Okuma Makaira 2 Speed Offshore Lever Drag Trolling Reel

These reels are the cats pajamas. I have fished bluefin for many years and can say with certainty that this reel is better than Penn, and gives Shimano a serious run for its money. Have seen all kinds of failures of original Penn 130 and also International II when loaded up. This design by Tiburon engineering is well thought out and puts years of expertise into practice. These 80 lb reels are capable of more drag than the Shimano 130. Machining is unbelievable and smoothness is exceptional. Have release sharks and tuna on these reels and they have always performed flawlessly. Not your typical Okuma reel, and certainly not a "budget" reel. These are serious contenders and will keep you in the game when others will let you down. Five Star.

This was definitely an opened box item, but in all fairness it was priced extremely fairly, just should not have been listed as "new". Had one small scratch when received, but since I plan on actually fishing with it it will no doubt get better scratches in the future.Update: moving up to 5 stars. While I was a little upset about the scratch, I have to admit this reel functions flawlessly. I've never used a reel this small (size 8) that can hold enough drag to winch large grouper off of the bottom. Awesome reel!

GREAT REELS I BOUGHT 9 OF THEM FOR MY 2 SONS FOR OFFSHORE FISHING AND THEY WORK GREAT.

What a great reel, Has lots of power, Caught Striped Marlin and lots of Dorado. Would not hesitate to buy more.

200lb tuna crushed. Silky smooth drag and built like a tank. I changed out the grease and put a synthetic oil in the bearings and it free spools like crazy. I now have and 8ii and a 16sea. Love these things.

I just took it out trolling for pelagics this weekend and my initial impressions are positive. It seems very stout and probably heavier than the chinsey-feeling modern Internationals. Machining is impeccable. The line "stud" at the base of the spool is sort of nice. Made spooling very convenient. The gear shift operation is very intuitive and ergonomic (large black push-button at the base of the handle, with a small flipper to disengage).So why is it $600 and the Shimano Tiagra $700? I see plastic on this reel. The clicker flipper (same style as the International) is plastic. The gear shift button is plastic. The handle appears to be partially composed of plastics (deeper than the over-molded grip material). Mind you, it is all well-molded and quality looking, but I believe spending the extra $100 will buy you out of these elements. The handle is also sloppy. Some may find it distractingly loose. I was also having some trouble holding the strike drag at the desired pre-set tension, but this may be user error. I have to look into this more while off the water.I believe a decision between Shimano/Avet and Okuma comes down to your tastes. Are you willing to settle for a smidge less quality (mostly in the handle) to save $100? I believe most marlin fishermen are not, but I will still be using this reel a great deal and the purchase is not haunting me yet. Definitely keeping Okuma on my radar these days.

This is the 6th one on the boat and they all perform excellently here in Baja California Sur. Handles everything we have, marlin, tuna, and dorado smoothly and with great drags.

My only complaint about this reel is that the line retrieval whether under the load of a shark or if I'm just reeling in the line back in at the end of an outing, sucks. It takes forever to bring in 400yds of line with only a 10oz spider weight and a Sheepshead carcass and it feels like im pulling in a freightliner.... Idk if that's just how Okumas are or if I recieved a defective one. My penn 130 I have I could have rigged up the exact same way bait and all and be out 700yds and It'll take me less time to reel in the 130 at 700 than my 80W at 400