Okuma Cedros

Okuma has gone one notch up the conventional saltwater reel "cool"ness scale with their next generation line up of jigging & lever drag reels. I have fished with the older generation Okumas and though they were value for money, the X-factor was not exactly there, if in comparison with the bigger boys such as Daiwa or Shimano in terms of features, cranking power, smoothness & overall design.

Not anymore.

Taking a closer look at the Cedros series at the Rapala Seminar in KL 2 weeks back, I found these were serious cranking machines. Not to mention the eye-catching electric blue anodizing that seemed to beg for attention when I layed my eyes on it from afar.

Eye candy! Eye candy!

Cedros Star Drag (bottom) & the Cedros Lever Drag (top)

Side profile

Cedros Star Drag features:

A6061-T6 extruded aluminum, blue anodized frame

Frame cross bars are ported to reduce weight

Machined aluminum, blue anodized side plates

Machined aluminum, gun smoke anodized spool

Multi-disc Carbonite caged drag system

Ratcheting drag star for precise drag settings

5BB+1RB Japanese stainless steel bearings

Quick-Set anti-reverse roller bearing

Dual anti-reverse system. (Mechanical & roller bearing)

Oversized machine cut brass gearing

XL gearing: Drop down gear box for increased power

Self lubricating gear system, all models

MSS: Mechanical Stabilizing System for increased durability

Ergo grip handle knobs featured on all models

High Speed 6.2:1 gear ratios for increased line pickup

Cedros Star Drag CSD10S weighing in at 535grams

Narrow spool. Perfect for jigging

A 6.1:1 ratio retrieves up to 101.6cm per crank. No wonder the oversized gearbox.

Cedros Lever Drag CLD10S

Front view

Lever Drag model features Okuma's Dual Force Drag system

Cedros Lever Drag features:
6061-T6 Machined aluminum frame with forged side plates
17-4 grade precision helical cut stainless steel gearing
Cedros reels all feature single speed, High-speed gearing systems
Type-III hard anodized spool for maximum corrosion resistance
CRC: Corrosion Resistant Coating process
Carbonite Dual Force drag system featuring Cal’s universal drag grease
Custom designed thrust bearing: Alleviates side load on heavy drag settings
4-pcs ABEC-5 precision Sapporo stainless steel rubber sealed ball bearings
Double dog, proprietary silent anti-reverse system
Ratcheting drag lever and drag cam for precise drag setting
Ergo grip handle knob: Perfect for jigging and live baiting
Heavy duty stainless steel ratcheting clicker system CE-20S
Low-profile clicker system with stainless wishbone CE-10S, 15S
Heavy duty, precision stainless steel drive and spool shafts
Type-II blue anodized frame, side plates, drag lever and handle
Lug and plug system on all models for use with or without harness lugs
Forged aluminum Type-III hard anodized reel foot and reel clamp
Special screw ports around side plate screws reduces water/corrosion buildup

More details & specs from Okuma's website

Trio: Okuma's "Crossover" Reel

Okuma showcased its innovative side when it developed the Trio range of spinning reels. Don't take this reel for your ordinary eggbeater. It was designed as a radical concept of combining aluminum & graphite to offer strength in construction and shedding unnecessary weight.

What's unique about this design is that Okuma places aluminum where strength integrity is needed. For example, the reel rotor consists of a 'hybrid' aluminum frame connecting to the side of the bail arm. This gives stability and strength under heavy pressure, ensuring perfect alignments and eliminating spool wobble.

Note the underside of the rotor which features the aluminum construction, giving it strength and stability.

One key feature of the Trio is in its spool construction, where multi-disk Japanese-oiled felt drag washers are housed in an aluminum drag chamber and enclosed in a cool, lightweight carbon-fibre design graphite spool on the outer side. The idea is, again, to shed extra unecessary weight from the spool yet maintaining strength and stability.

Carbon-fibre design on the spool encased in an anodized aluminum styling frame

Okuma also prides itself in its patented Elliptical Oscillation System, a design that uses an oval shaped gear working pretty much like a train's gears to provide exceptionally even line lay on the spool. This is also thrown into the Trio.

Probably the first thing when one picks up the reel is to notice a one-piece anodized aluminum reel stem that connects the reel foot to the body. Despite being eye-candy for design, it is also to keep the gears in alignment, according to Okuma.

The Trio also features Okuma's DFD (Dual Force Drag) system, a unique way of maximizing drag efficiency by applying pressure on both sides of the spool. This feature that was initially seen in high-end reels such as Shimano's Stella are now available on the Trio. Apart from the multi-disc felt drag in front of the spool, another drag washer sits below the spool to apply even and efficient braking. As such, squeezing up a crazy 8kg of max drag pressure on the little Trio-20 is now possible. (The Trio 55's max drag is up to 12kg!)

Trio's Features:

Multi-disc, Japanese-oiled felt drag washers
DFD: Dual Force Drag system
9BB + 1RB stainless steel bearings
Quick-set anti-reverse roller bearing
Precision machine cut brass pinion gear
CRC: Corrosion Resistant Coating process
HDGII: Corrosion resistant, High density gearing
Crossover aluminum and graphite hybrid body design
Crossover aluminum and graphite hybrid rotor design
EOS: Patented Elliptical Oscillation System
Hybrid spool design with graphite arbor and aluminum lip
ADC: Aluminum Drag Chamber precision spool system
Rigid, forged aluminum handle design
Hydro Block water tight drag seal
Heavy duty, solid aluminum, anodized bail wire
RESII: Computer balanced Rotor Equalizing System

Model	Bearings	Capacity	Gear Ratio	Line Retrieve	Max Drag	Weight
Trio-20	9BB + 1RB	190/4, 110/6, 90/8	5.0:1	22"	18-lbs	8.8 oz
Trio-30	9BB + 1RB	200/6, 160/8, 110/10	5.0:1	25"	18-lbs	10.3 oz
Trio-40	9BB + 1RB	270/8, 190/10, 170/12	5.0:1	28"	20-lbs	11.0 oz
Trio-55	9BB + 1RB	380/10, 340/12, 240/15	4.5:1	30"	24-lbs	15.3 oz

Rapalero Rods

As promised here's a post of the much awaited Rapalero rods. You saw the red sticks on some of the Rapalero trip photos as used by FG and gang. Now is a chance to own them. Was informed they will reach retail stores as early as this month! I checked out the 6-12lb and 8-14lb rods. Quite strong and beefy. Not your usual noodle stick but definitely one that will yank those Toman from heading towards the snags.

Ratings:
6-12lb
8-14lb
10-17lb
12-20lb

Casting sticks are 6ft and Spin sticks are 6"6ft respectively

Red sticks - Rapalero

Fuji reel seats

Carbon Fibre - sexy

Nice butt

Report: Rapala Asia Pacific 2010 Seminar

The inaugural Rapala VMC Asia Pacific seminar held at Cititel Hotel, Mid-Valley Kuala Lumpur over the weekend drew both avid anglers & retailers to a showcase of its tackle portfolio. Noticeably eye-catching was the new inclusion of Okuma into one of the power brands under its belt, which displayed 3 of its latest reels and range of jigging and casting rods.

The event also saw overseas speakers from Rapala (Aku Valta), Storm (Hiroshi Takashi), Sufix (Miriam Lee), John Bretza (Okuma) & VMC (represented by Mr Loke Swee Leong). Each of the speakers gave insightful information about their respective companies & the product offering/manufacturing processes & features, with the exception of Mr Hiroshi Takashi who elaborated more on the finer tips of lure fishing.

For those who do not know Hiroshi-san, he is a very accomplished lure angler & designer in Japan. Prior to joining Storm Lures, Hiroshi-san was working with a very-well known Japanese lure company as their lure designer. With him in the product development & design for Storm, asian anglers can be assured of more exciting & innovative lure offerings in the future.

10 lucky seminar participants also walked away with a giant Rapala lure replica each for their winning numbers from the lucky draw.

For those who missed the seminar, here's some snaps from the event:

The Rapala booth featuring the range of lures, apparel & the much awaited Rapalero rods

Storm Lures

Williamson metal jigs & skirts

New Okuma sticks - jigging & casting

Plano tackle

Portable tackle storage solutions

VMC booth

Fred & the Rapala VMC Asia Pacific boys (L to R) Chin, Wong & Tan

Latest Okuma reels to hit the market

Big game reels - Makaira

Single, high speed star & lever drag Cedros - sexy!

The Spin Machines - Cedros Spin (Jig) & cutting-edge Trio

These are rugged, strong jig reels

Rapalero rods

Hiroshi-san checking out the sticks - powerful

Seminar participants

Fred Goh opening the event

Hiroshi-san giving the finer points of lure-fishing

Ming J. Liu (Mingmon) was hailed as the winner of the Rapala lure design contest. The prize - a fishing trip to Australia! Well done Ming! Also, his designs have become reality as they will appear on X-Rap 8cm hitting the retail stores very soon. Check out his creations at his Facebook page.

One of the 10 lucky draw winner receiving his giant Rapala lure from Mr Loke Swee Leong - Managing Director of Rapala VMC Asia Pacific

Lucky Draw Winners from Session 1

Hiroshi-san giving a demo cum talk outside the foyer

Retailers checking out the reels

Retailers session on Sun

Tan S.G. who is no stranger to the Malaysian fishing fraternity, was also one of the lucky draw winners. Congrats!

Next posting:

Closeup of the Okuma reels & Rapalero rods