Okuma Spinning Reels

[Cobia Seeker]

Anyone ever used these? Opinions?

[mdram]

had 1 for 1 season, i think it was an epixor model

busted up on a 5lb cat.
went back to penn

[VICIII]

Have not fished with it yet but will soon.
I have heard that Okumas big problems are that they and have quality issues. You can have 10 reels and 3 may blow up, 2 are iffy, and the last 5 are great. Buy it at a place you can return it.

[shaggy]

Me, have two AV80's, one four years ald and the other three years old and a CD65 that is two years old. So far no problems with any of them, but they will this year be getting less use in the sand as I am building up a conventional arsenal for my surf fishing. Right now, have conventional setups with a Daiwa SHV30, a Penn 525MAG and a Penn 535GS. Have one more conventional rod on the way that will need a reel, then may just start unloading some of the spinning stuff come fall. Wife says too much fishing stuff hanging around the house, yadda yadda yadda, wadda need 9 surf rods when you only take four fishing with ya yadda yadda yadda.

So, nine surf set ups, two decent perch croaker setups, and four little used freshwater setups (well used February and March mostly) for pickeral and yellow perch out at Tuckahoe.

Have Jeep will travel :D

[RuddeDogg]

I have 2 cd-65's, 2 cd-50's, 1 cd-30, 2 expior eb 80's and 1 eclipse.

I have Penn, pinnacle, tica and shimano and I would put the okumas up against them any day of the week and twice on sunday. ;) ;)

[CrawFish]

I have 2 cd-65's, 2 cd-50's, 1 cd-30, 2 expior eb 80's and 1 eclipse.

I have Penn, pinnacle, tica and shimano and I would put the okumas up against them any day of the week and twice on sunday. ;) ;)
Well, obviously you haven't dunked that reel or got sand blasted yet. I had mine dropped in the wash one time and now I'm using daiwas. ;) :D

[Dixie719]

I have a CD-65 and a EB-80 and have had no major issues. I am starting to notice some slight wearing after two years of semi heavy use, but overall have held up decent. If you do go this route just make sure you clean and wash after every use!

[shaggy]

Well, obviously you haven't dunked that reel or got sand blasted yet. I had mine dropped in the wash one time and now I'm using daiwas. ;) :D

Don't know, mine have been through the winds blowing sand chest high, rain, sleet and snow, dropped in the sand and dunked in the ocean. Rinse with tap water every time I get home from the Island, and once so bad even went up to the ranger station showers and rinsed it. Most times at the end of the fishing day, just dump a bottle of water on the reels, and the next day begin again. And honestly, myself, can be rough on my equipment, but getting better, and small amounts of care can still go far.

Have Jeep will travel :D

[CrawFish]

Don't know, mine have been through the winds blowing sand chest high, rain, sleet and snow, dropped in the sand and dunked in the ocean. Rinse with tap water every time I get home from the Island, and once so bad even went up to the ranger station showers and rinsed it. Most times at the end of the fishing day, just dump a bottle of water on the reels, and the next day begin again. And honestly, myself, can be rough on my equipment, but getting better, and small amounts of care can still go far.

Have Jeep will travel :D
I guess mine was made on a Friday afternoon. One thing thou, Okuma has very good cutomer service and they back up their products. I guess every company has made some defective products.:D

[RuddeDogg]

The two cd-65's and 50 are my main striper outfits. Dunked, mucked up with bait juice, etc. Nevr had a single problem. One thing that I do though is use Break Free, for a lube which I use on my shot guns. Works like a dream.

[fishbone4_14_74]

i have 2 of these reels and have beat the hell outta them seriously and they are still kickin,,, i guess some are good and some are bad but that goes with anything

[Axon]

I have 6 CD90s, 1 EB65 and 1 eclipse 50.

I started with only 2 CD90s but bought FLFs 2 when he left. I sent them back to Okuma cause the were off and wobbled a little. They return me 2 remanufactured ones that were also not at 100% so they sent me 2 more remanufactured ones and they were ok at first. They also sent me free extra spools with each one, just asked for em. All and all they are ok, just ok and if you dont clean them after each use they will fail on you.

There also 2 different CD90s out there one hold 500yds/#20 and the old one holds 390/#20. These spools are not interchangeable. The markings are different on the bottom of the reel foot.

The EB65 was smooth as hell when I got it, but it didnt hold up to heavy salt. I think it would of been ok in the bay, but the surf killed it.

The Eclipse is awesome, bought it for the wife, I used it once and never gave it back.

[Blue Heron]

I have the Epixor-EB80 (1 year old) and the Shimano Baitrunner 6500 (3 years old) spinning reels.

The following quote was taken from the Epixor EB-80 article summary from the amelia-island-fishing website.

"The Good - The EB-80 casts well, and it retrieves even better. It has a really nice feel, and a silky smooth retrieve. It's less expensive than the equivalent Shimano Bait Runner reel and comes with an extra spool.

The Bad - The fact that the secondary drag doesn't seem to work reliably is not good as it requires a necessary check every time it's turned on to see if it's actually engaged. Missing paint on the reel body after only a few careful uses is another minus.

The Bottom Line - With a more reliable secondary drag and a good body finish (or a body with no paint), this reel could be a super star."

I definately aggree with The Good.
However, last fall at OBX I dropped the EB-80 in the sand one time and immediately washed it with fresh water. It still casted fine, but intermittently while retrieving, it started cranking roughly and made some horrible sounds. I continued to use it anyway. It was washed with fresh water after every use. When I bought it back to Tochtermans in Balto., the guy said it was dry inside. It had no lubricant left. Nothing else was wrong. It has worked beautifully since it he lubricated it.

I definately aggree with The Bad.
After about the 5th use the "bait runner" drag worked intermittently. About 1 out of 5 casts I'd have to turn the switch-lever on and off a couple of times before it worked. Later on in the year some paint chipping occurred on the reel. I consider that to be my fault. At OBX the pole and reel was bungie corded to the side of the cab of my friend's truck. The reel experienced a lot of banging as we drove down the beach. When I wrapped a rag around the reel, no additional chipping occurred.

I hope The Bottom Line is true.
I really love this reel. I can live with fiddling around with its "bait runner" drag switch.

Axon said that after a couple of years it doesn't hold up in the surf due to the salt. When I was considering buying it, other folks on P&S said the same thing. On the Okuma website the Epixor is advertised as a fresh water/inshore reel. (By the way the Coranado series - CDxx - is marketed as an inshore/offshore/salt water reel.) Since 90% of my fishing is in the bay, I bought the Epixor.

Other than, the fresh water shower after each use, the only other maintenance I do for my reels is an annual cleaning and inspection at Tochtermans B&T.

The Shimano 6500 has worked perfectly since I bought it. If I have Axon's experience I guess I'll go to another Shimano or a Daiwa, otherwise I would buy another Epixor EB-80.

QUESTION:

RuddeDogg mentioned the Break Free lubricant. Where do you spray this on the reel - inside, outside? Would WD-40 be OK to use?

Blue Heron

[VICIII]

QUESTION:

RuddeDogg mentioned the Break Free lubricant. Where do you spray this on the reel - inside, outside? Would WD-40 be OK to use?

I was just going to ask that.
Also does it affect the line?
I have heard that WD-40 eats line...:eek:

[RuddeDogg]

I use it on the inside.

I had a Cd-65 where the bait running feature was binding up really bad. I had bought it used. I took it apart, replaced the seal, de-greased the gears in the bait running part and I did not have any oil so I used break free and the reel works like it was brand new.

[Blue Heron]

Thanks RuddeDogg.

[repair5343]

I have an old Oceancity never had a problem with it.
Got it new over 25 years ago, I just keep it clean.

[Cobia Seeker]

Thanks for all the replies......