penn captiva , to buy or not

Joined: Dec 16, 2009 Posts: 3 Location: lossiemouth

thinking of buying a captiva . is it as good as penn say it is?

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:01 pm

Hi Tam, From the look of the reel and the price that they are asking I think you could do better. The reel in question has only 200 yids of 12lb line capacity which indicates its a bit on the small side. The Okuma EZ_65 seem a better buy as I have one and it has given me good service. Wait till Reel-wizard spots your post and he will advise you accordingly as he knows his stuff.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:44 pm

You don't say exactly which one your looking at, there are a number of sizes and as you also don't say what you want to use it foe then difficult to advise on the spec.

I have a Captiva myself which was actually given to me and to be honest I wouldn't have paid cash for it as the innards arent up to much really and it has some weak points in my personal opinion. If the one you are looking at is anything like the one i have then its also not very ergonomic (the handle on mine is awful) so I wouldn't like to use them for spinning or feathering.

If you look on the net you will come accross quite a few problems with them mostly relating to build quality and drag problems, though to be honest I've had no problems with mine.

Personally I think a good fixed spool is a difficult thing to find these days unless you want to spend a lot of money, there really isn't a middle of the road in quality any more and the lower end quality has dropped considerably in recent years with the bulk of reels from the likes of ABU, Shakespeare, Okuma, Penn, Mitchell etc coming from new China and quite frankly being fit for the bin within a year of use, regardless of what you paid for them!

Joined: Dec 16, 2009 Posts: 3 Location: lossiemouth

think i liked the look of the reel more than how good it actualy is . got a penn sargus , ugly reel but works and takes plenty abuse

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 6:34 pm

tam77 wrote:

think i liked the look of the reel more than how good it actualy is . got a penn sargus , ugly ba####d of a reel but works and takes plenty abuse

Fixed Spools are rarely pretty big grin

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 6:39 pm

I find it amazing just how few a balanced unless you are willing to spend more than you intend to.
Cheers
keith

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:14 pm

Sagarra Tarzan! Ugly as sin but they were the caster's FS at one time!

Lots of info (in spanish) here

http://sagarracarretes.blogspot.com/2007/02/modelo-2000-para-competicin-pesca.html

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:38 pm

Looked at the link and they remind me of the old Mitchells am I right?
Cheers
keith big grin

Oh by the way this is my 6,500th post lol big grin

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:59 pm

rabbi2 wrote:

Looked at the link and they remind me of the old Mitchells am I right?
Cheers
keith big grin

Oh by the way this is my 6,500th post lol big grin

Similar period, the tarzan and the large Mitchells were common on the casting fields of the day. Sagarra brought in many of the developements we take for granted now, in the 1940s!

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 2:27 pm

[quote="reel_wizard"]Sagarra Tarzan! Ugly as sin but they were the caster's FS at one time!

Lots of info (in spanish) here

[url]http://sagarracarretes.blogspot.com/2007/02/modelo-2000-para-competicin-pesca.html[/url][/quote]

Interesting reel that wizard , not seen it before. I take it that the shock leader wound on to the lower part of the spool using the bottom roller to stop the knot snagging.

Neat if not pretty.

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:53 pm

sniggle wrote:

reel_wizard wrote:

Sagarra Tarzan! Ugly as sin but they were the caster's FS at one time!

Lots of info (in spanish) here

http://sagarracarretes.blogspot.com/2007/02/modelo-2000-para-competicin-pesca.html

Interesting reel that wizard , not seen it before. I take it that the shock leader wound on to the lower part of the spool using the bottom roller to stop the knot snagging.

Neat if not pretty.

Yup I think thats pretty much how it worked. The mainline was wound onto the main part of the spool and the leader was actually wound onto what is the skirt with the other roller. Very neat when you think of it and ideal for the continental style of things, very long rod, big FS reel but very light line with a casting leader.

I was never lucky enough to own or even cast with one but they were a well known reel amongst those in the know and they had a very good reputation on the casting court.

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:27 pm

Wouldnt touch Penn reels. Id go for Diawa every time, just my opinion but heard tons of bad reports about penn reels.