Fin Nor OFS95 - The Breaking Point

[shanker]

Alright guys, I opened up my Busted Fin Nor OFS95, the main gear broke, all the way around where it mounds to the reel handle.

I have taken some really good High-Res pics but left my Digi-Cam pic at work, I will get it tomorow.

The gear broke because it is CAST! NOT MACHINED! Fin-Nor needs to correct this issue ASAP, if they are expecting people to fish these reels with heavy drags, the gears need to be able to support the drag capabilities as well.

-Patrick

[gman]

Seahunter ...thanks for that really funny video, did you see him looking for the reel? ha ha ha I would say however you don't hear or see of that very often as the reputation both Diawa & Shimano has for these types of reels.

[seahunter]

Just goes to show anything can happen with any reel.some people will have a good run and some won’t..

Fishers will swear by a certain brand and then the new updated model is classed as rubbish..

Lots has been written in many forums and it can be an endless topic for discussion.

The reels from yesteryear during the 60s 70s and 80s were made strong but heavy and stood the test of time.And I refer to the ones made in U.S. UK.sweeden…and some from japan..Still see people using some..just can’t wear them out..

[shanker]

I started this thread not to guess why it failed, as the reel was not under any type of abusive load when it failed on me.

Fin Nor watches this board and told me that some of the very early models were shipped out with gears that were thinner than spec, thus resulting in why mine failed.

Earlier in the day that my reel broke, I was fighting a HUGE fish, that ate a whole 14" snapper while reeling it in from almost the bottom, after about a 15 minute tug of war, the fish let go, it was brutal, it felt like I was lifting a cruise ship anchor off the bottom, the drags perfomed great, and I did not crank against drag pressure on this reel.

When the snapper finally came up, the mouth marks on it from the fish that ate it were giant, MR.BILL could have fit both his hands in this fish's mouth no problem....Im guessing it was a grouper, but I'll never know since I didnt get it to the boat.

[fishr1989]

Originally Posted by shanker

I started this thread not to guess why it failed, as the reel was not under any type of abusive load when it failed on me.

Fin Nor watches this board and told me that some of the very early models were shipped out with gears that were thinner than spec, thus resulting in why mine failed.

Earlier in the day that my reel broke, I was fighting a HUGE fish, that ate a whole 14" snapper while reeling it in from almost the bottom, after about a 15 minute tug of war, the fish let go, it was brutal, it felt like I was lifting a cruise ship anchor off the bottom, the drags perfomed great, and I did not crank against drag pressure on this reel.

When the snapper finally came up, the mouth marks on it from the fish that ate it were giant, MR.BILL could have fit both his hands in this fish's mouth no problem....Im guessing it was a grouper, but I'll never know since I didnt get it to the boat.

It was probably a Goliath Grouper. We were in key west last march and had one eat a 10lb red grouper. When it finally let go and we got the grouper up, it looked like it had gone through a trash compacter. It's dorsal spines were all broken and it had deep scratches on both sides.
When i was fighting it, I would lift it off the bottom a little bit, and then would feel it settle back down. It was just like you described, like trying to lift an anchor off the bottom.

[seahunter]

If this main gear with the holes drilled in it is a design flaw then fin-nor design team and R & D team all walking around with foot prints on the backsides..

Fin-Nor executive instruction:
Send some one down there and kick em up the ass as hard as you can..
lol

[shanker]

Originally Posted by fishr1989

It was probably a Goliath Grouper. We were in key west last march and had one eat a 10lb red grouper. When it finally let go and we got the grouper up, it looked like it had gone through a trash compacter. It's dorsal spines were all broken and it had deep scratches on both sides.
When i was fighting it, I would lift it off the bottom a little bit, and then would feel it settle back down. It was just like you described, like trying to lift an anchor off the bottom.

we were in water that was more than likely too deep for a Jewfish to be found in....im sure it was some type of grouper, maybe even a big warsaw, I'll just never know

[mrbig1225]

Like I said in my original quote, I stated that there may infact be a issue with the reel, but on flip side ive have taken my reel out numerous times and have had crazy battles with that reel and it has treated me well and i have crazy confidence using the reel. And yeah it may have been wrong for me to accuse someone of abusing their equipment... but ive seen it more than a few times...and good equipment gets a bad rap. To answer your question Ive seen stellas go bad, saltigas... just like on the video that sea hunter posted. And to answer your question... you may not hear alot about the saltiga or the stella...but then again how many people are buying them vs. the fin-nor...I more likely to spend 170 on a reel then spend 800.00... more reels that are out the more likely you are able to see issues....but i wouldnt give it a bad rap based on a few experiences. food for thought

[BretABaker]

youve really seen more fin nors than stellas? i havent

[mrbig1225]

oh yeah i remember a time where they were on back order look at the price difference

[BretABaker]

well yeah i know theyre much cheaper, but i havent seen that many....could be because i dont pay a ton of attention. i know guys who use them for surf fishing.