I'm sure its no "van staal", but then I only paid $69 for it. It's probably not the best reel by a long shot, but the performance for the dollar ratio is outstanding. Bottom line is it does the job for me
I've been Impressed by a few of them, A friend has the Salina $100 walmart combo with 30lb braid on it and I was amazed at how Strong it was, the rod was Waaay better than the Penn 650/750 combos IMO. and the reel was pretty impressive too.
Ifished with aguy using one of the Okumas (blue w/silver handle) that looks like a 6/0 shark fishing and thought it did pretty good.
I have the Okuma that looks like a 6500 shimano baitrunner and it's got a strong gear. Only caught 1-2 fish on it so far...
last year I wouldn't have owned an Okuma, now I would...
I have a couple of their conventional reels (look like a 4/0) and have been really happy with them. I've heard excellent things about their spinning reels.
Have had some bad experiences especially with the Titus Gold series most notably the 30, 20, 15. The convector conventional series (like a senator) are "OK" I guess but I wouldn't spend money on them.
On the other hand, the Okuma Salina spinning reel is for the money a very nice reel that has held up pretty well for some of my buddies and I've caught some decent fish on them including big AJ's, blackfin, dolphin and the like without incident.
I have 4 Okuma 30W and a baitrunner spinning reel. I have had them for roughly 8 years of every other weekend use. I have had extremely good success with them. Not a single problem and pretty lightweight (I fish stand-up gear). Funny thing - I loaned them to a friend of mine while he was having his Shimano's fixed.
The Salina reels are pretty nice. I have a 4/0 type reel that has worked well so far. It's only been used on some snapper and kings so far, so it hasn't really been put to the test yet.
I have used the larger spinning reels with 65lb. braid to pull ambers and groupers off the bottom. They have been through alot and still seem to hold up. I know thatthere are reels out there that aremuch more expensive, but for the money they do the job.
I am happy enough with mine, i have two Salinas.The salina is a cheap spinning reel option, hard to say if its much better or worse than the Shimano sahara at about the same price.
Ihave a SolaraSLR i bought from bass pro shop last year,i put it on a trevella 6 rod with 80# power pro, love the lever drag and smooth drag it is! best real I have used for the price, real was$139.Also have couple walmart okumas that lasted 6 months maybe, go for the higher end if you get one, that's my sug. :letsparty
I have a Titus Gold TG-10S on a Trevala rod and love it (had it about 3 years now). I have two of the V-System spinners, one is a VS-80 andother is a VS-30, don't like the feel of the 80 but love the 30. I have had 2 Epixor 30 spinning reels and love both of them. They are cheaper then Penn and Shimano anda lot of people can't get past thename, it's not a big brand name like Shimano or Penn. I have a Torsa 30 on a Trevala and I end up using my TG-10S80% of the time.
I have a relatively new V65 sa high speed spinning reel that i just bought to jig fish with and it is probably the best spinning reel i have every used. I fish several of the smaller Penn spinning reelsin both fresh and salt water and the Okuma is by far a better reel.
I managed to catch serval good AJ (now apparently endangered) and bonitos with it on my last trip down there and the drag was very smooth.
i dont remember what series it was but when i worked at reel fun i could sell the hell outa those okumas.. larger spinning reels roughly the size ofan 8500ss, black with gold
I have several of the higher end reels and they have never given me a problem . I think the main problem is people dont take care of reel and service them regulary and go to use it and it fails and blames it on manufacturer for making shoddy equipment. It doesnt matter what brand it is ,If you dont take care of it , its not going to work to you standards.
I have an OkumaStinson SI 20 light tackle spinning reel that is spooled with10 lb power pro, with an Okuma 6ft Montero rod. I lovethe combo, I slayed the bull reds with it last spring. I have been spooled with it a few times, but it is a tiny reel. For its size it has some real back bone, so does the rod!!!! I will buy more Okuma productsfor sure.
I bought some eb 80s (10 ball bearing baitrunner like spinning reels) 6 years ago and they have been used and abused and basically bullet proof. This year I bought one of their new, built for braid cedros jigging reels. It cost twice as much as the eb series, maybe $140. The first fish I caught with it (a 7 or 8lb snapper) stripped out the gears in it. They replaced the reel and the new one seems to work fine but I just don't trust it anymore.
I used an okuma salina 80 and loved it. Used it for jigging with 65lb braid and 20lb mono for reds. The 80 is only 22 oz so it's very comfortable for jigging and the drag is very smooth. Worth every penny. Caught tons of ajs and bull reds and hooked a few sharks with it. Only thing i would recommend doing is upgrading the washers to carbontex because the stock washers are felt, although I used the stock washers for about 8 months. Felt washers are generally fine, but can get squeezed smaller and smaller over time and the max drag you can get out of the reel decreases over time. Also, felt doesn't dissipate heat well, so the drag might lock up on a big fish, if you switch to carbontex you'll be fine. Okuma's customer service is great too.
FishingAddict (10/24/2009)I used an okuma salina 80 and loved it. Used it for jigging with 65lb braid and 20lb mono for reds. The 80 is only 22 oz so it's very comfortable for jigging and the drag is very smooth. Worth every penny. Caught tons of ajs and bull reds and hooked a few sharks with it. Only thing i would recommend doing is upgrading the washers to carbontex because the stock washers are felt, although I used the stock washers for about 8 months. Felt washers are generally fine, but can get squeezed smaller and smaller over time and the max drag you can get out of the reel decreases over time. Also, felt doesn't dissipate heat well, so the drag might lock up on a big fish, if you switch to carbontex you'll be fine. Okuma's customer service is great too.
Isn't it ironic that a big expensive company like van staal has crappy warranty/service ( according to posts Ive seen on here ), yet an inexpensive real like an Okuma has great customer service?
I have six conventionals (4 30W Titus Graphites) and two Titus Gold 50W II and they have been great. One of the graphites seems like it is starting to developa gear problem, but its about six or so years old and I've never brought it in for service so I get what I deserve if it goes bad.
We have 6 50 wide graphites, and 2 coronado 90 spinning reels. I absolutely love them! Haven't had any problems except I broke off a spinning reel handle from not washing them properly for the first couple years I owned the reel. Recommend them highly!
I have a 20TGII, 2 graphite 30's, 2 30TGII's anfd 2 50TGII's. They all work great so long as they're taken care of. I have several convectors I use for Kings. They did't last up to salt water very well.
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