Chinese bait runners

[PeterKroll]

When I first moved to Coochie, I had no decent gear. Hadn't fished in years, so I wanted a couple of reels.

I saw the prices of some Chinese bait runners, no name but with the model number SW50 and SW60. I've since seen them sold under various names, but with the same model number.

In any case, I bought one of each, and they looked pretty good, but turned out the drags were crap. Very jerky and prone to locking up.

So recently I bought a sheet of Carbontex to upgrade my Shimanos, and when it arrived, I thought I may as well do these reels too, so I replaced the fibre washers with Carbontex, and polished the steel washers to a mirror finish.

As it turns out, these reels feel really good now. The drag feels as smooth as anything I've ever used.

I will update after I catch a decent fish.

[robfish 1]

Hi Peter...just an advisory - be wary of the baitrunner feature on these reels - the internals are usually cast from VERY cheap metals. I've even opened some Asian imports to find plastic linkages! It pays to manually engage the trip lever, as most failures come when engaging it by turning the handle. I know this for a fact, as I service many reels, and many of the reels that come to me for repair have broken baitrunner linkages - unrepairable as parts are not brought into Oz. It's an extremely common sight, as many 'baitrunners' are bought for bay snapper fishing down in Mexico! I've learned to trust the major brands - Shimano, Daiwa, Tica, Okuma and Silstar.
Ebay = caveat emptor. Buyer beware.

[PeterKroll]

Mate, I agree completely. I pulled them apart, and they are cheaply made. I'm really trying to salvage something from bad money spent. Then I discovered that I could buy a Shimano snapper combo for $69. Live and learn. I'll be interested to see how long they last.

[robfish 1]

Mate, why they can spend so much money on the externals, and then stuff up their product with sh!##y internals is beyond me! Surely the extra $1.50 in manufacturing higher quality internal gears can't add THAT much to the final retail price? After all - would you buy another one now? And yet, I've also seen some smaller Asian spin reels that have withstood several years' of good service without any dramas - so they can do it if they want to! I just wish I had a Shimano/Daiwa etc.. agency for all the fishos who have moved away from the knockoffs after disintegration on a good fish.
Worst case scenario for you is that you'll have a couple of good spin reels - sans baitrunner mode.

[PeterKroll]

Yes, I have nothing to lose by trying to make them serviceable having already bought them. But no, I wouldn't buy another one when I can buy something better on sale here for the same money. That said, thats really where most of the brand name reels are made anyway, isn't it?

[robfish 1]

Yup. Totally agree, Peter. There's not much around that isn't Asian-based. So if Shimano et al can produce quality tackle that can stand abuse, why can't the other no name producers? I'd bet my left one that they can produce equally sophisticated tackle, and still undercut the major players by heaps! I feel that some of the major brands are trading on their names only - after all, is a small spin reel really worth $800-$1000?? Don't get me wrong - I'd love a Stella or the like - but finances and sheer obstinancy won't let me part with those kinds of dollars! As you agreed, you'd not buy another cheapie now, so how many more sales are they losing over time? Silly business practice, really. Short term profit versus long term growth.

[Rodman]

Guys another problem is parts are not available for these reels
So if you have a mechanical breakdown then you may as we'll throw it away.

Ken

[robfish 1]

Guys another problem is parts are not available for these reels
So if you have a mechanical breakdown then you may as we'll throw it away.

Ken

Yup, Ken - absolutely. Already discussed this with Peter earlier, and advised him that if this happens, he'll just have a couple of reasonably good spin reels. I've serviced /attempted to repair dozens of these, and curiously, once the baitrunner linkages are removed, most are not too bad a spin reel! I doubt I'd attempt to catch a spaniard or GT on one, but for bay snapper, they work fine.

[davo]

Particularly baitrunner type reels I say buy a better one. They have twice the parts and therefore twice as many failure points. Stay with the brands.

On a budget I would have to say Okuma. Not that I like the brand but with a lifetime warranty it would have to be worth looking at.

The Penn Slammers are quite cheap. I have a 560 but it's still early days for it.

[robfish 1]

Particularly baitrunner type reels I say buy a better one. They have twice the parts and therefore twice as many failure points. Stay with the brands.

On a budget I would have to say Okuma. Not that I like the brand but with a lifetime warranty it would have to be worth looking at.

The Penn Slammers are quite cheap. I have a 560 but it's still early days for it.

Totally agree, Davo - stay with the well known brands if you have the option and $$$.
As far as Slammers go, I've not had one in for anything more than servicing in several years of their being available. That said however, with Jarvis Walker, Penn, Fin nor, Quantum and Rovex all in bed together, makes you wonder if quality's going to suffer in the long term???

[davo]

I've had my Slammer apart and it looks good. Much simplier. I service all my own stuff and many others . The thing I like about it over a Shimano is the O ring seals on the baitrunner lever. I have seen a lot of water ingress in that area on the Shimano ones.

[PeterKroll]

That looks like a nice reel. Pretty cheap for a bait runner, too. Davo, how long have you used yours?

[PeterKroll]

Thought I'd just update the thread. I went out today even though the wind was bad. I got a stingray which would have gone over 2 feet from wing tip to wing tip. Reasonable size, I think. I played it to the end, just to see how the reel handled it, and I have to say I was impressed. I did not takeit easy, and the drag was very smooth, no jerking at all. The reel was spooled with cheap 10lb Chinese braid, and mounted on a very old quite heavy Jarvis Walker boat rod that belonged to my father. I have to say that this combo kicked arse, and the stingray gave up in the end. The runners on the rod (porcelain, I think) didn't sound as thought they were enjoying the braid, but I couldn't see any gouges, so maybe they will be ok.

This may well be my new snapper combo until it breaks.

[davo]

As I said I haven't used the Slammer for too long but service all my own stuff and inside they look great. They are Chinese too but have carbon drags etc... Talk to Dave at Bayside bait and Tackle at Vicky Point. I buy a lot of stuff from him.

[PeterKroll]

Thought I'd update this. So the Chinese baitrunner has given up the ghost. The internals are locked solid. I haven't pulled it apart yet, I've moved on to using the smaller one, and I'll see how that goes.

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