Okuma Ceymar 1000HD Spinning Reel Review

Here is an unbiased review of the Okuma Ceymar 1000HD spinning reel. I have been using this reel for a few months now and wanted to review it.

[krissteel]

I used to do technical stuff, so I can throw a bit of info dump here for you-

A lot of reel manufacturers will have that 500 step-up in their sizes because they tend to be using the same housing casing- but they'll maybe change the ratios and there will be a spool size increase along with the armature on the bail arm. Essentially, it saves them some money! So when they go from say 2500 to 3000 or 3500-4000 they can just use a lot of the same components and its not an inconsiderable saving either when you're making 1000's of the things and having to do another casting for a different housing.

Most reels these days are full of ball bearings because modern manufacturing made them cheap, like even the one you've got for about 100 bucks is probably going to have maybe 6 or 8 of them in there, whereas 'back in my day' we'd get reels full of bronze bushings and maybe 2-4 bearings on some of the better ones. Hence they roll really smooth, they're very quiet and very low maintenance, with the added bonus that they're not having to machine as many components in terms of gears. They're more or less sintered metal alloy powders that get cooked in a casting at many 1000's of degrees, they slop them out in the millions, throw them in a tumbler to knock off the sharp bets and other crap- huge savings over having to machine things like pinion and helical gears. They are not as strong technically as a machined gear, but for realistic purposes, its a fishing reel and not a car gearbox so it doesn't have to drag 1000's of kilos through it!

Anodizing is basically an electrical etch treatment for aluminum and titanium. Why its better than say, paint or a baked on enamel is that it doesn't change the dimensions of a machined or cast aluminum component, you can scratch it but it won't chip off either so that's why its usually the preferred way of treating aluminum.

Things I liked reading-
There's a DLC on the roller which is 'Diamond Like Coating' and thats a comparatively high tech addition, it is literally baked diamond hard coating over the metal, it won't corrode and its super slippery so always good to keep the friction down on anything that contacts your fishing line and especially for something like braid which is a bit abrasive. It won't wear through.
A lot of the important bits are still machined- the spool and the pinon gears, the crank arm are all things which are good for two reasons
They essentially chop them out of a big billet of aluminum or brass, this means they come from a homogeneous, single chunk of metal that's been melted, formed and forged into a shape through drawing dies and what that does is that it makes the metal stronger than a casting, which is just melted and poured into a form to shape it. So it doesn't necessarily have that drawing/forging process on the metal to give it a more solid density. Plus when its machined like the spool, that will be more 'accurately round' than if it was cast

Things I liked less-
There's a lot of mostly other meaningless crap like 'gear stabilization systems' and 'oversized high density gearing' and 'flite drive' which really is just word salad rubbish! No nice way to put it, its there to make up someone's word count for the day... and yes I did time in the trenches as an engineering documentation and technical process writer. You could never tell that :)
Oiled felt drag- its not the worst thing in the world, but they do dry out, they also grind themselves out in the clutch plates so it is a 'wear item' and it would be good to know if there's a source of new ones if your drag ever stops working properly. Most of the modern systems will use carbon plates these days which are harder wearing items and last much longer, but got to save some bucks on manufacturing somewhere its all built to a budget!

Overall though, its good for the money in that lower-mid tier of engineering anything so I think you got a good deal for how much you paid

[tworodsdownunder]

Great unbiased review, I usually go for the high gear reels also. I get a lot of tangles when using spinners that don't have a swivel built in, the line just constantly twists.

[peterhipwell]

Great honest review
I’ve got a 4000 Okuma which I use on my Boat rod it’s excellent for that purpose

[kevinhullinger]

Well done 👍 I’m a huge Akuma fan for under 40 USD the Akuma avenger 2500 cannot be beat!

[ZoltanULfishing]

I’ve had this reel for 2 years 4 months now early this year it’s finally given out. It’s got tolerance issues, the bearings have gone sandy ect. I’m tempted to buy another, I enjoyed it.

[colinspratt]

Hey Robbie, gr8 review. I purchased the 5000 size last year for high speed spinning at sea & happy with it to date. Also has 10 year warranty. Cheers

[Alfsp]

I have a few okuma reels …no okuma rods yet because I can’t find a store who has a good range in store locally .

[robertcotton]

A Great honest review Mate. Thanks for sharing.

[ParkedKar]

Hey mate, just to extend on the gear ratio for anyone that doesn’t know. 6:1 means that the spool will do 6 full rotations, in 1 rotation of the handle. Same for 5:1, 4:1 etc.
I also use a 1000 size reel for my trout setup. Perfect in my opinion.

[tau]

Haven’t tried Okuma spinners yet. I was into Shimano (surf) and Daiwa (light) and now I am using a couple of Penn reels for multi purpose. But I've found that if you put a small reel with a small bail, on a big rod with a big first guide. You will tangle and break a lot of line. And same with a huge bail arm on small rod guides.

[papeep]

I'm addicted to vintage tackle. I guess because it's what I grew up with. I fish Penn 710 reels and Mitchell 300 reels for most fresh water species though I do keep a Shimano Summer Solstice lightweight reel for trout. I use a Montague Flash fly rod with a Pflueger Medalist reel. Not for everyone and new tech has better offerings but I enjoy the nostalgia of it all. Nice review of the Okuma. I hear they make pretty good gear.

[mattnzep]

Zeps won 2 tournaments using okuma fishing reels. Between we have 6 of there reels and truly love them on everything bream and flathead fishing and took them on a trout trip. Love love love em

[EdwardYang-wuyq]

If you’re looking for a cracking reel, the shimano sienna is the one to do the job for me. Bought it 3 years ago, never had a line issue. Dropped it into the saltwater, it was a bit rusted, cranked it a couple of times, running perfectly normal and it was 70 bucks at a local tackle store. Most reliable reel ever!

[WildRapier]

I've been using a light and an ultralight Pflueger for years. After quite a few reels breaking for one reason or another, for decades, I bought a Pflueger. They are bulletproof and smooth! Just my opinion and 45 years fishing XP. I'll have to check out the Okuma's eventually, Pflueger's are still working like Swiss watches, until then, nice review!

[garywoolston]

Good morning Robbie, I just watched your review on the okumo spin reels, I have had a 1ooo and a 3ooo for a couple of years now I haven't had any troubles with the line getting caught under the spool though I use braid on the spool and mono for the leader as I only use them in salt water up here, when I fish the fresh waters out west in qld I have other reels spooled with mono, thanks for the review on the okumo reels mate .Gary.

[Chucky-bv]

G’day Robbie. Great review mate. I have an Okuma, bait runner 2500 size that I’ve had for years and it’s actually one of my go to’s. I really love it and never had any problems with it.

[amounifnd]

Great review. Clickers are best incorporated into the spool.

[bruceclarke]

Hi Robbie,
Good, honest review and glad to hear it's not a sponsored review.
Use to get peed off watching main stream fishing shows, and 15 minutes of a 30 minute show would be sponsers plugs.
Quick question, is the handle interchangeable for left handers as well as righties?

[kidoctane]

I have that yet to use it. It's a backup. May give it a try given this review

[RobinHolmes-pwjh]

Hey Robbie. I bought the same reel from the same fishing shop and I would have to say I'm not a fan of the reel, however the shop is A1. My first fishing session I spent the entire couple of hours untangling line. Also, I had that same metal bit fall out of the reel but fortunately I was onto it thanks to one of your earlier videos. I had a couple of short problem free sessions but on another session had another tangle, just as a trout took my cricket and I lost the fish. I suspect the 4lb line is not a good match for this reel and it may be better with braid or heavier line. I'll be taking the reel back to the shop this Friday for some advice and hopefully a good deal on a replacement.