Okuma Cortez Graphite Star Drag High Speed 6.2:1 Reel

I put it on a 12 foot okuma longitude surf casting rod then Spooled it up with 17lb suffix tritanium and tied an alberto knot to a few yards of ande 60lb mono as shock leader. First cast was with a 6oz sinker and no bait. I adjusted the spool tension and maxed out the breaks. I barely put any effort and got some good distance. I switched out for a 8 oz sinker and a chunk of squid and adjusted the spool tension and left the breaks on max and gave it a good cast. The cast was smooth and it went flying. I continued to back down the breaks as I got more used to it. Eventually it was easily getting out to 100 yards plus. It handled small sharks and skates like nothing. One thing to note about this reel is you have to use your thumb to control the spool during the cast because the breaks are a bit too weak. Despite this its still a great overall reel.

Nice reel, hold a good amount of 20lb mono. Good drag as well for surf casting. The only thing I will day is they market this reel as a *MAGGED* reel. It will still blow up with the magnetic breaks turned all the way up. Be aware. Other then that for the money its a fine reel.

I have always had problems with Okuma quality in the past. Catalina reel was horrible, and the rest of the line.. my friend - Deckhand in San Diego Charter fleet used to tell me - Okuma makes junk, dont buy it. About in 2013 I saw Cortez rod at the Fred Hall fishing show, and bought it from Anglers choice store here in San Diego, Ever since my son and I enjoyed that powerful light rod and we caught lots of Tuna and yellowtails on it. I saw this reel here on Amazon when I was looking for "Extra reel in the bag" and decided to try it.. thinking - if its junk - I'll return it. No!! no return, I keep it.. It is awesome powerful little reel. Casts - great, drag - great, high speed - great, Cast control - great!! It is a good match for Cortez 20-30lb fast action rod. 40lb braid and 30lb fluoro topshot - we get a TUNA, Yellowtails and Mahi! I dont regret buying this reel, not a bit.

I bought this reel in search for a budget surf casting conventional reel Found it less than 100 bucks on Amazon warehouse and it was a great deal. It has good line capacity, mag brake control, high drag, power handle and slick design. So before take it to the surf I decided to test it out in the field first. Paired w Okuma 12 ft longitude casting, 15lb mono main line w 40lb mono shock leader, 5-6 oz weight. OTG style casting. The first few casts was a disaster I set the mag to half and the spool tensioner to where there's just a tiny bit of wiggle room. It birdnested almost instantly in mid air. After a few try found the sweet spot is setting both mag and spool tensioner to max and cast with 70% force. Measured distance is about 80-90meters (270ft). Tried with full force on that setting and it birdnested again... In desperation of this Okuma reel I switched to the good old Daiwa sl30sh (2 white brake blocks), cast 120meters (400ft) straight a few times with absolutely no worries nor birdnest. Seems the slosh is more optimal for casting imo. Idk maybe a more experienced caster can handle the Cortez better but this ain't the reel for me.

I used this reel last month surf fishing at Cape Hatteras NC. Fishing for big drum attached to a 12 ft custom surf rod throwing 4 to 8 ounce bottom rigs. This reel performs better than some my other similar reels that cost hundreds of dollars more. This was truly a great value

the reel is made from plastic so thin and flexible, that if you palm the side of the reel with your other hand, any pressure will instantly tension the spool, enough to stop it from cranking. The reel is also not smooth or quiet out of the box.

I love this reel, once I got the hang of it. It cast so smooth!

Great reel but mine came in without rod clamp and paperwork. I have a Cortez 10, casts great with fantastic drag. I returned this for a full refund

Exelente para surf casting a precio muy razonable y llego cinco dias antes de lo programado

Great reel small enough to cast with and still put good pressure on the fish

very good casting fishing reel Cortez 5 I have 6 of them fantastic fishing reels

Magnífico

If it would have been delivered instead of being lost in transit I could have reviewed it real good deal pay for 1 and get none