Shimano Reel Review

Jeff Woodhouse in his article or review would seem to be too, by far in favour of the Shimano Company. In my experience over many years different manufacturers have produced far superior reels to those from the Shimano stable, in fact from personal experience I would put Shimano well down the table of top quality reels. Of brands that I have owned and abused the french made Mitchell would have to top the list for value for money. My CAP lasted 30 years and sold second hand for far more than I paid for it. My current Penn spinmaster is over 20 years old and seems indestructable. It handles from 2lb. lines to 10lb and is equally as good for float fishing as it is for ledgering but for modern technology I find it hard to go past the Okuma range. Here in NZ the fishing is for, on average much larger fish than in the UK so reels get hammered and I am sorry to say that in my humble experience that the Shimano reels that I have owned have had to be given away cause they just don't have the bottle!
If anyone would like to shout me an ABU Suverain to try ( they were never imported to NZ) I belive that they may well proove the ultimate in F/S reels.
It pays to be a decerning buyer and make your own call on what would seem to be quality; in my experience weight is the first means of accessing what is in your hand. Helical cut gears of navel brass or bronze weigh far more than die cast aluminium. Machined alloy bar stock is no contest when it comes to cast impregnated phenolic resins for life of bodies etc. etc. and a well reamed phosphor bronze baring will well and truly outlast any but absolute top quality ball or roller barings if well maintained.
For some it would seem that the "lable"is the most important reason for owning something. Lets get back to quality of engineering and shy away from lables, looks good and unadulterated crap that is mostly on offer these days.

Okuma used to make reels for shimano although i doubt shimano would admit this!!,and you are right tony,alot of anglers buy just for the label,there is alot of snobbery in angling over here,,and without a doubt.....ALL ANGLERS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS"!!!!!!!...well thats at least what some of em think,or was that politically incorrect for me to say that.

It's true that a lot of people buy tackle becuase of the label.

The thing is, companies often get a good name for good reasons.

I've only ever owned 5 Shimano reels. 3 of them I bought around 7 or 8 years ago and they're still my prime reels now.

So in my experience, Shimano are a good 'label' to buy.

I agree with you Matt, Shimano reels have served me well in the past and the two 3000's that I've used for the last 8 years will probably see me out.

Trying to compare modern reels with the likes of the Mitchell 300 is, to my mind, a pointless exercise and having owned one when they were (ahem!) the "in reel" I do have a bit of experience.

As regards the Okuma reels then, I tend to agree, they are very well made and most certainly value for money. Time will tell whether they will withstand constant use over a number of years.

At the Go Fishing show yesterday my mate and I tried the Lewtham centrepin reels and were suitably impressed although we didn't buy one. Five minutes later we picked up the Okuma centrepin and we both agreed that it felt a much better reel and it cost ?50 less. As I already own an Adcock Stanton I wasn't going to buy one but were I to do so I think I would have chosen the Okuma one.

"Jeff Woodhouse in his article or review would seem to be too, by far in favour of the Shimano Company."

"too, by far" - meaning what Tony? Sounds like you think I'm sponsored by Shimano or on a backhander. Completely wrong, I had to buy the reels in question, Fishingmagic doesn't get granted that many freebies although none of us have been privvy to Grahams secret hideaway, so who knows. )

I have just sold two very good old Shimanos that stood me for ten years and have done jobs from spinning and float to feeder fishing. I have also got a pair of baitrunners, about 8 years old plus a Super Aero 4000 about 6 years old and another 4000 about 4 years old. All of them work perfectly!

I'm not suggesting that there aren't other reels out there that aren't as good or perhaps even better. I bought two Shimanos so that I could exchange the spools when I wanted and because I trust them. I just tell it like it is!

4500 GT Baitrunners - 15 years
4010 GTM's - 12 years
2500 Match - 17 years

Plus a couple of 5000 Baitrunners that have been with me 2 or 3 years and a pair of Super Match's over 8 years.

I have tried other reels and they have let me down. Never had a moments problem with any of the above.

The link ?

All Shimano. Can't knock that kind of reliability.

i've got 5 or 6 shimano baitrunners the minimum time i've had any of them is the big bait runner long casts which i bought when they were first released, i've never had a problem with any of them at all.

i have one okuma epix pro which i bought to try out when they were first released, this is a reel costing 60 quid, it has quite a lot of faults, from the bait runner not engaging when the lever is moved to paint coming off and making it look cheep and nasty.

so that's one in the eye for the okuma supporters club.

In reply to Woody I can assure you that I was not suggesting that you might be sponsored by Shimano, even if you were so what! Many top names in the angling world have been sponsored so that the company can to sell more product to the gullible public.
I still maintain that a quality reel or other product for that matter must be chosen with care. It may well be that the best is not suitable for the purpose for which you intend it; that being so it becomes academic as to which is your personal choice of "best".
I personally have found Shimano not at all to my liking, unsuitable for the fishing that I do and grossly overpriced and overrated.
It is nice to hear the comments on the centerpins. I must say that for trotting for rainbows (trout) my old Alcocks Ariel is my pride and joy but for an inexpensive alternative I have an Alvey Blackfish which is marketed in the UK by Shakespheare as the Lincoln. As this reel was designed for salt water use it is just about bomb proof for fresh water.

How can you refer to the "gullible pubic" when you have reels by Penn, Abu and Alcocks? Not exactly 10 quid Silstar FX 40s are they?

Up to a point I?d agree with Jason over the paint job on the Epixs (silver grey) The Epix Pros (black) don?t have the same problem. But they do have a problem with the chrome plate that is put on over plastic flashy bits wearing. Any product that has this chrome plate treatment on plastic suffers the same fate.

Okuma must try harder for their next range to overcome these problems by a little less flashy bits and sorting out the paint jobs on their lower priced reels.

Mechanically they are very good and I?ve not had any problems in this area and I?ve 6 of them throughout the price range, all baitrunners.

I?ll be stopping with them for sometime to come I think!

BTW Jason now?t wrong with a bit of shedishness, the tackle thieves when they do their reckies during the day for thieving at night. Look at them and say "lets find something better they?re a bit battered them!" :0)

Silstar!!!
NZ dont import them any more mate last one I had didn't last a season. Dont see them advertised these days in IYCF etc either
Are they still around?

i had an fx40 that lasted years.

nah, proper bombproof, flashy fixed spool reels

Now thats a nasty looking reel Frothey !

No frills or spills plain simple but q.........uality!

Priced at $689 about ?320 in USA. UK? Well if you have to ask the price you can't afford one!


Pass!

correction I under valued them about ?390 I'll still pass though!

it is designed to attract lure anglers though and they've all the self control of a demented magpie when it comes to shiny things.

Van staal reel wierd one what!! recon I'll pass. Anyone got an ABU Suverain they want to sell? Ugly as hell but real good

When lurefishing in saltwater nothing I've tried comes close to ABU Suver?n (Penn probably would). I used to wear down a Shimano each season until I got my ABU, had it for 2 years now and it performs perfectly.
In freshwater especially when not lurefishing I'm just as happy with Shimano and I really like the fighting drag.

I'm keeping my two Suver?ns Tony, but if you look/phone around you may find a tackle shop that has one in stock - I bought a new one in October last year. You could also search e-bay.