okuma reels...baitcaster vs spinning....... - The Hull Truth

nodoubt · 03-01-2005, 06:33 PM

why does it seem they make great spinning reels and junk for baitcasters or offshore trolling reels ??

...........seems like two different companys altogether....the spinning reels i have tried in the stores seem up to par with the best companys.....what do you guys think about their spinning reels compared to shimanos and penns ?? thanks......

Tubby · 03-01-2005, 07:32 PM

Their spinning reels are awesome. I have three live liners and use them chumming commercial hook and line. We caught over three hundred probably on each reel. Two years and running great. I like them a lot. They tend to fade from sunlight over time but who cares they keep on catching...

nodoubt · 03-01-2005, 08:36 PM

tx tubby.......they sure seem smooth in the store......good 2 hear some real world reports on em.....

baypro21 · 03-01-2005, 09:57 PM

I've got a Stratus ST-50 (8 bearing spinning) with 12# line. Caught several dolphin and kings, had a 17# dolphin try to smoke the drag but we never smelled anything

. Still silky smooth. Only used it 1 season, love it so far.

nodoubt · 03-02-2005, 06:41 PM

cool deal baypro....sounds like their built to take the heat.....

SweetD · 03-02-2005, 06:54 PM

I've got the Okuma AV-50 Spinning, and the Convector baitcaster. Had the AV-50 first, it froze up on me 1/2 waythru the first season of use (average 2-3x per week in salt). Called customer service - they were great - actually sent me a "new" refurbished AV-50 where they had replaced the frozen componenets with stainless. I gathered that this was a problem with this model overall. Customer service was awesome - from RI to CA and back in less than two weeks. Been great ever since.

As far as the Convector - still haven't quite figured out the best settings on it. I bought it due to how much I liked the AV-50 and the company for taking care of me. I'll get a better feel for the baitcaster this year, but as far as the spinner - great value - got it on eBay for about $39 + shippingif I recall.

Oh yeah, by the way, it's technically my 2nd AV-50 - some rat stole my rod and reel out of my front yard late one summer night last season!

Dave

Lacey · 03-02-2005, 07:56 PM

I have owned several Okuma Epix and Epixor Spinning reels both for boat and surf. I found that if you take good care of them, they perform extremely well, but after ALOT of use, they eventually get sloppy. The drag is fine, but I had some issues with handles. I now use Quantum Cabo PT's and find that the extra money is worth it, as there have been zero issues after a very hard season. I still fish twice a day here for stripers, in February, at the Power Plant, and the Cabo's are doing great.

nodoubt · 03-03-2005, 07:46 PM

man i wish i could fish twice a WEEK for stripers!!!!

twice a day even better..

hows the striper fishin been up there lately lacey?? kinda slow here for now....cant wait till spring in a few weeks...

Lacey · 03-04-2005, 07:50 AM

Can only fish the outflows of the power plants for bass up to 23" Big ones are still in the Hudson River on their way up the coast. We won't see them for another 4-6 weeks. It has been cold and snowy, but there are still lots of schoolies that are great on light tackle.

grantc · 03-08-2005, 05:49 AM

my experience with my okuma spinning reels has not quite been the same as others on this thread!
I have the 2 large baitrunners on 30lb med/heavy star deluxe rods, I use them with 30lb braid over wrecks and sinkholes, in my last three trips i've broken two handles! on a 50lb amberjack and 3lb lane snapper, drag was set correctly, just think that the hinge in the handle is far too weak, insufficient metal around pin, I,ve just ordered two shimano 6500's to replace them. may be mine got knocked around, but no more than any other reel i use.

mtcfish · 03-08-2005, 06:37 AM

If you ever took an Okuma apart you may change your mind. The body is half Cast Aluminum, Half plastic. The bail system has plastic parts that will fail after hard use. Customer service is great but I had a hard time geeting reels to last more than 1 charter season.

The Quantum PT's use machined brass gears, all Stanless bearings and cerermic drag disk. I ended up switching all me gear to Quantum including the rods.

HullSlap · 03-13-2005, 12:41 AM

I've had an Epixor EB 80 bait feeder spinning reel for two seasons now with no problems. It handled some extra large tarpon and several 7' long sharks in the Keys last year. I'm talking heavy drag settings and 50 lb Power Pro. I haven't performed any maintenance besides washing in fresh water after use. The only thing that hasn't held up very well is the paint on the Graphite body. The rest of the reel is silky smooth and very tight. I'm usually a Shimano Stradic fan but I couldn't pass on the $69 price for such a huge bait feeder reel. It's no Shimano Thunnus but at about $200 less it's a pretty good deal. I can't stand Penn spinning reels so I'd say Okuma over Penn but I still think Shimano makes a superior product. Not familiar with Okuma's conventional reels.

skullhooker · 03-15-2005, 10:57 PM

Splashed a ten bearing okuma, took it home and tore it down less than 4 hours later, already had corrosion, unbelievable. I was shocked at the cheapness of the construction, the plastic parts had molding flashing, like a plastic model you used to build when you were a kid. But at least then, I trimmed the flashing off with an exacto knive.

Go with penn, daiwa or shimano. For 25% less money, I thinks its false economy to go with okuma. I just sold some old penn reels on ebay and upgraded to new models for about 25% more money, says something.

Reel Screamers · 03-16-2005, 01:18 PM

Bought several CD90 baitrunners last year. Was able to use 2 of them for more then a month, of those two, they both broke within a week of one another. Robbed one for parts to make one good and and it broke a couple of weeks ago while reeling in a 8 to 10 pound bonita. I now have a buket full of busted Okuma reels that will become part of an artificial reef as soon as snapper season opens.

There will not be another one on my boat. Just replaced the entire rack of spinners with the Shimano 6500 bait runner.....

This is pretty much one area that you get what you pay for ... IMHO