New Reel

[JimBuck]

Has anyone tried the Okuma Red Isis? I am looking at a reel to pull blades with this year and I've liked Okuma's that I have owned in the past. Any experience?

[PDXFisher]

I have a Red Isis. I broke gears on mine the first day I used it on Kinkaid last spring. I got it fixed and haven't really tested it again yet. The freespool adjustment on mine needed to be tightened down almost all the way to be properly dialed in. When it works, it feels pretty good. It feels about as nice as a Calcutta 400B, with a better handle. So far not nearly as reliable for me, however...

[JimBuck]

Thanks for chiming in PDXFisher. I've never had problems with my Okumas but this makes me rethink my options for a blade reel a bit.

[ole matty]

I believe they have fix the problem(s) on red isis to make it better.. From what I hear their customer service are very great.

[PDXFisher]

I heard their customer service was good too, but they didn't respond to repeated emails to their support address so I ended up eating the cost of the repair. The repair shop guys told me my mistake was buying an Okuma in the first place (though they are admitted Shimano bigots). I really want to like the reel and will know more how I think of it in two weeks after seven more days on Kinkaid with it.

[JRedig]

I have to comment on the Abu Toro Revo reel. Last night, the TC chapter of muskies inc had Steve Herbeck of AML talk, and he believes highly that this is the ultimate reel for most of muskie fishing. It was designed specifically with us in mind, to be a casting reel that can handle our abuse. Most reels we adapt are designed for "fishing" for saltwater, but not be cast 500 times each outing, and repeated every season. This reel is intended to go out and do nothing but cast and retrieve, even bigger baits. (i'm still a skeptic of how bad double 10's will beat it up though)

Another feature that was highlighted was the ability to hit the thumb bar with quite a bit of tension on the reel. I had this happen last year with the muskie-eating a pike event where my curado broke when I tried engaging the thumb bar with a fish pulling on it. This was designed into the reel specifically with boatside manuevers or fighting big fish in mind so that you can have that thumb control. I thought that was pretty cool, I may have to look more closely at these reels in the near future! I'm still cautious, but more hopeful than with most. The reels we use today are adapted to muskie fishing and we've figured out what works the best, neat to see that we're becoming a target for these manufacture's to design for our needs.

[cbrooks]

I my have to purchase a Revo. I never would have thought a low profile reel could hold up to the abuse of musky fishing.

[JRedig]

I'm not saying they will definitively, but it sounds pretty good from a serious users' perspective! If nothing else, hopefully it will push all their reels towards a higher standard and also push other manufacture's towards the same.

[50inchpig]

The Red Isis, once perfected, will be a great reel. Your friends will make fun of your musky bling for the red and gold but you'll love it.

That being said, might want to wait one more season on it. I haven't got my first one back yet but it's supposedly fixed. Most issues were minor and should have been an easy fix.

Only time will tell. And I'm sorry you had a bad experience with customer service, that't not usually the norm with Okuma.

[steffanf]

Jeez... I don't know why anyone didn't mention it yet. Personally, my favorite reel has to be the Shimano Sustain SA5000 FE. Perfect for burning bucktails and still works flawlessly after an entire season...

[TrophyEyes]

Cbrooks, I just got my revo Toro yesterday and it is beautiful. I am very excited to get it on the water. I had a 10% off coupon and used that to offset Gander's 2 year, no questions asked warrenty. If I do break it or feel it is deteriorating in anyway I can bring it back for a replacement of any kind (same dollar value). I usually don't do the warrenty bit, but with an unproven low profile, it seemed to be a pretty good idea, especially because I could offset it with a coupon.

[MUSKY18]

Pearson had some of the Revo's up at Operation Muskie last summer and a couple of the guys tested them out as did [PoorWordUsage]. Really liked the reel from their feedback and thought it could take the abuse put to it. Only time will tell!

One thing that amazes me is the number of you guys that throw 5.3 or 6.4 with the big blades. I have done it with the 5.3, but the 6.4 is more of a jerkbait reel, picking up so much line that quickly. I switched to a 4.1 gear ratio two summers ago and IMHO it is the only way to go with big blades. I know a lot of you aren't the biggest fans of Abu, but the 7000's are simply the best reel for big blades. With the larger spool, you can burn the lure if needed and you don't have to crank 900mph to do it. Can cast double tens all day long with no wear on my arms, and other than a few minor problems with the reel, it has been a workhorse for me. Will be buying yet another one this spring before the season opens.

[cbrooks]

I'm pretty much dead set on getting the new Toro after reading what everybody has said on these forums. If this reel is the real deal for standing up to the abuse of the big blades every musky fisherman will have one. Every few years there's a new musky product that takes off this could go over much like the doublecowgirls did.

[JRedig]

I know a lot of you aren't the biggest fans of Abu, but the 7000's are simply the best reel for big blades.

Have you used a trinidad or saltist Bret?

[50inchpig]

I'm also a fan of the 7000s, got a brand new swedish made 7000 that will be awesome this year. Also have had good luck with the C3s, but I keep a couple extra anti reverse mechanisms with me as I've had this part fail before - simple on the water fix.

Jeff, I've only thrown my saltist a couple times since I got it and have nothing but good things to say about it so far, except that I'll have to add mucho weight to my bucktails to keep them down, and there's absolutely no camparison between the saltist and reeling a 7000 as fast as you can, it's a whole new ballgame.

[ole matty]

Bought 300e n calcutta 400b for twitcher, cranks, topwater and jerkbait.. Hope they do good for me.. Now I need to find rods to match em up

[Cooter]

Sorry if I missed it, but do the Toros come with an additional power handle?

[JRedig]

Sorry if I missed it, but do the Toros come with an additional power handle?

Yep, though i'm not sure if that's all model's or just the 60/"winch" series.

[Esox_Magnum]

My Toro came with both handles and it's not the winch.

[porterhouse]

My Toro also came with both handles. Can't wait to use the reel!!!

Brian

[Doonbuggy]

Anyone using a Torium 16? 6.2 gear ratio, 46" per crank and $100 less than a toro. And can you palm it?

DB

[ole matty]

Make a trip to thornes bro and see if you can palm it.

[Lund 95]

I've been looking pretty hard into the saltist. Should match well with the 9' for the big stuff.

[JRedig]

Listening to Luke Ronnestrand talk at thorne last night, i won't be considering a saltist anymore for high speed stuff. He said it's a lot of work to fish fast with it, it doesn't help remove the stress of the big pull like the trinidad's and other shimano big reels.

His point was, it depends on what your fishing style is, do you want to be able to burn the big stuff, or just fish fast in general with smaller bucktails? For burning the big stuff, the saltist was not recommended, FWIW.

[Shawn Kellett]

If you want a D10 reel then there's no reel that's better then the Trinidad. You actually need to focus on reeling slower because they're so fast and effortless. It doesn't tire your reeling hand just your rod holding hand from the increased pull of the bait.

Casting can be a challenge with it. Use 100# round line (I've heard good things about the Cortland stuff). I have a 16N and found that you don't want a full spool for the best results. I've heard the 14 is a little better casting.

I've yet to see an Abu hold up but I'll be interested to see how this new one works. Maybe they've finally got a winner here.