 I am looking to update a couple of reels (Shakespeare Oracle an DAM Baitfeeder) both bought on a whim with cheapness in mind.
I have fished with these for two seasons now and although I've landed good fish on both I am not confident in them and to be honest have never liked them.
I don't have much to spend but a friend of mine once said to me;
'Buy cheap, buy twice!'.
Is this the case with the above Okumas as I have now seen them advertised at under £30.
I have read the reviews on the site and when they are new they sound great, but the review was written a couple of years ago.
Anyone got any feedback on them after a couple of years use?
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 Two years once and occasionally twice a week use and it is as smooth and perfect in operation as the day it was purchased.
One of my best buys ever.
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 i was looking at the okuma epix they look good but in the end i bought a pair of fox stratos 7000e i got the pair for £90 but could have got them cheaper on line but wanted to handle them first.i would say listen to your friend if you buy cheap you buy twice but you can get some nice good quality reels now in the £30-£50 range daiwa shimano fox okuma all make good reels go to a shop and handle them all and don,t buy them unless your happy with them confidence in your gear does play a part in fishing.
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PS. Don't buy one of the the Prologic Xlnt reels. Had one as a gift the same two years ago and a grave disappointment all round. Looks lovely, allen key headed screws all over and the rest, but a number of serious defects. Even as a gift, that particular horse's teeth sadly aren't worth it.
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I've got two Interceptors - they've worked very well for about 18months now, with no problems, and they get used a minimum of one session a week, usually more. The twin (balanced) handle is much more user friendly that the big single on the Daiwa Regal BRI4500's I've also got. Good value for money.
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From the responses I think my mind is made up.
I already own the Aventa Pro Centrepin by Okuma with no regrets. So I reacon I'll go for it.
Unless I see something better of course.
Although I've seen them on a local shop's site at £25 each!
Thanks all for your responses.
Tommo
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.jpg) I've got two Interceptors which I use and abuse on a regular basis. They've mainly been used when feeder fishing on my local commercial and have seen their fair share of Carp well into double figures. Matched with 4lb, 6lb & 8lb mainline they perform very well.
One is just starting to sound a little rough under pressure but that's after nearly two years. Perhaps I ought to give it a bit of a clean and some oil!
I also have the Okuma Sheffield centrepin which I think is a superb piece of kit.
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Between my fishing friend and i we have gone through about 6 okuma reels and all have self destructed.we started with undertaker baitrunners whose baitrunner facility and clutch broke in about 6 month of very light use. 5 year guarantee is it? sure please wait around 6 month to be sent to the manufacturer for repair no thank you ive got the receipt give me the money back and ill have the interceptors. 4 month later hey the clutch and baitrunner is broke back to shop get money back give me epix pros and so on and so on. if you get some for gods sake KEEP THE RECEIPTS ha ha ha okumas! Just get some daiwa regal BRI plus for 30 quid each and enjoy (true story)
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In addition to the Interceptor I have an original Undertaker baitrunner in perfect working nick after more than four years use now. What on earth is it that you do to these reels that so destroys them ? I have never worn out or broken any reel in over thirty years fishing*, and that's without any pampering.
I am sure the Daiwa's are very good reels. Just that they have five more ball bearings than the Undertaker, no doubt the reason why Daiwa's manufacturers RRP starts out 300% higher than the Undertaker. Not exactly comparing like with like is it.....
* I still have the Mitchell 320 I won in my second ever match at age 14 :-)
And was there ever anything so simple, jerk free, frictionless, effective and foolproof as the front drag operating on a teflon disk in the spool ?
Why ever make it more complicated than that....
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If im not mistaken arent intercepters around £30? I paid £35 for the daiwas each so i think thats comparable especially since i think they are more comparable to shimano baitrunners but half the price. Having owned many different reels from different manufacturers (Shimano, MAP, Daiwa, Shakespeare, mitchel ect) I have never ever had anything go wrong ever with a reel except the okumas. The fact that people keep asking okumas any good? probably indicates they have heard bad things from friends about reliability. Id personally pay a little bit more for something that will last and is superior rather than risk something that is a bit of an unknown. But thats my opinion. ;)
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I think we could talk at cross purposes for a few hundred posts about the difference between manufacturer's RRP and actual real world selling prices...
The Undertaker cost me £15 when new, v. (then) RRP of £20.00 IIRC and the Interceptor £25 against RRP of £29.99....
The Daiwa's Regal BRI's all seem to start out at RRP £59.95, though I am sure that they can equally be found more cheaply in the real world of bargain hunting and margin cutting.
And I have always thought that the questions asked about Okuma stem more from people's generally accurate if jaundiced view that cheaper is suspicious. In this instance, not so IMHO, and I had yet to see anyone giving any Okuma of any variety a slating until your goodself in this thread....
And for the avoidance of doubt I am not an Okuma apologist by any means - Mitchell Quartz to the core for preference !
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I'm glad someone has something detrimental to say about the Okumas.
It gives a better balance to the decision process.
What type of fishing do you partake in Gavin?
I planned to couple the Interceptors (IBF40) to Greys Specialists in both 1.25 and 1.75 guises for Tench fishing during the warmer months and Roach fishing when it cools down.
Probably not much more than a couple of day sessions a week.
Maybe a couple of Zander outings to boot.
I once had an Abu Cardinal's internal gears dissintegrate on me for no apparent reason (second outing) and have never picked up another of their fixed spools since. However I have not had any problems with their Ambassador multiplier.
As I have not had any problems with the Okuma centre pin, which when compared to other centre pins on the market is a budget reel, I wondered if the low price of the Interceptor had anything to do with its quality or the fact that it does not say Shimano on the side?
Looking at the replies it seems to be about 60 - 30 in favour.
Any more?
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 Only ever had one reel problem,Shimano baitrunner 6010.!!!
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i had a shimano baitrunner when they first come out about 10 years ago was it? and paid £109.99 for it and that i have just sold on in absolutely as new condition you couldnt tell it had 10 years use the engineering was fantastic. I do all sorts of fishing but only use the baitrunner type reels for lightish carp fishing no big bolt rigs or bags. When the reels arnt in use their clutches are slackened reels are cleaned, greased and oiled if needed then they go back in the box then in the house. im not plugging shimano just telling my experiences. If i can keep a reel in tip top condition for about 10 years, ive got other ones as well both old and new, if my friend and i buy okuma reels and they last a couple of months i consider that to be a bit pap. although i will say this, the okuma reels seem to be a 2 tier system, if you buy a cheap one they are rough but if you move up the price range they do seem to get better engineered.
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 I have 11 okumas of one sort and another. The oldest ones are about ten years old and i can honestly say i have never had any trouble at all with any of them. These threads always seem to be made up the same way 95% in favoutr and 5% against. Usually Shimano enthusiasts who will never admit there are any other alternatives to shimano. Thats of any make not just Okuma. You buy them Tommo and i'm sure they will be just the ticket.
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 Couple of my friends have had okuma reels and they broke with little use, also drags were not so smooth on the ones I have handled. I prefer shimano no major problems but they are not perfect either. Corn juice seems to soften the septon handle grips and the clear coat on some of the gold plastics after time.
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Stay away from their cheapies (same as you would for other manufacturers') - their mid-upper range ones are sheer quality..... 2 IBF40 (1 is the new Pro) and Okuma Force 530 all fine and dandy. Coming from a sea fishing background - I am religious about cleaning and lubrication - never had any issues with any reel I have paid more than £15 for even s/hand ones. Still got my Winfield 386 copy from 1980 !!!!! Anybody tried/got their Electra's and upwards ?
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Stay away from their cheapies (same as you would for other manufacturers') - their mid-upper range ones are sheer quality..... 2 IBF40 (1 is the new Pro) and Okuma Force 530 all fine and dandy. Coming from a sea fishing background - I am religious about cleaning and lubrication - never had any issues with any reel I have paid more than £15 for even s/hand ones. Still got my Winfield 386 copy from 1980 !!!!! Anybody tried/got their Electra's and upwards ?
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Update !! My friends new model epix pro reels now have knackerd baitrunner drags the weight of a bobbin just peals the line off (£60 quid reels)
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I have a pair of Okma Longbows, had them for 4 years, I know , it is an old model, but I have used them for Barbel fishing on swollen rivers, when I was chucking out 6 or 7 oz feeders, and hauling in double figure Barbs plus the empty feeders, never had a problem at all....... it may be that the newer Okumas have some build problems that the older ones dont have. I also use Diawa Regals, they also seem OK, not used them long enough to form an opinion as yet, I do know that the baitrunner facility does not tighten down as much as the Longbows, and that can cause problems in a fast flowing river. The Clutches on both types of reel seem fine . smooth and reliable.
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