Vidar6

Spot on - In Scandinavia, 10-15 years ago, Abu Garcia Killer S & F was a relatively popular low-cost minnow shaped plug that came in floating and sinking version (hence KillerF & KillerS) and in various sizes and weights. I’ve caught a few good trout on the floating version when trolling some of the large Norwegian inland lakes. A short while ago, when back in Norway, I actually brought over a couple of Abu Killer S plug, together with a few others that are not available here in the UK, with the intention of trying them out for pike. Haven’t got around to it though

Gerry, once again, statements are being taken out of context and views I never expressed are being quoted. Being a tackle enthusiast and a collector of modern tackle I enjoy a discussion as much as anyone around and rather cherishes the fact we all are allowed to have different opinions and views. However, what I certainly don’t enjoy one bit is consciously being credited opinions I never expressed. To be honest, I find it unhelpful and more than a tad disappointing. Oh well, I suppose you learn something every day I did NOT say the all Okuma reels were heavier than it’s equivalent bothers and sisters from either Shimano or Daiwa. What I did say, was that generally speaking most Okuma reels were heavier, which in my book does not equate to all. If you want to interpret that as blanket statement then you certainly know something I don’t. Yes, I do find the weight of reel to be very, very important and when considering a reel for lure fishing I would always choose the lightest alternative if everything else was equal. Of course, if the reel is mounted on a rod that is going to spend most of its active angling life in a rod rest the weight issue is not very important at all. Currently, leading rod manufactures are spending significant amount of time & effort into making their rod lighter, (it’s possible to now buy a 7 feet lure rod weighing as little as just over 3oz) introducing split rear-grips and removing for-grips in order to save weight and improve sensitivity, rendering the reel weight even more important. I’m the first to admit I should not have used the expression rubbish when it came to describing Okuma’s policy of installing huge number of bearings in some of their low to medium market reels. However, would you kindly remind me were I actually said that Shimano uses better bearing quality than Okuma, because I can certainly not recollect that particular statement. However, what I did say, or at least what I thought I said, was that contrary to popular opinion, installing a huge number of bearings in a spinning reel does not necessarily improves smoothness, longevity and overall quality, but most of the time only adds unnecessary weight. Prices on Shimano Baitrunner RE?…..not a problem, I’m more than happy to oblige and repost exactly the same link I posted when I first mentioned the £49.99 price Shimano Baitrunner RE 5000 @ £39.99 Shimano Baitrunner RE 6000 @ £49.99 Shimano Baitrunner RE 8000 @ £49.99 Cheap Shimano RE Yes, your right the Okuma Epix Pro Baitrunner does come with two spare spools plus an extra handle and I suppose it has to come down to the individual punter to decide what’s best for him or her. Out of curiosity though, how many times have you actually used the spare handles you reels came with? Personally, I happen believe Okuma had been much better off spending the money on improving the quality on the spare spools they supply. Looking at it from a marketing point of view, what I genuinely don’t understand is why Okuma continues to introduce more and more medium and high-end reels, such as the V system reel that sells for £150-160 here in the UK. Okuma VS reel Surely, if your low-end reels is that much better than your competitors offerings, independent of their price levels, you would continue to mop up the market, whilst laughing all the way to the bank. Yes, I think your right, there is a considerable better chance for snowmen surviving a certain very, very warm place than us agreeing on this particular subject

Gerry, you can buy the Shimano RE for 49.99 from a few retailers so the price difference is considerable less than 50%. I have no intention of starting an argument with you – life is far to short. However that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit back and be dragged into a discussion about opinions I never had or even expressed When was this thread about trying to give people advice buying more expensive reels? That was not the issue at all, was it now? The whole topic was started based on a specific question about two reels with a virtually identical price tag. I gave the guy an advice to buy the Shimano based on the fact the Sedona 750 is one of my ultra-light reels of choice and a reel I use for a lot of my light trout fishing when back in Norway. Furthermore, the Okuma reel in question, which is equal in size to the Sedona with similar line capacity, weighs 9.2oz. Do you really find 9.2oz to be an acceptable weight for what in actual size is a ultra-light reel?…..I know I don’t. Furthermore, I have clearly shown that you can buy 4-5 different Shimano reel series in virtually the same price range as some of the Okuma’s so the issue of Shimano always being more expensive is simply non-existent. If you want to argue that say an Okuma Epix Pro is a technically better reel, than say a Nexave to £34 or an Exage to £44 we have a totally different discussion all together and I’m more than happy to oblige. Then the issue about warranty; according to the Svendsen Sports website their warranty covers manufacturing faults only, which is a far cry from the unconditional lifetime warranty some rod manufacturers offers. Good luck I say, trying to argue a manufacturing fault after 3-4 years intensive use of a reel. Funny thing is that in America & Canada Okuma only offers a one-year warranty. Over the last 15 years or so I have acquired around 20 Shimano Spinning reels (I still have every single one of them in my possession) ranging from Stella down to Exage, which I believe gives me an excellent basis to compare. Secondly, if I hadn’t purchased the Okuma reels I would have had no basis to compare at all, would I? I like to gain my own personal experiences and the only way you can do that is by actually trying something out, even if it means you end up buying something you later think is crap. Yes, after studying (and using) the Okuma spinning reels I’ve purchased I do think Shimano in general is a better designed and manufactured reels, but at the same time I also believe that many of Daiwa’s current crop of spinning reels are better than Shimano. Instead of just exchanging personal opinions and views let’s turn this thread on its head and actually start to discuss specific manufacturing, technical and design issues. I have specific issues with all five Okuma reels I have, starting with the Epix 50 baitrunners. These reels line lay when filled with braid is a joke – filled with mono it’s just about acceptable. In fact, the line lay is so appalling that it will clearly affect achievable casting distances, with wind knots and line tangles being a permanent danger. The spare spools on all three reels (one was so bad I immediately threw it away) came with visual groves in the metal spool front lip, which again will create increased friction, affect line-flow and achievable casting distance. Even worse is of course the fact that these groves will create unacceptable wear and tear on the main line and in the end could lead to break-off while casting or playing a fish. Again, the line lay on the Epix Pro 30 spinning reels I have is just about acceptable, but there is a clear tendency to fill the back part of the spool more than the front part leaving a bigger gap between line and front lip than necessary, which of course will hinder line flow when casting. The design and manufacturing quality of the spare spools supplied are, if possible, even worse than on the Epix Baitrunners. This time the spare spools comes with a front lip design I haven’t seen on a spinning reel for the last 10 years or more. It is perfectly clear that no effort what so ever has gone into reducing friction between main line and the spool front lip, thus helping line flow and reduce wear and tear. The metal front lip is shaped in a 90-degree angle with far, far to sharp edges, which on top of that again has unacceptable groves in the metal, rendering it the worst spool design possible. All of this proves to me that the design effort gone into some of the reels are minimal and that the quality control on their medium range reels (I don’t know anything about the high-end V System reel) must be virtually non-existing, or at the very least lenient. When I get time, this evening or tomorrow, I’ll post a few photos to illustrate exactly the points I’ve made. For all I know the Okuma reels may last you for a good while, but that does not mean much when they have obvious design flaws from the beginning.

When was it that the length of guarantee offered could be used as proof of quality? Some years ago Hyundai (for all I know they still do) offered a considerable better guarantee on their products than Mercedes and if someone wants to argue that Hyundai's at that time was better cars, then be my guest The length of guarantee offered is besides aggressive pricing nothing but a marketing tool, commonly used by manufacturers or distributors willing to invest in order to gain a market share. To put it simple the potential gain outweighs the potential cost, making it a profitable investment. Fact is, Okuma/Svendsen Sport is following exactly the same tactics (an extremely successful one, if I may add) as Japanese manufacturers did when they established themselves in the European and American markets in sixties and seventies. Firstly, a low-end (or often cheap copies) product is introduced to the market, but with extreme competitive pricing in order to quickly gain market shares. When a certain market share has been has been achieved the quality of the products starts to increase, but price levels are still held at a fairly competitive level. In the end, every low cost manufacturer is caught up by the harsh reality of the market; someone will always be able to offer cheaper products than you and in order to survive you end up introducing high-end goods, but with a totally different price level. This is what has happened to every Japanese (or Korean for that matter) car, camera and electronics manufacturer and you can see the exactly same story developing with Okuma, hence their introduction of the high-end products such as the V system reel. Secondly, I genuinely don't understand where this perception that you have to pay over the top for a Shimano reel is coming from - it's actually at the best of times incorrect. In fact, it is fully possible to purchase a Shimano RE Baitrunner almost as cheap as Okuma's Epix Pro Baitrunner. Shimano also have their Hyperloop, Alivio, Nexave and Exage series, which all can be purchased between £12 & £45, with the Nexave & Exage reels very comparable to say Okuma's Epix Pro Shimano Baitrunners Shimano reels Yes, you can buy a Shimano that is considerably more expensive than that, but the same is valid for Okuma i.e. their V System reel that here in the UK will set you back more than £120. I think it is fair to conclude, following Okuma's introduction of various high-end reels lately that even they don't think their £39.99 Epix Pro reel is the ultimate spinning reel. Would you believe I'm actually a fan of Daiwa when it comes to spinning reels?

As I mentioned before the Sedona 750 is a very small reel, best suited for ultra-light or light fishing with small spinners, spoons and crankbaits. Load the reel with good quality 4Ib mono or even better 8 or 10Ib PowerPro braid and put it on a 6 feet spinning rod for lure weights between 2 & 10 grams. Great alternatives available here in the UK are the Beastmaster series from Shimano or Greys G-Lite spin neither, which will break the bank Shimano Beastmaster Greys G-lite Spin

I’ve kept every single reel I’ve been given or purchased throughout almost 40 years angling and at the moment I have somewhere between 55 & 60 spinning and baitcasting reels. On top of that I have a considerable collection of sea fishing and fly fishing reels About 30% of the reels I have are limited edition, custom made or specially tuned reels, which I purchased for collection purposes mainly. Some people may prefer to collect antique fishing tackle, but personally I like to collect state of the art reels (and a few rods) from the time period I’ve lived

Generally speaking, most of Okuma's spinning reels are about 1.5oz heavier than it's comparable brothers & sisters from, say Daiwa. Not a huge amount, but the difference is there. Okuma VS-30 @ 10.80oz compared to Daiwa Fuego 2500 @ 9.20oz Okuma VS-40 @12.30oz compared to Daiwa Fuego 3000 @10.00oz Ehh, I'm more than little intrigued...when did using a heavier reel become an efficient way of balancing your rig? Fact is, if you need 1.5oz of added weight on your rod butt to balance a tip heavy rod you would need 3-4 times as much weight added in the reel position to achieve the same result due to the shortened weight arm...it's a simple matter physics. Using a heavier reel to try and balance a spinning or a baitcasting rig only adds overall weight and very little else. Buy a well-balanced rod in the first place, but if it's needed add the weight at the rod butt. By the way, I have five Okuma reels (3 x Epix Baitrunners & 2 x Epix Pro spinning reels) and for the money they are ok...nothing more, nothing less. None of them exactly gets my blood racing

I must admit I struggle to see why exactly these two reels are being compared to each other. The Shimano Sedona 750 is a compact very lightweight reel aimed towards fishing with ultra light & light lures or baits while the Okuma Epixor 15 is weighing in at 9.2oz / 258 grams, which by the way is a ridiculously high weight for such a relatively small reel. Honestly, it's like comparing apples and pears. By the way, with their small size and low line capacity neither of the reels are suitable for sea fishing. Okuma Epixor Generally, Okuma spinning reels are considerably heavier than any comparable Shimano or Daiwa reel in similar size and it's NOT because they are built more solidly. Okuma's policy of sticking a huge number of weight increasing rubbish ball bearings into most of their reels does not increase the longevity or indeed the overall quality of the reel. I much rather have a reel with fewer, but higher quality bearings installed in the correct places. Daiwa currently holds a clear edge over Shimano when it comes to spinning reels in general, but if you have the money to buy a Shimano Stella you are probably getting the best spinning reel there is.

Optimum lures suspender series and the original Wagtail from Zoota is both slow sinking lures, which could do exactly what you are looking for. Not particularly cheap, but very, very good lures Optimum & Zoota lures

Pure fishing also owns Fenwick & Berkley. Fenwick makes some more than decent fly rods compared to anyone and some of the best value for money lure rods out there with their HMG & Techna AV series.

Probably the all time best 2-piece longish heavy pike rod is the BFT Pike Furusund, a rod with legendary status within large parts of the Swedish Pike fishing fraternity. The rod is 11 feet long, rated from 30 – 100 grams casting weight and is built by Tony Fordham (yes, the British rod builder) on a blank from the German Sportex factory. Weighing in at £295.00 it can’t be described as cheap by any stretch of imagination, but it is a truly magnificent rod for heavy crankbait fishing for Pike & Salmon. BFT Pike Furusund rod

Long two-piece rods (from 8.5 up to 12 feet) suitable for throwing around Bull Dawgs does exist and have done for the last twenty years in Scandinavia, where they have been used for heavy salmon & pike fishing. Fishing with heavy crankbaits using rods in lengths between 9 & 12 feet was the predominant method for catching pike in Sweden and Norway many, many years before the current jerkbait craze arrived. Contrary to popular opinion slightly longer rods (8 to 9 feet) is very suitable for throwing heavy soft baits & crankbaits and has the added benefit of greatly improved casting distances. RST rods from Lundgrens in Sweden are just one of the many rods available. RST rods The RST rods are distributed in the UK by Fishing Pool. Fishing Pool Another great rod for the money is the Pete Maina Signature Series sold by Luremania. Pete Mania rods

Ended up with 4 nice Brown Trout quiver tipping, but no Grayling. We had a great day out despite the rather windy conditions. Vidar & Faye

I know people that have been using them extensively since they came out about two-three years ago and with no problems with water ingress into the digital circuit. However, I'm not sure I would use them in saltwater as I think it could lead damage on the copper coil that creates the electromagnetic field needed to emit the breaking force.

Newt, it is a star drag system, but with a greatly redesigned drag wheel. The Antares DC is the first ever low-profile reel implementing the computer controlled casting control system that otherwise can be found in Conquest or Calcutta DC. I have a Conquest 101DC and it's a fantastic reel, perfect for lures weighing between 3/8 oz and 1 ½ oz. http://www.japantackle.com/Shimano/Shimano_ConquestDC.htm Plat's English is not exactly brilliant, but they are a very, very good company to deal with. I have bought all my Megabass rods from them, a good part of my reels and they have always been brilliant.

Great new toy from Shimano http://www.plat.co.jp/english/bass/shimano/dc7/dc7.htm JPY 68000 equates to about £335 before shipping and VAT charge

Sold

I love using both shallow and deep diving suspending jerkbaits such a Lucky Craft Pointers, L.C. Staysee, Megabass Vision & Rapala X-Rap and I have found the Power Pro Proleader to be the best trace solution used in combination with suspending lures. Somehow the very buoyant braid material seems to contractive the woven in steel thus minimising the negative effect traces have on the lures. http://www.thelureshack.com/acatalog/Power...aided_Line.html I connect the leader/trace to my mainline using a double grinner.

One of my St Croix Legend Tournament TBC70 MHF is up for grabs. The rod is brand new, never used, 7 feet long, medium heavy in power and is rated for casting weights between 3/8 & 1oz, but can easily handle heavier lures. This is a rod from St Croix newest rod series (new for 2005) and a truly amazing piece of equipment, which can handle a wide variety of baits and techniques. The rod costs $220/£127 from Bass Pro Shops or other USA retail outlets, excluding freight cost and VAT. http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.Tex...arTarget=browse I’m looking for £110

I agree with you 100%, but reels with an externally adjustable magnetic braking system is even easier to use for a beginner, hence my comment

Very good write-up Let me just fill in and say that a baicasting reel with a magnetic breaking system would normally be easier to master for a beginner. Yes, you can use the mechanical brake (cast control cap) to control your cast and adapt to conditions such as head wind, but this normally has a severe effect on max obtainable casting distance. An externally adjustable magnetic braking system (Note! A few reels exist, such as Shimano Scorpion, with an externally adjustable centrifugal braking system) gives you the benefits of instant and very easy adjustment allowing for long, bird nests free casts even for a beginner.

You better get yourself a full proof luresaver if these lures are to be tied to the end of your line http://www.macdaddysfishinglures.com/index.html Too extreme even for me Happy New Year to all of you

I'm pleased to hear

Welcome to the forum, Gilby

Spot on