The Crystia Wakasagi CRS II is Daiwa's electric reel for wakasagi (Japanese smelt), out in November 2026. List price is JPY 24,430 excl. tax, and it weighs about 90 g. If you want lure functions in a slim, AA-powered body, this is my pick.
The Gear Nerd's Pick
The core of the CRS II is that it fits Meijin Sasoi and Dandan Tana Stop into a slim, AA-powered body of about 90 g. You can hand off the lure action and depth setting without hooking up external power, so there's no extra gear to carry on the ice or in a dome boat. So I choose the CRS II as the reel for one of my two rods.
Key points
- Out Nov 2026. JPY 24,430 (excl. tax)
- About 90 g, runs on AA batteries or external power
- JPY 5,680 more than the CRS, with 3 more lure functions
When is the Crystia Wakasagi CRS II released, and what does it cost?
It's out in Nov 2026. List price is JPY 24,430 excl. tax, in 2 colors, Champagne Gold and Matte Navy, at the same price.
Weight is about 90 g (without batteries and accessories). Line capacity is #0.3 for 60 m or #0.4 for 30 m. A rod tip and batteries aren't included, so get them separately.
How I judged it
After 30 years of fishing, I see an electric reel for wakasagi as a tool you pick by what it can take off your hands. So I put the CRS II next to the CRS one step below it in a feature table.
3 functions are added: Meijin Sasoi, Dandan Tana Stop and follow-up bite reeling. The weight gap is about 2 g, so basically the same. What gave me pause was whether it's worth the JPY 5,680 gap.
Decided. My pick is the CRS II. If the reel handles the lure action and depth setting, you can put your eyes and hands on bites at the other rod when two rods keep you busy. Getting this much into a slim, AA-powered body is a big deal.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Daiwa Crystia Wakasagi CRS II
Pre-release: available from Nov 1How does it differ from the CRS and CRS-C+?
Swipe the table sideways →
| Model | Body weight | Meijin Sasoi | Dandan Tana Stop | List price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRS II | About 90 g | Yes | Yes | JPY 24,430 |
| CRS | About 88 g | No | No | JPY 18,750 |
| CRS-C+ | About 95 g | Yes | Yes | JPY 38,600 |
| EII | About 95 g | No | No | JPY 10,200 |
Versus the CRS: JPY 5,680 more, and it adds Meijin Sasoi, Dandan Tana Stop and follow-up bite reeling. That's 5,680 ÷ 3 = about JPY 1,893 per function. If you can work the lure action with your own fingers, the CRS is enough.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Daiwa Crystia Wakasagi CRS
Lowest price on Rakuten: JPY 13,125 (as of Oct 18). Some stores go up to JPY 18,891. Prices change daily.
RecommendedSee it on Rakuten IchibaVersus the CRS-C+: The CRS II is JPY 14,170 cheaper and about 5 g lighter. The CRS-C+ adds the DAIWA Connecting System, which links to a smartphone, and an alarm. The lure and depth-setting functions are all there on the CRS II, so it's enough if you don't need those.
What does Dandan Tana Stop do?
It's a drop function. When you drop the sinker to the depth, it slows the last stretch. The clutch engages 1 m before the set depth and the motor turns in reverse at low speed to feed line slowly.
The aim is to keep the falling sinker from scattering the school. The slow-drop length has 6 steps from 0.3 m to 2.0 m, and the line-feed speed has 6 steps too. You can fine-tune how the rig drops before the depth to suit the sinker weight and the fish's mood.
How do you use Meijin Sasoi?
The reel reproduces lure actions supervised by an expert. There are 5 patterns: bottom, basic, scattered depth, tough-bite reaction and calling. The wait time is 1 to 5 seconds and you can choose the lure stroke too, so you can build your own style.
New this time: a switch that turns Meijin Sasoi on and off with one press. Nice.
Follow-up bite reeling slowly reels in through the layer where you got a bite, so the rig passes through it. Speed has 10 steps. Gunwale stop comes in three choices: slow, normal and power.
Does the depth number drift?
You can correct it. Depth counter correction matches the fish finder's depth to the reel's counter, so you can set the depth by watching the counter even on days when the sinker barely shows on the fish finder.
If you get lost in the controls, there's an all-reset that returns every setting to the start. The LCD uses large characters, and the Meijin, Dandan and depth-stop indicators show inside the screen. You see at a glance what's running.
Gunwale stop comes in three kinds: slow, for days when fish drop off near the boat or for ice fishing; normal; and power, for when a lot of large wakasagi are hooked. That much choice is fine detail.
What about batteries?
It runs on AA batteries; alkaline works. With the separately sold Crystia Wakasagi External Power Unit AIR, you can run it on external power instead.
The spool is V-shaped, so line winds evenly and pays out cleanly when dropping. The spool has 2 ball bearings. There are line stoppers at 3 spots on top, so you can stop the rig at the same depth every time.
Image: Rakuten Ichiba
Daiwa Crystia Wakasagi CRS II
Pre-release: available from Nov 1Things to watch
This part is so-so. It isn't out yet, and you can buy it from November. You'll be waiting for stock to show up after pre-orders.
The tip you can attach is 5 mm in diameter. Vibration can loosen it, so check it now and then while you fish.
Who is the Crystia Wakasagi CRS II for?
- Anglers with two rods who want the reel to handle the lure action on one of them
- Anglers who want to travel light on AA batteries without carrying external power
- Anglers moving up from the CRS who want easier depth setting
To round out boat electrics, see my Seaborg 150J review and Leobritz S300J review. Release dates for other new items are collected in the fishing gear release calendar.
FAQ
When is the Crystia Wakasagi CRS II released?
It's out in Nov 2026. List price is JPY 24,430 excl. tax, the same for Champagne Gold and Matte Navy.
How does the CRS II differ from the CRS?
The CRS II adds Meijin Sasoi, Dandan Tana Stop and follow-up bite reeling. Weight is about 90 g for the CRS II and about 88 g for the CRS.
Does the CRS II come with a rod tip?
No. Batteries are sold separately too. It takes a tip 5 mm in diameter.
