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Okuma centrepins

Aaron Littlefield

Aaron Littlefield

Senior Member
Well, I say centrepins - I think they're ballraced/bearings, but that's beside the point...

I'm really curious about these Okuma's - I've been on a long quest recently chasing true pins, but wonder if its financially easier and sensible to investigate something more modern for the moment (apologises to true 'pinheads' - and I should know, I'm one of them!).

For those of you who have used Okuma's of this type - which would you recommend? From what I've heard and read online here and there, apparently the older types are better, but I've no idea what differentiates them from the new ones nor how to recognise each.

Has anybody got any advice...I realise this probably is in the wrong forum, apologies! :rolleyes:

Regards

Aaron
 
ok ,as far as okuma centrepins go ,unless you want one with a gimmick (Aventa [bushings] ,trent [drag] ,kennet fixed [lineguard] ,martin bowler [mag~lightweight] ) then your choice is down too two ,both ball raced reel with near as dam it same performance ,just the style /look is different ,thw Aventa pro (bronze model) and the sheffield (silvery-blue ) .the aventa has a single cross bar on the face of the spool and the sheffield has a multi-spoke/bar giving several finger sized holes too twizzle the spool with when winding in .

shop around as both could be had for less than £130 or so quid of e-bay ,(you should of got one last year before the vat increase and spiralling cost of living pushed the prices up)
 
From what I have seen the Sheffield is the one to have.
The Marko thingy is very much cheaper but if the line gets behind the spool you need a screw driver to take it to bits to get the line out.

I watched a chap try and do this when the wind chill was a bit bracing, he ended up loosing one of the screws which kind of messed up his day!
 
Hi,

I've got the Sheffield, and it is very good. But I also have had great success with the Marco Cortesi!

Never had the problem Keith's mentioned, but i'll look out for it in the future.

Cheers

Tim
 
I have an Aventa and a Kennet, both superb reels, bought both on ebay last year for £90, virtually unused.
 
Aventa Pro for me, I bought two when they first came out and use them both for trotting and ledgering and find them brilliant (cost new 89.99 each).
 
i have owned 2 okumas

the entry level silver model which is a true pin , and the bronze aventa pro which has 2 bearings

the silver aventa , i dint like it as a trotting pin , it needed too much weight to get it spinning and then keep it going , i moved that on and got the bronze aventa pro , although as a ledgering pin i found it ok and really enjoyed my forst barb on it , a 10lb 4oz fish ;) wow


aventa pro ,, a different class to the aventa . this in my limited pin experience was down to the bearings . hardly any weight was needed to start it and keep it going

my mate at the time got a sheffield and it was better in the spin department only than my A P , better bearings , german i believe ..

if finances would have allowed i would have kept the aventa pro and got the youngs purist im using now , but at he time i couldnt justify having 2 pins , ironically now i have the youngs for trotting and the marco cortessi for ledgering when i want too
 
Hello Stu, i,ve a good idea which river you fish, and i,m glad you like the marco reel for ledgering, as thats why i bought one, whats it like for trotting or haven,t you tried it. Be interested to hear what you think, cheers Derek.
 
Sheffield's are great trotting pins, but i dont think the ratchet is strong enough for ledgering imo, especially when there is some water on...
 
Jon
I presume you are talking about what I call reel creep where the current, or any bit of rubbish on the line starts the ratchet to click, and can really get the nerves going. I got over this by buying some elastic bands that are 1.5 to 2 mm thick, and 40 to 50 mm in diameter. Put the elastic band over the seat of the reel before fixing it to the rod. After having cast out pull down the band and loop it over one of the reel handles this will stop just about any movement of the reel. It really surprised me that such a thin band would hold that well. It is also useful to lock the reel when moving from swim to swim.

All the best
Colin
 
Jon Frisby said:
Sheffield's are great trotting pins, but i dont think the ratchet is strong enough for ledgering imo, especially when there is some water on...
Click to expand...
The very reason why I got an Okuma Trent rather than Sheffield for ledgering....
the Star drag fixes this.
 
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