Okuma

Sorry About posting this in here but the Southwest Pa board seems like it gets the most attention. I am thinking of buying an Okuma Avenger Baitfeeder reel. Does anyone use these reels? Are they good. Looking to get a 65 to put on a carp/catfish rig. Just looking for some feedback. Again, sorry for not posting in the correct place but the board seems dead lately and I wanted to put it where it will get seen.

I haven't had any issues with my 40A's. For the price it's hard to do better. I do need to tear them apart to clean and lube them. They've served me quite well this year. The only time they didn't see any action is when MM was catchin all the fish out from under me.

We fish more than a few times a year. We don't go after the big monster cats. Just typical pay lake cats and carp and carp in our local streams and rivers. We were fishing a local hole near my house alot this summer. Its a stream with a deep hole. Catch the usual smallmouth, rock bass greenies. There are always some decent carp in there. My brother hooked onto one with an UL and it just ran until it broke the line off the reel. I hear of guys catching them on ULs but I didn't have any luck. I seen Okuma has their Trio reel in Baitfeeder but nobody is carrying it.

I USE THEM FOR PAYLAKE FISHING ALL THE TIME,I LOVE THEM FREE LINE NO WEIGHT JUST A HOOK AND BAIT......RIPPIN!!!!!!

What kind of fishing are you going to be doing with them?
 
For bottom fishing from shore it isn't much different, except that instead of setting an indicator on your line you turn on the baitrunner. When a fish takes out line, you'll hear it.

To be honest, I don't think they'd be of much use for trout or bass fishing in PA. They are good when still fishing on the bottom, especially for carp and catfish like you mentioned.
 
Think of a bait runner as a switch that allows you to go between having a very light drag and a normal drag in an instant. When it's on and a fish finds your bait, it can take line out without feeling much resistance. For something like a bit catfish, that's a lot better than a closed reel which would only give the fish a few inches of slack before it feels resistance (and possibly yanks your pole into the water). With a bait runner you can let a fish take as much line as you'd like before you flip the switch, which then engages your main drag. That would be set much heavier of course. If you use circle hooks, which in my opinion are a perfect match for bait runners, you don't even have to set the hook. Just "hit the switch" and it's fish on.
 
There are other ways to use it too. If you're fishing with large live bait you can set it so that the fish you're using has some freedom of motion.
 
Like I said before, I've used the Okuma Avengers quite a bit, and they've worked really well for large catfish. I've never had even a hint of a problem with them, which is saying a lot for such a large reel at that price range.
 
Both of these (and dozens more) were brought in with the reel in question. You can even see it in the pictures. 
 

 

I agree that they'd be overkill in most situations in Southwestern PA. But in the right circumstances they can be quite useful. I can think of a few applications that you might run into around there: fishing for flatheads in the Three Rivers, fishing for large carp, fishing for pike, etc.
 
Don't show up at Mingo Creek on the first day of trout reason with one (although with some of the stuff I've seen, you might actually fit right in).

I first started paying some attention to them after watching Jeremy Wade on River Monsters using one. He did as you mentioned. He let the fish take it and when he flipped the switch, the hook set automatically. I assumed they would work best when using a circle hook. What had me questioning if they would work for smaller fish is that Okuma sells them in smaller sizes. I see your point that it would probably result in swallowed hooks or stolen bait. I guess I'll just stick with my Pfluegers for trout. I recently picked up a couple Quantum Kinetics for a really sweet deal at a pawn shop. I am going to pick up an Avenger for cats and carp. I recently got back into fishing after a long hiatus. I used to only fish for trout with ULs. One more question. Does anyone make a baitcaster type reel with a baitrunner type feature? Thanks for all the info. Fishink, you fish Mingo much? I fished it tis year a few times. I fished the big hole near the swingsets. I didn't have any luck although my brother caught a couple. You mention seeing some crazy sights there as far as equipment goes. I know what you mean.

bcain
Does anyone make a baitcaster type reel with a baitrunner type feature?

 
 
 
Abu Garcia makes them for sure. They aren't even comparable in price to the spinning reels though. FishUSA had carried them during the summer. I didn't see them a minute ago however. They cost generally about the same as a near high end baitcaster. I can't say I've seen any made by cheap-o companies either.

Yep, that's exactly right. I've used those for pike before. A lot of fishers in the Midwest and the South use them for catfish.

Only issue I have seen first hand with them is my friends bait runner did not function correctly a few times and he almost lost his rod. This was about 5 years ago so technology is much better I am sure with them. If you are not looking to break the bank Daiwa makes some reasonable "baitrunner" reels. I have two sets of shimanos but unfortuneately they don't have much in the way of an affordable reel. As mentioned above you can get alarms also but you need something that is water proof. The most reasonable ones out there are here https://www.resistancetackle.com/catalog.php?mode=publicviewitemdetail&ref=3234 They are a little over $15 and waterproof but you will need a bank stick also for each one. I use both the alarm and baitrunners. . Really you can use either one for all types of fishing. If you are hanging out with your friends the alarm lets you know whats going on while you kick back and bs instead of staring at the line for small hits.
 

I have been looking at this site and a few others. I think I am gonna go with the Avenger. For the price it seems to be the way to go. If I like them, then maybe later I will go with a Shimano or one of the Higher priced Okuma. Always looking for an excuse to buy more fishing gear. I was never really familiar with Okuma. Didn't know if they are junk. Like I said before. Until this year, I always fished with ULs usually Pfluegers. I just started buying gear more suited for Bass and bigger fish. I was given two brand new 7ft heavy action catfish rods. One is a spinning rod and the other is a casting rod. That is why I asked about the baitrunner being in a baitcaster type reel. I am gonna go with the Bass Pro CatMAXX baitcast reel. Now I am gonna get the Avenger for my Spinning rod. Thanks to everyone for their help.

Pork -
 
I have the 55 and used it about 20 hours in the salt last summer.  Held up just fine with the normal precautions and a little maintenance after the trip. 

I have not seen a 90, until now.  The arbor appears to have a smaller diameter than the 65.The only real difference I can see is the 90 picks up 4" more per turn.  Maybe just an overall slightly larger spool/bail system to pick up the additional 4"? 
  
Mine have never seen saltwater, but they have help up now for a few years.  

coldfront

for the little cattin' that i do, i use a couple of ambassadeur 5500cs.  are the baitrunner spinning reels better?  

The baitfeeder/runners are just copying what the conventionals have been doing for years, but easier to use.  If you are efficient in using your Abu, I think what you have is better (quality), definitely so, comparing models, although Okuma is much larger.  I used to toss around a conventional that my Grandfather had, not sure of brand but think Abu, 1960s or so model.  I'd end up bird nesting after 2-3 hours every time that I used, if even made it that far, fishing more medium weight lures for bass ect.  I also have some conventionals on a few of my trolling rods, which seem to be able to reel in a fiesty fish faster than spinning gear (winching them in).  Luckily, I don't have to cast those ones more than a few feet and let the boat do the rest. 
 
I did a little research in the larger models the guys use surf fishing, thinking maybe I could get one in close to price range and maybe less birdnesting now days.  It definitely seems to be the tool of choice for those that want to cast further and as noted about winching in the bigger fish faster.  But seems that even the guys that surf fish a lot with conventional gear, still end up getting a nest or two.  They are getting a good 30+ yards per cast though.  It is insane seeing how fast that line comes off with 4-5oz of weight slung off of a surf rod.  It makes me wonder how every cast doesn't end up with one, which is likely the case if I tried...  If I were big into surf fishing or flatheading, it probably would be worth the effort to learn and expense involved.  From what I have read, the cheaper conventional reels (under $100) are harder to use than the good ones and basically to stay clear of (good ones seem to be in the $150 range with some in rediculous $ range).  So comparing a conventional reel in the size and price range of the Okuma Avenger, would likely mean a lot of untangling and likely not last as long.  So for value, of what fits me, the Okuma is better.
 
So...  It really depends on what you mean by better!