okuma electra

[timbr00]

does anyone know of or own an okuma electra reel. found it for £35 i currently use an epix which is a quality piece of kit but i do suffer the ocasional snag due to the bale arm as i have posted before. just looking for any opinions on this reel many thanks

[Ken L]

First off, I wouldn't rush to buy it at £35 because that's a fiver over the RRP.

If you decide that it's what you need, you can pick the 40 size model up for less than £27 here and I'm sure you'll be able to find the other sizes cheaply elsewhere.

 

Whether it's any good depends on what you want to use it for. You say you like the Epix but I gave mine away because the stem was flexing when I was trying to land fish and I've previously described that reel as "a piece of junk".

Both reels have a graphite body which will make them light and cheap but not very tough. If you're happy with the Epix and are using light lines for relativly small fish, the Electra is probably a similar reel but if you want to try to avoid problems with line lay, lack of rigidity and the reliability of components like the bail arm, you may have to bite the bullet and pay a little more.

 

 

Edit: For the sake of clarity, this is the reel that I'm talking about.

Edited June 21, 2008 by Ken L

[timbr00]

Edit: For the sake of clarity, this is the reel that I'm talking about.

 

thats not the reel i have i have a much older model of the epix. i think as their reputation for value has grown their quality may have decreased

[Ken L]

The one that I linked to is about 5 years old. The problem is that Okuma tend to use the same or similar names (Epix/Epix Pro etc) for several different reels.

 

Worryingly, they seem to be doing this with their high end reels as well. Their V-System reels have been getting very good reviews (Strangely, the only reported issue seems to be a problem with the bail mechanism, just like your Epix) internationally and these reels have a white body. When I tracked down a UK e-tailer selling V-System reels at a price similar to the US instead of at the usual 100% markup, the pictured reel was dark coloured.

 

Their Salina reel also gets great reviews but posters on US sites have confirmed that Okuma sell a version of this reel through Wallmart that is not up to the same standard (components wise) as the reel normally sold under this name.

 

The long and short of it is that whatever your budget, if you're buying an Okuma, make sure you are 100% sure about what you're ordering and don't assume that he reel that you pick up and look at in your local tackle shop is the reel that you order online.