Reels (not the usual brand names)

[Bluenose]

Just wondering if any of you have experience of reels that are not made by the usual suspects e.g. Shimano, Daiwa etc? What your opinions are of the so called 'lesser' (or perhaps just lesser known) brands and more importantly, whether you would recommend?

For my part, I got a couple of small Maver baitrunners a few years back, they're probably 4000 size, and although they haven't seen loads of use as yet, they certainly haven't let me down thus far for light barbel and tench fishing.

 

[David Rogers 3]

I bought a couple of Korum Latitude 6000 freespool reels at the start of this year and initially I was quite impressed with them. I generally like Korum gear and have several of their rods as well as luggage items and accessories. The clutch on one of the reels stopped working after only a couple of sessions, however. The reel is still usable, as it's possible to play fish through the freespool mechanism (which is still working) rather than the clutch, but it's a bit jerky and far from ideal. I'm happier using my 20-year-old Shimano Baitrunners which have never let me down.

 

[markcw]

I bought a cheap but good reel as a backup for when partners son wanted to go fishing, It was Oakwood, came with spare spool as well, cost around £25 I think, ( I was buying other stuff at the time) I would not have paid a lot for something for occasional use,
The bail arm goes over with a turn of the handle, no having to force wind it to do so, line lay is pretty good seeing it was a rush job spooling it up. Handled carp to around 8lbs no problems plus the usual obligatory silvers you find on a commercial. All in all a decent reel for the price.
Another decent cheap priced reel ( not cheap real) is Crivit, these are sold by Lidl when they have fishing promos on .

 

[steve2]

I have 3 Wychwood bait runner reels that are now around 20 years old and are still going strong. They were cheap at the time when compared to other makes. All so have some Silstar reels and Dam reels which were far cheaper than the well known makes and good reels.

 

[mikench]

Kastking( a USbrand) are well made and inexpensive. I don't overuse a reel( too many to do that) but they are worth a look. Jarvis Walker reels are Aussie but good value. I have one of their baitrunners for surf casting and it's smooth and , so far , reliable. I don't catch much when surfcasting but do cast out a lot to improve my casting, try out rods and to generally mess about. The JW is 5000 size and cost £30.

 

[jon atkinson]

I was looking for a small free spool type reel for general feeder work a couple of years ago. Not my go to method so I didn't want to pay top dollar and settled on an Okuma Longbow - I suspect that some would put Okuma in the 'usual suspect' bracket, but for me that is just Shimano & Diawa given their dominance in the market. The Longbow cost less than £40 I've been really impressed with its appearance, build quality and performance.

 

[ian g]

I have a Spro Tuff Red reel , I bought 2 but the handle broke on one . The other is a great float, light ledger reel , lovely drag and came with a deep and shallow spool . Wasn't overly cheap but it's a great reel.

 

[mikench]

Good to see you back posting Jon. Is the wine trade all consuming ( pun intended)?

 

[jon atkinson]

Good to see you back posting Jon. Is the wine trade all consuming ( pun intended)?

Just 'easing my way back in' Mike! I have been checking in / liking stuff sporadically, but work has indeed been keeping me busy, although we're not as crazy as we were back in April & May, we are still comfortably ahead of 'normal', whatever the hell that is! All well with you?

 

[mikench]

Yes thanks Jon. Thank goodness I'm retired. I'm still going fishing, buying stuff and enjoying it. One day Jon!!!!

 

[rob48]

The original Alcedos were excellent reels but I think the company folded and the brand has been relaunched. I've not seen the rebranded ones but suspect they'll be pretty much the same as all the others on the market.
Ryobi were another good brand (still use the CF100 closed face) but don't know if they're still in production.
So many manufacturer's brand names were acquired by others.

 

[jon atkinson]

Yes thanks Jon. Thank goodness I'm retired. I'm still going fishing, buying stuff and enjoying it. One day Jon!!!!

Looking forward to retirement but I suspect that it's quite a few years off yet ?

Still managing to spend far too much on gear despite telling myself on a regular basis that I have too much already ?

 

[Dangler40]

Another vote for the Okuma's, had some very pleasant surprises from their reels.

 

[bullet]

Okuma is now a large manufacturer competing with the likes of Shimano, although we only seem to get a fraction of their range in Britain.

 

[Ray Roberts]

The last Okuma reel I bought was so poor I gave it to someone I don’t like.

Seriously I bought an Okuma Carbonite reel and I was really not impressed at all. It looked okay but performed as you would expect from a sub £30 reel. I wouldn’t buy another fixed spool made by them. The Sheffield pin that I had previously bought was okay though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ian g]

I have a couple of their pins Adventa Pro's and they have given good service for years . Never had any of their fixed spools so can't comment on them

 

[S-Kippy]

I totally agree with Ray, Okuma reels are a shadow of what they used to be. I had a pair of Epix Pro years ago which were brilliant and imo as good as any Shimano but eventually I fancied something new. I looked at the updated Epix and thought it was rubbish and every Okuma I’ve looked at or handled since has seemed cheap and plasticky. I bought a pair of mini big pit reels by Wychwood and they’ve been excellent so far.....a lot cheaper than Davies/Shimano too.