Big Game Omoto Reels (50 and 80)

[fifis101]

Hi guys,

I know that the Omoto reels have been a big talking point on many fishing forums but I can't seem to find any info on any of the big game series.
I know a lot of people have been looking for some info on these reels but all I've been able to find is stuff about spinning and jigging reels.
So I'm putting it out there.
Does anyone own a S50-II or a S80-II?
What do you think of it?
Is it as good as what they say or really just as cheap as the price?
Would love anyone's feedback and I'm sure there's a lot of people out there that would be very interested in finding out how they really perform.

Regards,
Josh

[Reinaard van der Vossen]

What are you going to fish for with that 80?

If you're going for monsters and you are chained to your reel you'll go overboard when you get a reeljam. Absolute (proven) reliability is then a must. (see Steward campbell on youtube , not by reel failure but by the line wrapping around the top) The risk is not "missing a fish"

I own and have fished a smaller size 16 Omoto reel and I'm quite happy and impressed with the reel.  I also got it at a good price on an ebay auction and for the price I paid I could not have purchased anything better. The frame is sturdy and the bearings did not rust after a couple of saltwater trips. Drag ratings are high for such little reel but maybe not as smooth as others. The gearing looks solid and had no sign of wear (but time is to short to draw conclusions)

Nevertheless I purchased a okuma makaira in the 50W size for large fish (smaller to medium blu marlin, bluefin) stand up fishing but that was after the reel had proven itself a couple of years to others on many long range trips and in PEI on grander blufins.

Even then it might not be as reliable as a tiagra or certain penn models which have proven themselves over decades. 

[fifis101]

Below is a reply I got from an eBay user that has previously used Omoto reels.



Dear fifis101,

I've been using Omoto & Pelagic reels for about two years with great results.
They are the only reels I have on my boat. Sure there are plenty of great reels
out there but none that offer great performance at a really reasonable price.
I have several of every available size from 10s thru 80w. I am especialy fond of
the 2 speed models. The drags are strong and have proven their strength time and
again boating many Tuna and Bull Dolphin while fishing in the Florida Keys.
The only failure I've had is a clicker (noise maker) that quit working on one of the
reels that I use for trolling. Upon inspection I found it had only become dislocated
and the repair took me less than 5 minutes.
You can't beat the performance for the price.
Happy fishing.

- blkdeuce

[Reinaard van der Vossen]

Fifis,

And I sure could believe that to be true, the only thing is that I have no own experience to back it up. The biggest fish I got on that Omoto 16 was a 12 kg (approx 25 lb) AJ and the reel did that with ease although the AJ really did his best to get away.

You still did not indicate what you are going to target. Will it be grander Blue fins, tonner marlin or just offshore fishing for cow YFT and bull dorado from a (private) charter boat? Depending what your fishing for I think it can be a nice reel

[Black Pearl]

I have a new OMOTO POSEIDON S80-II on sales.

[fifis101]

I will be using it for shark fishing. Land based and from a boat.

Some of the sharks in my area are over 3m in length and weigh more than 300kg's.

I am most concerned about the drag. I could get involved in a long fight where the drag really needs to hold up.

[fifis101]

I have a new OMOTO POSEIDON S80-II on sales.

How much?

[Black Pearl]

I have a new OMOTO POSEIDON S80-II on sales.

How much?

PM was sent to you.

[fifis101]

I bought an 80 but sadly I wish I didn't.

At first I was rather impressed with the price I paid. It seemed built very solid and everything seemed to run really smoothly.

I spooled it up with 80lb mono and set the pre-set to 26.5lb (1/3 of 80lb) and this where I found out why they are so cheap.

The drag for these reels seems to not be up to the normal 80lb spec. It behaves like a reel that you have turned the pre-set up past its normal spec where the drag lever is hard to move out of free-spool, wants to jump back into free-spool at low drag lever settings and the drag jumps really high in the first few increments. instead of starting low like 1lb it was about 15lb straight out of free spool!

For the style of fishing I do, I need these low drag settings and because of this I contacted the R&D team at Omoto to run some tests on some other 80's. First of all they didn't really seem to understand to method of pre-setting a drag. I had to expain that they needed to fill the spool and pre-set it to 1/3 at the strike position. Once they finally conducted the tests I was after, I sadly found out that it produced the same results as mine. This proving that there is a fault with the design.

At lower drag settings there doesn't seem to be a problem but if you can't use it to what it should be cabable of then there's no point.

Omoto have told me that they have taken all of my advice on board and will work on improving their current drag system.

Lucky for me they have accepted in giving me a full refund for my purchase.

[redsetta]

Lucky for me they have accepted in giving me a full refund for my purchase.

That's good to hear.

[wallacewt]

thanks fifis
very informative.cheers