[Blacktip]

Just wondering what is the concensus on which manufacturer has the best overall brand of offshore reels throughout their product line?

 

[elkhunter49]

Best Reel's for the price

I try to buy American when I can, but I believe Shimano is the
best quality for my price range. Baker

 

[Argo]

I am now fond of Avets. Made in USA and very strong and smooth drag system.

 

[Bill S]

my reel preference

All the reels I have are Shimano. From small baitcasting to TLD 30 two speed. As mentioned above they are a quality reel at a reasonable price. One reason I prefer shimano is the drag on the TLD models. It is very smooth and seldom needs the drag washer replaced. The small baitcasting reels like the calcutta need to have drag washer replaced occasionally like any other reel. By the way - for you shimano owners - I was having trouble getting my drag on a calcutta to run smooth. Went by Cut Rate and talked to reel repair guy. He sold me a small container of "Shimano Star drag washer Grease" which according to him was the only grease that would make shimano reel drags work properly. Went home and cleaned out old lubricant and replaced with shimano lubricant and reel drag works like new. He also recommended Remington gun oil for the reel bearings. I used the Rem oil when repairing the drag and had to make some adjustments to the reel it spun so easy I started to get backlashes. The old 3 in 1 oil is not a very good oil for those small ball bearings.

 

[Captn C]

Avets-Great reel!

I own some of everything-Penn, Internationals, Okumas, Shimanos, Accurate conversions (Penn) and of course the Avets.....for the money none can touch the Avet...IMO

 

[Snagged]

Shimano. That said I have more Penns for general use.

 

[mcgolfer]

i own a few reels and it seems that most of my go to reels are shimano's. i have accurate platinum's that are great but there boss series still needs more improvement. i have an avet that works well but i seem to grab the shimano digitana when i go after a big amberjack. i keep trying to test the avet out but i have not given it enough time to rate its useability and durability. the blue avet sure is pretty if that counts for anything. the penns that are gold have been trouble free but some of there non gold stuff has let me down. the diawa's that i own are not the top of the line and i am not happy with them. i don't own any okuma's and at this time don't plan on purchasing any. with avet coming into the market place it has made several of the top manufacturers re-evaluate there bluewater lines and make some changes for the better. shimano brought out the toriums and tekota's to stop there errosion of sales to the avet. avet has a strong following on the west coast and that has always been shimano's home turf in the usa. shimano on the west coast. penn's on the east coast and anything goes on the gulf coast....rick

 

[CoastalOutfitters]

I have sold penn and shimano and repair both for customers all the time, as listed above, buy shimano, shimano tld's are by far the way to go, these guys are 100% correct.
stay away from okuma, shakespeare, diawa and pinnacle and especially quantum. they use inferior parts for the abuse that blue water fish can dish out and parts can be hard to get.

 

[JWT]

I used to work in the reel repair shop of Cut-Rate, so I would say it all depends on how much you abuse your stuff. First of all, when rinsing reels use low water pressure or better yet wipe them off with a damp rag. Totally rebuild your reels twice a year if possible. Use grease(penn power greese) on gears and maybe clickers, oil on bearings and levelwinds. In the shop they use Reel Scrubber to spray the bearings clean, at home I use brake parts cleaner(a lot cheaper) and spin the bearing on the end of a pencil at the same time. Remington gun oil is great for small stuff but you want something heavier for an offshore reel. I personally use 3in1 oil, it may slow the reel up a bit but it runs smooth. I like Shimanos, but you have to take care of them, I have seen a lot of them that had to be trashed because of abuse. Their tolerances are higher and the drags are smooth. Penns senators on the other hand are pretty much bullet proof. A MAJOR consideration is parts availability. Penn and Shimano are great, as a side note I have been waiting 3 months for jigmaster conversion kits from Accurate. Fishing reels are one small facet of Accurate's business and they treat you like it. I don't believe I would ever buy their product line again because of problems you will encounter getting parts. I have inspected Okumas and they look like quality to me, definately a lot of bang for the buck, however, I am unfamiliar with their parts availability. I am also unfamiliar with Avets, since they have only come along very recently.

 

[QBall]

Parts

Thought I'd share a link that I happened across. I called around and was unable to find a 'cog wheel' for the 20 yr old Daiwa Millionaire that my grandpa gave me as my first saltwater reel. Did a search on the net and ran across these guys.
Schematics for most common reels and quick service.

Maybe this will help somebody.

http://southwesternparts.com/frames.asp

Tight Lines.......Q

 

[Blacktip]

Coastal, where's your shop located?

 

[Argo]

I was wondering the same thing.

 

[Farmer Jim]

i own a few reels

This is like Planters saying "i own a few peanuts". When Webster finaly puts Tackle Ho in the dictionary, the definition will include a picture of Rick.

 

[Blue Water Ho]

This is like Planters saying "i own a few peanuts". When Webster finaly puts Tackle Ho in the dictionary, the definition will include a picture of Rick.

Now thats funny..........................................later,Dave

 

[Blacktip]

So you're saying McGolfer's got reels like Carter's has liver pills?

 

[Blue Water Ho]

yup.....................................later,Dave

 

[Argo]

What is the actual reel count McGolfer? Do you even know?

 

[Bret]

I went fishing with Rick last weekend and we had 26 rods and reels on the boat (5 were mine). I think we might have taken more if he had more rod holders. LOL We used all but 5or 6. All first class stuff. I especially liked the shimano kaikon 4000t reels with the line counters and the spool lock. it is nice to find where the fish are holding and catch one and drop right back down to the same depth you got bit before. It made a believer out of me. I think the kaikons are like a beefed up trinidad 30. I wish they were easier to get a hold of .
Bret

 

[Capt.Chaos]

I too have a few reels,have been useing my AVETS for over a year now.They have worked flawlessly,have become my GO TO reels.But the Shimano stuff is top shelf too as are Penn,Okuma is junk from what I've seen,someone brought two of them out on my boat took both home broken(big AJ's).Play with all of them and see what FEELS best to you.Lever drags are something to seriously consider when buying.

 

[agulhas]

just bought a pro gear and love it.

love my 2 italians (alutecnos and everol.) just don't like the clicker location on the elutecnos. both are outstanding reels.

still think that you can't beat accurate. best drag i have ever used. simple and well layed out.

but then i used to cast in the surf in south africa with a jigmaster and loved that reel.