First time I saw this reel, felt it, I was thinking $200-300. I was very wrong, Okuma is aggressive in building their share of the sportfishing reel business. These new reels are a bargain, but I’ll hold off on the particulars for a bit as we go over what’s so darn trick about these new reels.
Cosmetically, the new Coronado follows the design theme of Okuma’s best – their Makaira spinning reels. They are indeed nice looking reels but the beauty is more than skin deep. These are bait feeder design reels, allowing you to easily freespool a bait. The Azores from Okuma offers a non-baitfeeding type operation with some similar benefits as the Coronado. If you want the bait operation benefit of a baitfeeder, are looking for a capable but relatively inexpensive saltwater capable reel, this is very likely the piece for you. They’re great for a range of line classes depending on size, especially focusing on live bait fishing in the 20-50lb range.