 702LFS made the trip. Now this is were the versatility of this rod really shone through, after weeks before casting 1/4oz jigheads with ease I now find myself casting 60mm, 3.6g, Double Clutch with ease and accurately as well. After landing multiple solid trout for the weekend the 702LFS yet again performed above expectations while doing it faultlessly. One of the main features of these rods that I love is the weight. They are so well balanced and light you can cats them all day without getting any fatigue. Personally I also love the Air Sensor Reel seat as it fits in my hand very comfortably but that’s personal preference.

Not only is this model so versatile but their baitcast range I have had the same experience with. But don’t take my word for it, next time your in the market for a new rod look no further then the Daiwa 22 TD Zero.