Okuma Reels

sergio · June 12, 2006, 19:09:46 CET

hey guys do you know if any shop in malta stocks Okuma reels ? because i saw an Okuma Metaloid on the internet and i'm really interested in buying one. they seem really good.

sergio · June 12, 2006, 20:40:35 CET

yeah i know mister fish have shimano and they ARE supposed to be very good . i kind of like the okuma ones better though , placebo , do you know which is better - front or rear drag ? currentley i have a Lineaeffe Rapid with 3bb, rear drag . it's quite good but i've been thinking about getting a new reel this summer after i get a summer job hehe

skip · June 12, 2006, 21:48:29 CET

Okuma are certainly good run of the mill reels, Fin has a 50Wide and an 80 2 Speed although he didn't purchase it locally. Shimano is up there will the Rolls Royce's of reels, basically Shimano now have the No.1 Spot with the Tiagra reels and TLD reels plus all their super Spinning reels, whilst Alutecnos are probably considered to be one of the finest reels for trolling around, but as they are not as Active in the North American market and a little bit more expensive than Shimano their market position isn't as high in terms of sales.

Afraid to say that Penn have been dropping alot in the rankings lately with more and more people moving away from them and to Shimano, at least with trolling reels, not so sure about spinning. It's the usual story with the Japanese, they offer a superior product and gain market share like their cars. If you read up on the Big US forums you will see ppl moving away from the big Penns for various reasons, they're still a good reel but Shimano are dominating.

About Okuma locally, I was under the impression that Aquatica represented the brand, but I guess I was wrong. For me personally, its not just about the initial purchase but the after sales and backup. And frankly any shop claiming to be a tackle shop that doesn't have a Line Winder is taking the biscuit and not offering a service. To my knowledge only Mister fish has a proper line winder, ( I stand to be corrected) though I would very much like to see them upgrade their unit to a decent one that can properly handle big game reels in the 50+ range which sorry to say theirs can't, but at least they have one and I can appreciate that 50lbs+ reels are not sold every day!

Can't comment about front or rear as thats a feature specific to spinning reels and not Conventional trolling reels, where I prefer lever to star drags.

Skip

sergio · June 12, 2006, 21:52:52 CET

thanks a lot for the tip skip !! i'll definitley be looking into Shimano for my next spinning reel purchase !!! ( i've had a good look at them actually coz since mr fish has opened to gzira it's only a 30 min walk so i;ve been buying a lot of tackle lately ) . it's true that they have a line winder , however not at the gzira shop. and i want to spool it up with spectra which apparentley they dont have ( i have no idea who imports powerpro)

skip · June 12, 2006, 22:00:58 CET

Sergio, check out this link for your answer ref: Powerpro! http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/index.php/topic,16.0.html

Make sure you join the Mister Fish Members card scheme so you benefit from discounts if you're buying lots of tackle. Not sure what's involved to join if there are any extra fee's, email Josef the owner and ask hookandline@waldonet.net.mt and mention the forum as point of contact!

Skip

sergio · June 12, 2006, 22:06:03 CET

hey skip , if by members scheme you mean that card where they mark with a cross every lm3 you buy , and when u fill up the card they give you a free lm10 of fishing products , i already have it

the guy at the gzira branch is very friendly and offered the card the second time i went into the shop. lately i buoght a carbon fibre 6 metre hand rod and he gave me a discount . great shop.

sergio · June 14, 2006, 00:22:16 CET

hry , you guys , check out Van Staal reels on cabelas.com - theyre $680 !!! made out of aerospace titanium !!! they must be the nicest reels ive ever seen !!!!

sergio · June 16, 2006, 02:07:30 CET

placebo you seem to know a lot about spinning reels - a question : what is better , front or rear drag ?

placebo · June 16, 2006, 07:56:07 CET

hi sergio,

It's like a matter of what you get used to! I have both rear and both front. I used to fish only rears but then I got some bargains on old Shimanos on EBAY and I got a lot of front drags. I think nowadays I prefer a front drag as for some reason the drag seems to be more directly on the fish with less tension on your reel.

Shimano have some models with a rear drag fighting system which is very comfortable.

You must be very careful when changing drag settings when fighting a fish. A fish tend to get away sometimes.

fin · June 21, 2006, 20:46:50 CET

Hey guys all i will say about OKUMA is that i beleive they aRE the next lower division of penns , shimanos etc....

They seem to be doing the job, nice feel but maybe they will need a little more looking after to make sure they last.

FIn

fin · July 10, 2006, 15:37:49 CET

Only thing that has let me down so far is the alarm on the reels... weak and intermittent!

As for the rest, i am happy with

FIN

sergio · January 30, 2007, 15:02:48 CET

hey guys i''ve been seriously thinking about getting a Shimano Stradic FB (STR400FB) . it's expensive on the internet , but i'm gonna check how much it is in malta. what do u guys think of this model ? ( i'm looking for a top-of-the-line reel , although shimano's Stella is WAAAYYY too expensive for me , but the Stradic seems to be very good ) any thoughts ?

fin · February 11, 2008, 11:58:24 CET

So as now with another year of experience behind i am now able to provide some interesting facts.

While opting to puchase the alternative not so hot reels like penn i decided to go fo rthe OKUMA reels.

Overall i cant really complain however (either due to my lack of maintenance) i have had a couple of snags with them this year. A buggered alarm and more interestingly a jammed drive.

So at the end... the chioce is simple.. although probably costly.... the last thing u want is you catching a 40 kg plus fish and your drive jams... or your 2 speeds buggers up... then what?

So i think the bottom line really is this.. if for occasional fishing with no serious size to it.. then clearly go for a medium branded reel... however if u plan to go even rarely but u r going for the serious one.. then i think one will need the serious reel that will last for life... basically my suggestions now only are 1 of 3,
everol, penn or shimano!

FIN

twoutes · February 11, 2008, 12:25:40 CET

All my gamefishing reels are Penn, and Shimano. They have never let me down. But, l do a service on all my reels every year before the start of the season, paying particular attention to drags. The drag plates/washers do tend to pick up some dirt or salt making the drag system a little lumpy. Irregular drag pressure could very easily cost you a fish.I do have a preferance to my shimano reels as they seem to have a smoother drag ststem.
Don't let the 'Brand Name' trick you into thinking that they don't need looking after.
Look after all your gear, and it will look after you.

milchner · February 13, 2008, 10:53:57 CET

Well,
one of my reels is a Okuma Titus Gold 50lb. I bought it three years ago and this reel is one of my favourite. Yes, it?s not the same quality like Penn or Shimano. But it?s much cheaper too. And not everybody has so much money to buy a Penn or Tiagra. The most important thing is, to maintain this reel. A little oil, sometimes a new drag and you have a very good fishery with Okuma.

I know some guys from Australia who only fish Okuma.

A further important thing is "How often do you fish the reel". I fish it only for about three weeks a year and for that kind of fishery it?s enough.

Best wishes,
Uwe