# Salina II



## spooled1

I was recently delivered a new Okuma Salina II 5000 spin reel for an extended 3 month blue water yak test and review running 30lb braid.

I'm waiting until my new heavyweight SP rod arrives before I start the testing but on spec and by the robust feel, early signs are very promising that this might be a very tough mid priced reel that can handle most yak pelagics casting heavier SP's.

Here's pics of the reel and its very uncomplicated schematic (which I like the look of in terms of servicability):

Okuma tout the Salina II series as "Designed for heavy braided jigging and other big fish encounters". I'm hoping it'll be all of the above and seriously yakworthy to boot. We'll see...


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## spooled1

Gidday Eric, 
This so called, "advertising" is in the hands of the mods. 
As far as I'm concerned hammerring a reel is no different to the guys like me who are handed yaks to test out for a week or two. Delete if you like mods coz you and I all know that my Stella SW10000HG and 16K spool that I won at auction will hopefully arrive on friday.

I'm also happy to talk about my Shimano TCurve Deep Jig 400, Shimano Trinidad TN-40N, Shimano Saragosa 18000FA, Shimano Triton GT Stardrag, Shinano Sahara 1000FA, Dakau Drua and Kalia rods, Jarvis Walker Royal Gold 2500's, Wilson Live Fibre Blade rod, Abu Revo Inshore or my collection of Spheros's and Alveys as well as My 1980's Fin Nor Ahab20 - Go for gold!


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## mark

Dan, I think you are getting caught up in the moment. Eric was just saying how lucky you are getting these things to test, whereas he only gets crappy junk mail in his letterbox. Pretty sure he wasn't having any sort of dig at any 'commercial content' in your post.

edit: I can't see any commercial content in your post cause you haven't given it a rap or offered to sell it either. Man it's getting hot in here.


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## spooled1

eric said:


> Love to hear what you make of the Ahab, got access to couple of those and have no idea what to make of them.


Apologies Eric, I misinterpreted. Recent events about a certain ............thread made me paranoid. :shock: 

I've had my Ahab for maybe three years, it's an original US model that at the time was about as good as a premium spin reel could get. Nowadays it would be considered a pretty heavy reel but mechanically it's A1. The drag is super smooth and pulls a lot of pounds and it really is a US engineering masterpiece. I've never handled the current mode,l new release Ahabs so I can't compare them against each other. If I get the chance one day I will.
I kind of treat it as a museum piece because its in such immaculate condition for its age. Again, sorry for jumping the gun. ;-)


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## Rstanek

Look forward to the report Dan.

One of the guys I fished Malaysia with a couple of months ago was using one of the regular Salina's and lost two sails when the line snapped after getting stuck in a small gap next to the groove in the bail arm that the line runs through. Not sure if he just got an unlucky reel or if it was a problem throughout the range. Hopefully they've fixed it if it was a widespread issue, this one certainly looks the goods.

Congrats on the Stella


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## spooled1

Rstanek said:


> One of the guys I fished Malaysia with a couple of months ago was using one of the regular Salina's and lost two sails when the line snapped after getting stuck in a small gap next to the groove in the bail arm that the line runs through.


Why is it that whenever a Stella is acquired we congratulate each other? Is it because we know we're now forced to buy a bobbin, learn the PR knot and purchase two dozen Sea Frogs to take popping at Vanuatu :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyway... Onto those bloody bail arm bearings. I Stella'd up coz I had that same roller bearing experience on my Spheroses. On one Spheros I accidently busted the bail arm to try and fix it by filling it out with another washer but I snapped the cast retaining lock pulling it apart. The other bearing was rotated but hasn't solved the problem at all. I'm certain that line grab on bail arm rollers is something that happens to every reel when it maxxes out on countless casts and retrieves or loads. The other day a mate blew his roller bearing on his Stella 20000 when it just got crunchy. I'd be inclined to ask how old your mates reel was or what kinds of loads it got. Still, even with a lifetime warranty, when you're on that trip of a lifetime that last thing you want is a failure coz it just kills your trip.

I reckon the Salina II looks capable but I won't know until it starts work. Time will tell.


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## Redfish

Thanks Dan, I had a look on the okuma web site and didn't see anything for the Salina II. Could you post a bit about it, or at least how it is different to the Salina I?

I'm looking for a reasonably priced larger spinner and would love to know how the Salina II stacks up against other reels in the class such as spheros/ saragosa, ABU soron etc.


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## spooled1

Here's some information I found on the net by Ebay sellers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/new-okuma-salina-ii ... 7199wt_894

Okuma Salina II 5000

EOS patented elliptical oscillation system
DFD: Precision Dual Force Drag system
Multi-Disk, Japanese oiled felt drag washers
8 HPB corrosion resistant stainless bearings
1 Quick-Set Anti-Reverse roller bearing
Precision cut "High Density Gearing"
ALC: Rigid diecast aluminum screw-in handle design
Hydro Block water tight drag seal
Oversized aluminum bail wire
Narrow Blade aluminum Body design
Right/Left interchangeable handle.
Easy Maintenance, Oil Injection
Max drag 23.5 Kg
Spool qty : 1


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## ArWeTherYet

Dan I will be intrested in how this reel goes over the long term.
I picked up a few of the Okuma V series reels a long while ago (5.5, 4.5, 1.5). They were very smooth........but jeeze they hated the salt water. OK for a boat but I would never use one on a kayak again. So if you want to really test it, give it a bit of a dunk and see how long it lasts. ;-)


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## diabolical

Hi Dan,

With 23 odd kgs of drag it looks like a very interesting prospect. I wonder is Okuma looking for a way into a tough market by selling a high spec reel at a low(ish) margin compaired to its competitors.
Value for money is right up there at $140US. I look foward to your brutal assessment.

Did the reel get a preservice or is it as it comes off the shelf?

What rod do you plan to run it on?


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## spooled1

AWTY - If my other reels are anything t go by, I predict it'll get a good drenching most trips.

Dia - On the first few runs I'll leave it factory spec and will follow through with the recommended cleaning after every trip. If the drag starts grabbing I'll probably open the reel up for the first complete relube and reassembly. If at that stage the drag feels wrong, I might switch to the leather and graphite trick only because I'm very comfortable with that technique or I might just clean out the originals and restart. If a leather changeover means a sacrifice in drag power it doesn't really matter because yaks don't need those heavy jigging drags. It is a bonus though coz it means we can take the same reel stink boating on a jigging session if we really want to.

My biggest reel issues aren't really based at the drag spec but those higher ratings tell me that manufacturers may have more confidence in the structural integrity of the internal components. I find wear and tear of the drive gear, antireverse, internal bearings, bail arm bearing and internally toothed components to be the fastest reel killers. If access to those parts is easy and opens the door to complete self maintenance that is also user friendly, it might serve a yakker well.

This is a good time to look at those two mega cheap Jarvis Walker RG2500's that gave me a complete snapper season mostly because they offered ease of maintenance. The drive gears and bearings are pretty low spec but because they weren't given a chance to perish through corrosion they both lasted the entire season. Hats off to JW, but full break out services on an almost weekly basis really contributed to the lifespans of these reels.

I won't even tell you about the rod other than it'll be a heavy SP summer pelagic flicker matched to a 5000 series spin reel running 30lb braid. :shock: Because it falls in a bling category, people that I haven't met yet will also want to beat me up so I can't risk discussing it until it arrives and starts catching a few fish.


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## Gunston

Hi Dan
have you heard any info on the Salena Baitfeeder series?
I saw one the other day and it was most impressive.

Chris


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## spooled1

Thanks for the questions. After about a month I'm impressed. The track record to date is good with a handful of tailor landed off the rocks and a 3kg rock gaffed turrum too. It's also caught one of my Awoonga barra, an offshore snapper and 2 x hammerheads. So far it's had just the regular rinse sprays with clean water to clean it and the drag is as silky smooth and still going strong.

My new custom Drua HJS SP rod is due any day now so the Salina is destined for a proper hammering in the New Year. Early signs for this reel are very good. I haven't opened it up yet. On the downside, the reverse switch engages very easily when the reel hits the yak. I find that annoying. When I open the reel I'm going to see how easy it is to take the lever off so it can be permanently fixed in the forward position.

It's currently loaded with cheap 30lb braid that I would never, ever buy again. It is the worst crap braid ever and the cheap stuff is sometimes pure rubbish that's worse than the crappiest mono.


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## chrissy

Good to hear dan  I've been eyeing off the 5000 for a while now. Wanna use it on a jig stick to livebait n troll wit. U reckn it could handle 40lb braid or do ya think 30lb is pushin it? just dont wanna go up in size thats all, cos they tend to get combursom.


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## paulo

Dan, Im also very interested to see how this reel performs. I have been looking at them as well. Price point suggests it should be in a similar class to the Daiwa Catalinas Im using now. Ill be particularly interested in your thoughts on its drag performance and of course how it stands up to the salt. Cheers Paul


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## spooled1

Chrissy, I reckon you could up the class to 40lb no worries - If you go for a good quality braid like Varivas, Tufline or Jigman you'll get heaps more on the spool.

Paulo, the other reels that I'm really interested in looking at are the TuffTackle Diablo Sniper 6000 or 8000 that aren't too far away I hope (Early 2010). Have a look at the 9000 series internal build photo's. These reels could be another contender for the full salt immersion yakkers.


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## paulo

spooled1 said:


> Paulo, the other reels that I'm really interested in looking at are the TuffTackle Diablo Sniper 6000 or 8000 that aren't too far away I hope (Early 2010). Have a look at the 9000 series internal build photo's. These reels could be another contender for the full salt immersion yakkers.


Dan, Ive just discovered the TuffTackle Diablo Sniper 10000 last week and they look the goods. I think I saw it for around $675.
I particularly like the way each one is individually hand assembled and you get two free services, I also like that they are designed, engineered and built right here in Melbourne. Line capacity pretty good too Line capacity - 0.35/520 0.40/430 0.50/320. The 4.1:1 gear ratio seems a little on the low side for a jigging reel but it still manages to retrieve almost a metre of line with every crank of the handle. Fully sealed Body, Drag (100% water proof reel) sounds good too.

However at 930gms Im thinking its a bit heavy for the yak and the 80-130lb line rating a little excessive. The build quality and materials used certainly suggest it will hold up well on the yak. Ill be interested to see the 6000 and 8000 series when they are available.


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## chrissy

I wish i had the resources to design n make my own heavy duty indestructable yak reel. :twisted:


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## SharkNett

Hi
Was there ever a long term opinion on this reel? Have seen a few mixed reviews on larger sizes but still interested as they are currently not that much more expensive than getting a spare spool for my Daiwa Caldia Kix and possibly more suited to what I want to subject it to.
Thanks
Rob.


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## paulthetaffy

I love my Salina II 5000. I bought one a year ago from ebay thinking that it was a knock-off with no warranty but for $150 had to try it out. It's an extremely solid reel and punches well above it's price tag. I eventually sold it and replaced it with the 5000 baitrunner model (bought from AU this time complete with warranty for a mere $215!!). For me the 5000 baitrunner is the perfect heavy all-rounder for the kayak. After a few near-capsizes from kingies I now prefer to have the baitrunner so I can engage it when livebaiting whenever I don't have rod-in-hand. Great for jewie work too so you can let them run a bit before setting the hook (so I hear - I haven't caught one since buying it!). It's solid enough for shallow water jigging too (less than 40m, anything over that and the slow retrieve rate becomes a problem). It's also a good one to have in the arsenal for the occasional boat/rock outing too as the baitrunner doesn't add too much weight to it. I've not had to service mine yet so can't comment on the ease of that but will do so soon. Until now though a quick fresh water spray with the drag locked down is all I've done to keep the salt out.

I know a few other Sydney yakkers have Salina II's now and use them for kingie sessions so they're building a good reputation. And of course they look BLING!


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## nicktoozoff

Hi Spooled,

Going by the pic you have the low speed 4.5:1 version there, just so there is no confusion on specs, the 4.5:1 version is only rated to 13kg drag, not the 20+kgs that have been stated on this thread so far. Not that 13kg is anything to sneeze at!! You can tell the difference betwen the high and low speed reels by th handle knob, the high speed have the big round ball knob while the low speed and the bait feeders all have the flat sided handle. Both are excellent reels though.

Nick.


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## spooled1

Yeah Nick in 2009 when I first put this post up, the high speed model wasn't even invented. So this one is low speed, it still works a treat but is pretty overdue for a mega service.


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## water_baby

hey Dan
any update on this reel after 18 months and undoubtedly a couple of self-services?
wondeirng how the insides and drag held up after you gave it a thrashing.. 
cheers
aaron


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## spooled1

Ay Aaron, the 5000 is still cranking away pretty well but its definately got freeplay. About 2 weeks ago I boxed it up to send to Okuma for a full service but I haven't posted it yet. Last time I opened it up for a megalube I accidently dropped the antireverse on the concrete and I lost one of those tiny little oblong shaped inner rollers. When I put it back together it all still worked OK but the drive gears are now getting on and I may as well get Okuma to do a completo job on it knowing an important bit is rolling around somewhere in my driveway. No probs with the drag system as long as the drag washers get cleaned every so often.


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## water_baby

cool, thanks mate. tossing up whether to spend my tax cheque on a once-in-a-lifetime van staal, or to go cheaper on an okume. or just to go the upgraded spheros that i have bouncing around...

decisions decisiions LOL


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## SharkNett

water_baby

I have decided to go with Shimano Saragosa in 5 or 6000 size. Some pretty good deals around at the moment. Got a larger one already I am more than happy with.
Been hearing a few too many horror stories from tackle shop staff about the Salina II gears seizing to take the risk.

Rob


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