After looking on the Fishtec site
i was interested to see Okuma have bought out 2 centerpin models amazingly only 69 and 79 quid!!!

Has anyone seen a review of these reels and are JW Youngs going to be worried :) i always wanted to buy a pin but just couldn't bring myself to part with 200 quid!

Also dapart from the Masterline
John Wilson trotter rod and the Greys
Bewick rod what other makes take
a pin i liked the look of the TFG rods
can these use one?

Cheers,
Matt.

Most rods can take a pin. I use the Bewick myself lovely rod for the river also used it on the canal for tench to 5Ib.

why would you pay 80 quid for an okuma pin when you can get a leeds for 45

Matt,

As Bryan says, most rods will take a centre pin reel quite comfortably.
Interestingly though, the Bob James River Twin needs a fair bit of alteration to fit a Purists onto it.

I have yet to see (and play with) the Okuma models so I cannot really comment on their quality.

The difference in prices, and market, for centre pin reels is really quite amazing. I noticed at Avon Angling the other day that a new Trudex is less then 100 pounds and Purists are still around the 200 to 225 mark.
I don't think that Young's will be worried, and neither will people like Witcher (new reel for around GBP 550) as they do tend to cater for a totally different market.

That all said, it is so nice to see an adventurous company getting into this market as it might temp more people to give this thrilling and enjoyable style a good try.

I have just recently ordered the okuma centre pin, and have to admit I have never even seen one in the flesh.

I am thinking that they have taken a look at the market, seen how obscenely overpriced, decent centrepins are and flung a load together in some malaysian sweatshop, ready flood the European market with perfectly adequate copies of present models at a reasonable price.

After all its only a light alloy drum on a spindle with ball bearing races, it cant be that hard to match, can it?

If they could make good ones, decades ago with the archaic machinery they had then, it shouldnt be that difficult with CAD tooling.

They seemed to have mastered things like building Hondas and Toyotas, OK, a basic reel shouldnt present too much of a problem.

I will keep you informed when I get it.

John

ok thanks for all your replies!

i have a confession.... i've just taken
the plunge and ordered a youngs purist
CL! I decided what the hell i wanted it to
last forever and they're gorgeous just
to look at :)

I also bought a Greys Bewick float rod looks great too.....basically i'm a poser!

matt!

John,

I certainly do agree with your technology-based argument with regard to how simple making a 'pin should be.
However, I would think that a fair percentage of the price difference would be taken up in the quality of the components and materials. Although at the same time I do think that there is a high precentage profit invloved as well with the more expensive mankes.

At the end of the day it all boils down to how much one is prepared to spend and how much an influence the "traditional" versus the modern will have. After all, Okuma make a decent enough bait runner (for the average Carp angler) and yet people are still queueing to buy Shimano and Daiwa at 4 to 6 times the price.

Maybe when you have had the chance to use your Okuma 'pin you could give us a decent review?

Hello Peter,

I would bet a fair percentage of the price would be taken up in low demand, tiny market share, expensive labour and high marketing costs, not to mentention perceived antiquity value.

John

John,

Where did you order you're Okuma Pin from as I have been trying to find a stockist ?
I've heard some very good reviews so far !

Cheers Ian

Hello Ian,

I have ordered it from Taskers in Liverpool and they said that it shouldnt take long although that doesnt mean a great deal.

I am assuming they can get it because they seem to be able to get Okuma stuff OK but the proof will be when it arrives.

If it goes beyond a couple of weeks I will just try to get it from one of the many places that are advertising it.

What reviews have you heard of it, are any of them from actually using it?

John

Matt which model of the Greys bewick have you bought i own the 13-15foot model and it's a lovely rod if you have gon for the longer model can you let me know what you think. Cheers

John,

You are probably right in your assessment of the cost breakdown for say a Young's centrepin. However, I am not too sure that the market share is all that small as I see many centrepins in use every time I am out fishing. Although I do most of my fishing on the Hampshire Avon, so it is hardly surprising that I see a lot of them. In fact, just about every angler I know owns at least one centrepin and uses it regularly.

When it comes to something like a Whitcher then the market place is really tiny. After all at GBP 550 that is quite a price. That said, I have been lucky enough to handle one and I will definitely own one in the future, even with the waiting list of up to a year.

Next weekend I hope to get some spare time to call into the tackle shops locally and take a good look at the Okuma models as it seems to be filling a very definite hole in the market place.

I went for the13' -15' foot model
Bewick so i'm no help :)
I wanted to use it for tench etc on small
stillwaters aswell so i went for the shorter one!


RE: the Okuma its available on the fishtec website at www.fishtec.co.uk

Hello Peter,

I think we may be going off on a tangent to each other here.

I interpreted the original question to be about the usefelness of the new okuma cantrepins and whether their introduction would threaten the manufacturers of presently available centrepins.

If they are built within small enough tolerances, using lightweight modern materials, they should perform fine and if they can match the performance of the more expensive pins then that has to be a plus point for us all.

I would bet me bottom dollar that the likes of JW Youngs will have atleast a tad of concern because quite simply the inroduction of the Okumas will mean more competition and for anglers whos only interest in a pin is to use one to fish with, the Okumas may present a very viable and more economic alternative.

I do appreciate that many anglers are attracted by the percieved classic and antique value of stuff such as the whicher you mention and everyone to their own but as I said earlier I am interested in equipment to perform a task, not sit in a presentation case with a certificate of authentication and limited edition.

I suppose what I mean is that I look at equipment to fish with, not collect, but everyone to their own, fishing has many attractions, all equally valid, to lots of different people.

John

While we're on the subject of "most expensive" doesnt necessarily equte to being the best, when I restarted fishing after a long lay-off, amongst other things, I bought the Preston 12"9 float and the Shimano Antares 13" match (The lightest action one)

In use, the Preston absolutely screams quality but, as for the Antares, as far as I am concerned, it is no big deal and definately not considering that it is supposed to be Shimano's flagship matchrod.

Anyone want to buy it? hardly used because its crap when you consider against the Preston.

John

What brilliant selling technique John.


Ever heard of a guy called Gerald Ratner?

I haven't seen the Okuma pin in the flesh yet but it does look nice in photos and lets face it thats what will sell it, most fishing tackle these days is made to catch anglers.
I bought an Okuma baitrunner when they first came out, mainly on its looks but also because of its small size, two years later and admittedly a fair bit of use it looks awful with all the pretty paint flaking off, ( a big flake came off the foot of the reel the first time I put it on a rod) it now has noisy bearings and sometimes the baitrunner wont disengage, never had any of these problems with my Shimano baitrunner.
All reels these days seem to rely on ball bearings this is probably beacause they are cheap to manufacture and makes a reel a lot easier to assemble than steel shafts fitted to bronze bearings.
I own a few centrepins including an Allcocks aerial but if I were to buy only one pin for regular use in allround fishing situations it would have to be a Speedia, preferably the 4" wide drum version, they sell regularly on ebay for around the £50.00 mark or quite a lot cheaper if you dont mind a bit of paint missing. They are extremely well made and spin like a top at the slightest touch, plus they can only go up in value.

Did anyone ever get round to buying one of the Okuma centre pin reels? If so what's your opinion of it.
Steve

Supprise Supprise! I did I bought the Adventia Pro this is the dearer one of the two and it is simply superb!
Buy with confidence! J.W.Youngs will have to start looking at their pricing structure once the word really spreads as to how good these Okumas are.

Alan's right, of course, but then again, I would say that!

John, if you don't get fixed up with one in Liverpool, give me a ring at work and I'll get you one, too.

So far, we haven't had any negative feedback at all on these reels - everyone who has had one seems delighted with it.