Meet The Divorce-Inducing Reel!

The UK’s relationship with Daiwa’s Basia family has gone from strength to strength during the last 19 years. What began as a casual fling (salivating over the images in your early 2005 copy of CARPology) soon turned into a full-blown orgy with the release of the Basia 45 QDA. As the Scottish outfit’s marketing suggested, ‘If you’re going to put your relationship on the line, then at least do it for a threesome.’. It was a piece of beauty that weighed next to nothing but cost a small fortune. Here, Stephen McCaveny, Daiwa’s marketing genius, recalls the birth of the Basia, a reel that took the market by storm… 

CARPOLOGY: Tell us about the moment you saw your first prototype Basia…
STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “The box was empty, or at least I thought it was. As it was based on a Japanese surfcasting design, we had handled similar versions, so it shouldn’t have been such a surprise. When the near-finished model arrived, however, we could barely believe that a reel was actually in the carton. Then, with it in our hands, it still beggared belief. It weighed under 500g, yet this was a 45mm big pit reel! The thing was made from magnesium alloy and hi-spec, anodised, machined aluminium. Finished in spaceship metallic, a set of three would stand out a mile. Was this just a reel?!

“Aside from the shock over its weight—or lack of it—the reel had an awesome-looking spool. It was shallower than usual, yes, but considering it would still hold 240m of 12lb, to anglers who understood, it was more than enough for most occasions.”

CARPOLOGY: Did it change much from the original version to the one that landed in the shops?
STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “Given that its foundation was a big, distance-casting reel for the Japanese surf market, the tech-leap part was more easily realised, but the process of getting it to suit the challenges of modern carp fishing was where much of the unseen design effort occurred. That’s where the direction, testing and final approval from Danny (Fairbrass) and Damian (Clarke) came in. Thanks to our close cooperation with Korda, they were not only behind the idea from the start, but were instrumental in getting the final creation over the line. Testing the role of Quick Drag, ensuring that the line clip was right, and ensuring also that the iconic wooden handle was in situ, were all key development steps. The Japanese designers left their mark in the form of the spool channel and holes for Starlights. There were also the Japanese symbols for ‘big carp’ on the spool print.”

CARPOLOGY: Did you know you were onto something big with the Basia before it even went on sale, or did it catch you and your colleagues by surprise?
STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “To be fair, yes and no. We knew totally that it was an untouched level of carp-reel design, but anything that breaks new ground—as this reel did—has its risks. Immediately, though, it captured the market’s attention, and it truly sealed the deal when anyone got their hands on one. People just couldn’t believe its weight for its size. Of course, it also got off to a good start, given that it featured prominently in the hands of Danny and Damian, who’d had a pivotal role in its design. It was a must-see item at angling shows, and was very well received by Daiwa stockists.”

CARPOLOGY: If we remember correctly, wasn’t the marketing as good as the product…?
STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “Aside from it arriving with the seal of approval from Danny and Damian, the Basia made plenty of its own headlines. It had obvious visibility through our catalogue—yes, we produced one then—and a couple of seasons later it had a front-of-house presence in the free Korda DVD, Carp Tackle, Tactics & Tips. When you could see Danny landing 50lb carp in France, and whilst fishing at range, there was little doubt that the reel would deliver.

“I guess, too, that we captured the tone bang on for such a product with the advert that we ran. Bear in mind, this was nearly 20 years ago, when a pint was around £2.50, the Basia’s RRP was £375. The image was of a trio of Basia reels, and it ran: ‘If you’re going to put your relationship on line, then at least do it for a threesome.’ That might well be taboo now. At the time, though, it was edgy and on the money.”

CARPOLOGY: Since its launch, the Basia has spawned a number of siblings, including what we believe to be the lightest of big-pit reels, the Basiair. In terms of sales and media attention, have any had the same impact as the original Basia?

STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “The Basia paved the way, for sure, and being the only option for a few seasons, it would never be surpassed. It arrived in the 2005 catalogue, followed in 2007 by the Tournament ISO. That, too, had a super-light AirMetal body, but it featured a shorter, deeper spool at the same RRP as the Basia. It was hailed for bridging the gap for big-distance work, where baits were getting placed beyond casting distance.

“Two years later, the black Basia QDX hit. The change in colour really appealed, and it came with a spare spool. This added value certainly gave it an edge, but at the same time our design level went up a couple of notches with the Tournament Basiair. Blimey, what a looker! Even today it still looks tremendous, and it weighed just 445g.

“By 2015, we were lining up five AirMetal carp reels. These included the original Basia QDA, the Tournament ISO, the Basia QDX, the Tournament Basiair QD, and then, the latest arrival, the Basiair Z QDA, which edged in front by a mere 10g.

“This mega quintet led the reel range for another two years, with 2018 seeing the departure of the Tournament Basiair and ISO, but also the welcome arrival of the first deep-spooled Basia, the SLD. The deeper spool took 300m of 0.35mm line. Its capacity was perfect, when filling up a trio from a single 1,000m spool. The latest members of the class include the 19 Basia, which offers same line capacity as the SLD and is the first model to feature Slow Cross Wrap; and the outstanding Tournament Basia 45 SCW, which came along a year later in 2021.”

CARPOLOGY: The Basia became even more desirable in 2014 when you launched a custom-build system. Tell us a little about the thinking behind that

STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “DCR—Daiwa Custom Revolution—was a custom-build service for Basia reels and Infinity rods. We designed a website whereby you could select from a variety of unique parts, and render your owned finished version of a Basia reel or Infinity rod. Of course, being relatively unique versions, they commanded a premium price—cutting-edge stuff for our sport, really.

“The possible permutations were vast, and as you can imagine, the reel saw the most experimentation and variations. Site traffic was so crazy that in the first 24 hours we crashed the server! We upped its capability, but that still wasn’t enough.

“Despite the tremendous interaction from users, and the enthusiasm of key carp dealers, uptake of orders proved slow. We promoted it well and site traffic was high, but it’s fair to say that the more competitively priced basic editions were perhaps just too attractive for most. Maybe it was too far ahead of its time as well.

“With all the playing, designing and sharing of variations, versions of the Basia reel were now fixed in imaginations countrywide, so whilst DCR continued we partnered with some of those key dealers. They created their own DCR editions, and today we still sell those options via their channels.”

CARPOLOGY: Finally, which is your personal favourite Basia model?
STEPHEN MCCAVENY: “For me, the Tournament Basia QD takes some beating today. I have handled a fair number of the surfcasting models from Japan, and the carp versions. I’ve also seen plenty of DCR interpretations, but I can’t see past the current edition. We commissioned some studio ‘beauty’ shots and the camera took the viewer on a tour of detail that they just wouldn’t see the first time. Perfection? Since the start, there have been five Basia editions and two Basiair designs, never mind the multitude of custom DCR versions. How many relationships was that…?”