may be in the market for some new reels and was looking at the citrix, the isis and the erio high speed for my float rod. anyone out there using any of these? thoughts?

oh god how could okuma even be considered!

Their spinning reels are fine. No experience with their bait casters. My Alumina 30's have caught 100's of fish without issue. I'd stay away from their lower end reels.

I liked this......


Had one Okuma spinning reel, Hi-speed 30........worse spinning reel I ever owned!!!!!!!!!!

Okuma's the next daiwa, people just don't know it

No first hand experience with Okuma reels..... but a highly respected guide I fished with told me one day "Okuma rods are okay, but their reels are crap".....

Okuma reels are part of the reason people buy Shimano.

Everyone has an opinion! You will find those that hate them and love them,,,,oh, just like Shimano, Abu or any reel.
We have been fishing them in Alaska for 10 years and they have performed as good as any other reel. They break down, but so do the high end reels, they have good drags and so do the high end reels. Buy what feels good in your hand.

Their higher end reels work great and live long.

lesse here... Okuma Coronado live bait spinner-smooth as silk at first, puked in year three- anti reverse went out, and handle spindle bent. Epixor spinner, silky smooth in years 1, adequate in years 2-4, now a paperweight.

Nitryx 400 bait caster- sent back to factory 3x due to inability to engage from free spool. Sent to watery grave at the Mid-channel marker, MA10.

2 different Celilo rods- tip snapped off when casting on rod #1, TWICE on same trip! the other exploded in a shower of thin, poorly manufactured graphite.

Okuma is a triumph of marketing. For the price point (this is key) you will not pick up a smoother or nicer looking reel or rod. I think my Epixor boasted something like seven bearings and I bought it for $60. For your average Joe who fishes 2x per year, it will probably be fine. For someone who USES their equipment, I think you are better off choosing any other manufacturer.

We bought six rods one year at a fishing lodge. ALL of them broke the first season, most in the first month. No love from the factory

If you need something quick & cheap, not bad...& the drags are pretty decent. I have an Avenger I have been using for 7 years or so. Worked good the first 2 years, then the bearings rusted out. I opened it up, greased the crap out of it & now use it as a saltwater beater reel. I'm still waiting for it to die so I can trash it.

Very pleased with my Epixor 30's for my steelhead boat rods, they work great. Clarion's for my salmon plug rods, work great. About half the reels I own are Okuma and I have had very little issues with them.

I have bought a couple Okuma bait casting reels over the past couple years. My experience: Great price, smooth as silk straight out of the box, works terrific for awhile.

But they have major breakdowns within a year or two. Bearings are the biggest concern. They wear out/burn out easily. I've had problems with high end reels too. But my biggest concern with Okuma has been with overall reliability.

I would say you should stick with the high-end reels (e.g., Shimano), but they're not what they were 10 years ago either. They're alot more expensive, and have reliablity issues too. My advice: Look for high end reels that are about 10 years old, with only light useage. My Shimano Curado 201 is circa 1999, and it runs like it's brand new.

Spinning reels - great bang for buck, but don't expect them to last forever.

Casting reels - my experience hasn't been great. IMO you'd be better off buying a few used Shimano Curado B's or BSF's and throwing greased carbon fiber drag washers in. Less money, way better performance.

This cracked me up because my only experience with Okuma (besides trying to keep them the hell away from me!) is watching poor saps' Okuma rods explode when they probably shouldn't.

Reel was great at first, then went downhill faster than any of the other comparables. Still have the others, Okuma was tossed.

thanks for the opinions guys. would love to pick up a nice curado /chronarch, or a calcutta(still have a thing for the round reels) but I didn't know if I would be better off trying to find one used in my price range(wife+newborn son=broke a$$) or just going brand new......price range brought up the Okuma question.........either way I will probably just end up overhauling my ambassadeurs. thank you for the info either way.