Southern islands with Ah Cheng 18/4/7

[MarkR]

Dying to get out so booked Ah Cheng for an overnight trip. Very promising start with plenty of live squid netted off Sentosa. At least 40-45 pc I reckon and a couple of big arrowheads.

But we waited and waited for a good bite We were tied to a buoy for the current change but were forced to move off just at the change period unfortunately

Hit by a Sumatra squall at around 4am and had to take cover at St John's. Overall pretty average catch with only 2 Ang Chos approx 1.2kg and some kaci plus a sand bass landed. Didn't bother taking any pictures.

Ah Cheng's boat is more comfortable now with the back rests and a loo He was raving about Mikey's salty rubbers too Cheng also said that he landed a 7kg Ungah the week before at Jong Fairway

Managed to give the new Pro Gear Oceanus 30 a go, fished it side by side with a Boss 665N 4:1, both reels paired with Calstar 30-80s....will reserve my comments for the moment....

[Makaira]

Great to hear the squids are around!!!

[shineshy]

btw how much is the new Pro Gear Oceanus 30 ? any comments on it ? i was told pro gear spare parts are hard to get..true ?

[MarkR]

Originally Posted by shineshy

btw how much is the new Pro Gear Oceanus 30 ? any comments on it ? i was told pro gear spare parts are hard to get..true ?

Hi SS,

I have mixed feelings about this reel. Need to use it on a couple more trips to decide if it will be on my regular starting line up. Cost wise, it retails for +/- S$500. Add a new handle + JM handle knob and that will set you back at least another $100. Don't think you need to worry about the availability of spare parts for the Oceanus, pretty sure FB will take care of that well. Can't really comment on other PG models and the availability of spares for these as all I used to own back then was a PG541 which never gave me any problems

[stickbom!]

Great! Since the squids are around, my salty rubber should nail a few fishes this Sunday Btw, is your Oceanus 30 the one with upgraded drags? Whats the max output now?

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Cost wise, it retails for +/- S$500. Add a new handle + JM handle knob and that will set you back at least another $100.

Pretty stiff after adding the bells & whistles. Even the base price (+/-SGD$500) is significantly higher than in the USA. Assuming we are comparing apples to apples i.e. your SGD$500 reel is stock, Charkbait lists it at USD$229.99 which works out to be about only SGD$350; and they throw in free mono, a reelskin, plus shipping within the USA. If spectra is preferred, you can top up USD$10-20, depending on the poundage & yardage. Makes me wonder if the distributor in Asia got their pricing strategy a little off? Should your reel be the "souped up" version, do you happen to know how much the stock version will cost?

[stickbom!]

Mak its selling for SGD$460 online

fishingbuddy.com.sg :: Pro Gear Oceanus 30

[MarkR]

Originally Posted by stickbom!

Btw, is your Oceanus 30 the one with upgraded drags? Whats the max output now?

Yo Mikey,

Yes, my reel has the upgraded drags (think an additional cork washer)....don't wanna hazard how much max drag pressure the modified reel is capable of dishing out but it sure is massive...I reckon at least 35lb while still retaining good free spool...can go much higher but like many lever drags, free-spool seems affected at insanely high drag settings...the Oceanus feels like it has a few rough edges to me....but that's just my personal opinion...Guess i've fallen head over heels with the technical perfection of the OJ 4000p!!!!

Mak,

My mistake. +/- $500 includes the AG T-bar knob I installed...picked up 2 reels that day so got kinda messed up with the sums...the AG T-bar knob retails for +/- $80 i think.

Still waiting for the longer crank arm

Tight lines

[stickbom!]

Bro if its not too much to ask... could you take some photos of your OC30 with a lighter for scale? All the images I could find online only seem to show the reel alone so I can't tell how big it is

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by stickbom!

Mak its pretty common for such things to happen. For example, there were some Gosen PE line floating around with price tag showing over SGD$200 when a tiny Japanese RRP tag says 6000JPY on the packaging... really makes you wonder if the suppliers takes the consumers here for morons BUT, its pretty much up to the buyer to decide

Hi Mikey,

I'm not too familiar with the Japanese products and most of their prices are way beyond my comprehension to begin with I would put your Gosen line analogy to be an anomaly rather then the norm.

For something like the PG Oceanus, if the Sg price is indeed for a stock non-upgraded drag version, I think the difference from the US price is significant enough to adversely affect the sales of the local agent. I would like to believe we Singaporean anglers are not that dumb. Many do price comparisons online as well as order stuff online these days. And I don't think it will cost SGD$150 to ship in a PG from Charkbait Like I said, it would be interesting to see how much a stock PG Oceanus goes for in Singapore. Perhaps the local agent is smart enough to bring in ONLY the upgraded version so there is no direct comparison to US prices

Best regards,
Makaira

[galanted]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Yes, my reel has the upgraded drags (think an additional cork washer

Pardon me if my guess is wrong, according to AG video in Perth, i think yours is their so-called "Asian Version" modified with both side having Drag Washers like those of Accurate Twin Drags.
Also mentioned in their Video, the Pro-Gear is supposed to have the best free spool spinning compared side by side with the Accurate and Jigger 4000P and this is with a significant margin. May i just ask if you have found this to be true?

Cheers!

[galanted]

Originally Posted by stickbom!

Bro if its not too much to ask... could you take some photos of your OC30 with a lighter for scale? All the images I could find online only seem to show the reel alone so I can't tell how big it is

To me, it's very close to the size of an Accurate 665H Narrow.

[stickbom!]

Mak if you get a chance to chat with MarkR, ask him about the "slight variations" You will be pretty amused. MarkR posted photos of his OC30 in Rods & Reels... looks like a full blooded jigging reel to me. Spool diameter seems a little small for super deep bottom bashing.

[stickbom!]

Originally Posted by galanted

Pardon me if my guess is wrong, according to AG video in Perth, i think yours is their so-called "Asian Version" modified with both side having Drag Washers like those of Accurate Twin Drags.
Also mentioned in their Video, the Pro-Gear is supposed to have the best free spool spinning compared side by side with the Accurate and Jigger 4000P and this is with a significant margin. May i just ask if you have found this to be true?

Cheers!

I seriously doubt any lever drag reel in the market can match a star drag reel in terms of freespool! (Just my guess...)

[Makaira]

Freespool of the modern lever drag reels are amazing these days. In days of yore, blueprinting was the way to go to obtain more freespool with high strike drag setting for game reels; and by game reels, it usually meant Penn Internationals.

The thing about fantastic freespool is that it is actually self-defeating if you do not have an educated thumb or the right technique, be it for casting or lobbing a bait or lure out, or simply letting out a trolling lure behind the boat, or dropping a jig or even dropping your bait with a heavy sinker down to the depths. I remember the first Accurate game reel I got, the freespool was so amazing that I kept on getting over-runs when I let the lures out, more so than even the blueprinted Penns Up to a certain point, it doesn't really matter how much longer reel A can spin versus reel B -- you still have to thumb the spool to prevent over-runs.

When it comes to casting, it is a different story altogether. Lever drag reels have the drag incorporated onto the spool itself making it heavier. As such, it takes more inertia to get it spinning making casting light(er) lures very difficult, and being heavier, it takes more effort to stop spinning too, which essentially means you need to lob a lure rather than cast in the conventional manner. Therefore, with a relatively lighter spool, star drags are easier to control if casting is required.

Why are anglers for the west coast long range fishery so obsessed with freespool? From what I understand, the primary reason is so that live bait can swim with minimal resistance away from the boat into the strike zone.

So ...... becareful what you wish for. Fantastic freespool can end up being a nightmare in the wrong hands

[stickbom!]

Oh think I got a little mixed up there myself... I was thinking about the cranking going tight when you button down the drags with LD reels. That's something that I've encountered on almost all LD reels man... No problem with star drag versions.

[MarkR]

Guys,

I have started a new thread on the Oceanus 30 in the "Rods & Reels" department