Best Okuma Fishing Supplies
Makaira 10th Anniversary model MK-15TSea10th, Nice bling – A while ago I was looking at getting a small Okuma Makaira lever drag game reel but when I looked at the 10 and 15 size they were just a little bit… Read more
too small for what I wanted. I already own a 50W and the 30 so just wanted something smaller, anyway Okuma brought out the Limited Edition 15T 10th anniversary model which has been anodized in a triple splash colour scheme, this is a tall version of the 15 and it is also quite blingy! It will be a shame if I scratch it up with use!
Size wise it is about the same physical size as a Penn Fathom FTH30LD2 speed with about the same amount of line capacity, with a few more Kg's of drag and it has Helicut gears, so it is much nicer to wind the line on than the Fathoms. It is a taller version of the 15 size so it holds more line and drag as well compared to the 15, but not as much as the 16 which is a bigger reel again. In the USA fishermen are catching Tuna up to a couple of hundred pound weight on them so these are quite a strong reel for the size. They also made the other sized models in this anniversary style colour scheme. All of them are 2 speed reels.
Out of the box it comes without the harness lugs fitted (they are included) and I had them fitted for no charge. Spooled it up with 65lb braid and added a 80lb mono top shot.
Excellent Value for Money Reel, Highly recommended – I have the Okuma LongBow LB30 which was superceeded by the Epix 30. I actually have an Epix EB30 Spool on the reel, as they are interchangeable and… Read more
I use several different line classes on it, with 3 different spools (4lb, 6lb and 10lb). I have 2 spools with braid and one with mono. I have been fishing for over 50 years and have a lot of equipment. I never buy cheap, as you get what you pay for. I usually look to buy middle to higher end value for money products. I have 4 Bait Feeder reels. Shimano Thunnus 6000 & 8000; an Okuma BaitFeeder Trio BF40 and the Okuma Longbow LB30.
My Okuma Longbow LB30 is now 17 years old. It gets used every couple of weeks and still looks as good as the day I bought it. It has never failed me in any respect and I have never had to replace any parts. I strip it down and service it about every 3 years. I also meticulously soak it and wash it down in fresh water immediately after every use. It is not "junk" as one reviewer here indicated, but an excellent value for money product. I have given it 4 stars from 5 as it isn't quite as good as the Shimano Thunnus (it's very close), but it's also 1/2 the price. The longevity and reliability of all fishing tackle is related to how you treat it and how well you maintain it. I use this reel for a multitude of purposes including floating unweighted live prawns and nippers to tossing soft plastics for flathead. It has caught many hundreds of fish over the past 17 years. Flathead to 4kg, Bream to 2kg, Jewfish to 8kg, Snapper to 4kg etc. I highly recommend it as an excellent value for money product. The Okuma Trio BF40 is also an excellent reel and great value for money. If you stay away from the very bottom end products, from most manufacturers you will generally get something pretty good that will last a very long time, if it is properly treated and cared for. Eg. I have an ABU 7000C Syncro Drag that is 40 years old and still looks good and still works perfectly.
Okuma Titus
Good – The Titus name covers a range of Okuma lever-drag, overhead free-spool reels The Titus is available with an alloy frame -TG (Gold Series)- or as the… Read more
T series with graphite frames. The Titus ranges from the small baitcaster sized 10 up to #50 full size game reels. They are available in level-wind models (L suffix), which evenly lay the line across the spool on the retreive, and 'casting' configuration where the fisherman must guide the line back on the spool with his/her fingers. The Titus Gold is also available in 2-speed versions.
I own the T15L which is the cheaper graphite, level-wind, and is the second smallest of the range. I've used the reel exclusively for bottom fishing for Blue Cod off the Southern and Taranaki coasts of NZ. In the south the reel was used in 90-100 meters of water with heavy weights and multi-hook rigs on 80lb braid. This type of fishing requires a lot of winding as the fish hook immediately the bottom is reached so a days fishing is endless drops and retrieves. The Titus proved took this all week without complaint.
From new my Titus has had a noisy gear-set, during servicing the heavy duty brass gear set was inspected and was found to show no abnormal wear. I've just got used to it and ignore.
As mentioned above, given the great range of Titus reels, this review is specific to the T15L, which overall is good strong reel. I am please with it. Titus T15L Cheap, rugged for the money, My reel is has noisy gears, other units I've inspect don't
Good – The Avenger AV30 was my first Okuma reel and because of my experience with this reel I have owned several more since. I intially bought this reel at… Read more
a discounted price and used it for spin-fishing for trout in the Southern lakes of South Island New Zealand. So endless casts and retrieves. I replaced the Avenger with a better specced Okuma Epix EFS30 high speed retrieve reel for resh water work and began using the Avenger for saltwater work. The AV30 had already got a bit noisy in the bearings even with regular maintenance. This reel has caught a lot of fish over the years, and is still my choice for saltwater spinning for smaller sports fish. It has caught strong powerful ocean-going Kahawai 50-60cm which are right a the limit of capability of the light (4-8lb line weight) 6' carbon spinning rods to which I attached the little Avenger to. Currently it is loaded with 12lb spiderwire braid. The drag has had severe work outs on the larger Kahawai and has proven bullet-proof. The reel lost that 'new reel' feel very quickly compared to the higher spec Epix (which still feels new), however it has a hard life. The bailing arm now has to be manually flipped as the internal bail flip doesn't work all the time. But all in all the fact that it is still in use after so many fish is testament to it's reliabilty. The Okuma Avengers are robust and durable mid-spec, mid-price spinning reels. My AV30 is one the smaller of the range AV15-AV80 and has dealt well with heavy use for 7 years. Got 'old' rather quickly both cosmetically and funtionally.
Bad – Buy something else! It looks like its up there with the big boys. (calcutta, morrum, Daiwa luna) ect with its dyecast frame.. but its not!! its just… Read more
a cheap reel with cheap solutins for cheap fishermen! Buy something else! Nice to look at. Ok drag. Cheap It lasted 10 throws and now it sounds like a train.. It still throws ok but have a tendency to overrun with light lures. Not as smooth as it looks