Okuma Reflexions B MH spinning rod: opinions?

[voxborealis]

My Daiwa Procyon 7" MH spring rod snapped on a cast the other--I have no idea what happened. I know that I did not overload the rod since I was using a small bait at lower end of the lure weight range (1/4 oz). I am looking to replace it with a more or less comparable rod. The local tackle shop has a decent deal on an Okuma Reflexions B 7"2' MH Fast spinning rod (2 piece, which I prefer since I bike and do only bank fishing, no boat.). The rod is rated for 12-20# line and 3/8- 1 1/4 oz lures. That is a lot "heavier" than my Daiwa (8-17# and 1/4-1 oz). 

 

The shop owner is talking is up as a good pair with my reel but I have no experience with Okuma products. And as I wrote, from the rating this sounds more like a heavy rod. Not sure a lot of my current lures (mostly 1/2 oz) will perform well. For background, my target species are mostly small south bass and northern pike, though I hook the occasional walleye.

 

Any feedback or experience sharing would be great.

 

edit: I should add that I have a few spinning set ups for different purposes. My medium heavy rod is paired with a plueger president xt 4000 reel (the last generation, not the new ones), it’s a pretty husky reel. I use this combo to target bass and pike from shore. The largest I catch are not monsters but there is a fair amount of vegetation in summer to drag them through.

 

i prefer the longer rod for more casting distance. So I tend to like 7” over 6 or 6.6”. 

Edited May 5, 2024 by voxborealis

[MN Fisher]

I have the Reflexions A MH/F spinning rod and it does quite well for what I bought it for.

 

Far as 1/2oz lures on it - ya, it's towards the bottom end of the rating, but it will cast them fairly well...if you're talking 1/2oz spinners/chatters with trailer, then you're into 3/4-7/8oz territory total and it does very well with those.

[voxborealis]

5 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

I have the Reflexions A MH/F spinning rod and it does quite well for what I bought it for.

 

Far as 1/2oz lures on it - ya, it's towards the bottom end of the rating, but it will cast them fairly well...if you're talking 1/2oz spinners/chatters with trailer, then you're into 3/4-7/8oz territory total and it does very well with those.

Thanks! Mostly I use 1/2 oz hard baits, e.g. for pike I usually throw Mepps inline spinners #5 (1/2 oz), and spinner baits without trailers. I am not very skilled with soft plastics, and not sure how this beefy rod would handle them. I'll take a look at the rod next week when the next shipment comes in. My gut tells me the build is not quite as nice as the Daiwa Procyon (fewer guides for example). But the price is pretty good. Maybe I will end up giving it a shot.

[MN Fisher]

21 minutes ago, voxborealis said:

Mostly I use 1/2 oz hard baits, e.g. for pike I usually throw Mepps inline spinners #5 (1/2 oz), and spinner baits without trailers.

Then the Medium would be all you really needed...don't need a Medium-Heavy to toss those. Though once you factor in the hook, blades and skirt on a spinnerbait, you're getting close to the top-end for a Medium - the printed weight is only the head...the other items add weight to that....1/2oz spinnerbait actually weighs close to 5/8 oz.

 

Though putting a trailer on a spinnerbait isn't all that difficult. Might be time to up your game?

 

21 minutes ago, voxborealis said:

My gut tells me the build is not quite as nice as the Daiwa Procyon

No, it's not quite as nice as a Procyon - I have a Procyon L/F that I use for ultra-finesse - but it is a pretty decent rod-line.

[voxborealis]

12 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Then the Medium would be all you really needed...don't need a Medium-Heavy to toss those. Though once you factor in the hook, blades and skirt on a spinnerbait, you're getting close to the top-end for a Medium - the printed weight is only the head...the other items add weight to that....1/2oz spinnerbait actually weighs close to 5/8 oz.

 

Though putting a trailer on a spinnerbait isn't all that difficult. Might be time to up your game?

 

No, it's not quite as nice as a Procyon - I have a Procyon L/F that I use for ultra-finesse - but it is a pretty decent rod-line.

Roger that. I probably need only a medium. I wanted to upsize a couple of years ago since I ran into to some bigger pike and wanted to throw some heavier spoons (3/4 to 1 oz), so a MH seemed like the best fit for my “big fish” set up. But outside of big spoons, it’s probably more than I really need. And mostly what I can get from shore 16 inch bass, 24-28 inch pike) can be handled on a medium. 
 

then again, this could be a good time to up my game!
 

I really liked my Procyon, though I preferred the older MH Fast to the newer MH XFast. Maybe best just to order a replacement. Anyway, thanks for the advice!