# Okuma Magda Pro MA-30DX Reels



## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Running into a pretty good deal on a set of Trolling Rods. They have the Okuma Magda MA-30DX reels on them.

I'm looking for some feedback on anyone who has owned or used these model reels. I never have used these models before as we currently have all Diawa reels on our trolling rods. Just looking for some users with some experience on them. I don't think I can pass this deal up. 

Thanks in advance.


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## Papascott (Apr 22, 2004)

Honestly if the combos are the same price of the rod alone fine, otherwise pass on the deal, you will not be happy til you either sell them to someone else or throw them away.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

He's offering 4 of these reels with Okuma rods(Don't know yet what model rod) and two new Offshore planer boards. All for $225. He's a local guy down where I live. And this was his first set of trolling gear. Hadn't trolled before using this type of gear. He has used the rods and planers once and decided trolling wasn't for him due to the high traffic of recreational boats on that specific average size lake.

I've figured up the cost on all equipment new and I'm gonna ask for $190-200 for it all. For just the rods and reels you're looking at right at $40 a combo.

Are those reels really that bad compared to the Sealine Series of Diawa Line Counter reels or the Diawa AccuDepth Series? 

Thanks for the post Papascott. What's the con's on this Magda Pro Okuma reel? What seem to be the turnoff?


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## ezmarc (Apr 6, 2004)

I think Papa don't like Okuma much! Others don't either but they are all I use now, the Magda's are at the bottom of their line and don't last long with heavy use but i still use them some.

The downside of them are durability, drag issues (hard to adjust on some of them), and counter sticking.

The Convectors are better than the Magdas but cost more and have the same counters but with better durability.

Last year i bought 4 Catalina&#8217;s and they have been flawless with the best drags I've ever used, except you still have to watch that counter.

I use them because they make big fish smaller and easier to bring in with the leveraged handles and gearing.

Last week I was at Pinconning Michigan. There is a wholesale sporting goods store there and they were selling the 30 Magdas on 9&#8217; Okuma rods for 4 for $149 I believe or $44 each. I've only use the 30 magda for lead core and don't use that that often but I much prefer it to the Daiwa 47's I have even if the reliability factors don't match up.

No I'm not sponsored by Okuma


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## jcrdust (May 24, 2004)

I got two magda 30's and two magda 45's I use for trolling on lake cumberland. If you back off the drag after use you don't have to worry about drag memory. They are composite and probably won't hold up to heavy use more than a couple seasons but I baby my gear and they have lasted for 5 years now. I have several other okuma casting and spinning reels and they are top notch. Take a little extra care and you will be fine.


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## Papascott (Apr 22, 2004)

Marc, I don't mind the Okuma reels at all. I have 4 cn20d and 2cv45d. Their customer service SUCKED. My 2 brand new 45s had bad drags from the factory, called the factory and they said that they the early runs were made without all the drag washers, their fix was to send me the parts to fix them myself. They did not want me to ship them to them to have them finish assembly.

Scott


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Ahh, this is making the decision harder. Not really needing this gear right now. But eventually in the next 3-5 years I will probably be seeking a boat of my own for Lake Erie. We have plenty of trolling gear right now on my father's boat so not a necessity at this time. However I'd like to start accumulating some inventory. It would help to make a more pleasant transistion in a few years instead of hitting me all at once.

I'll have to sleep on this one. He's suppose to bring me a rod and reel in the next couple days to take a look at along with one of the planer boards. We'll see.

Opinions still greatly appreciated. It helps.

I'd like to go Diawa or Shimano but just to much right now. I have 2 Shimano Corsair 400s and a Calcutta CT400B that I setup on surf rods mainly for catfishing 4 years ago but like to have all built in line counters of course.


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## Papascott (Apr 22, 2004)

Chub, check Ebay, you can get new for less.


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## Gju42486 (Mar 7, 2005)

i have 12 of the okuma magda 30dx's and havnt had one problem yet. Had them for 2 1/2 years now and they get some pretty heavy use. Usually 3-5 trips per week.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

That's true papascott. I will have to start ebaying more a reckon. These rods/reels and 2 planers are bran new as he's only had them out that one time. I'll find out tomorrow or wed. I'll probably jump on them if it has the Okuma Blue Diamond series rods on them instead of just the Classic. I really don't expect nothing other than the Classic Rod though. He supposidly put a little over $350 in them when he bought them new. So if they're really new I shouldn't see any scars on them. We'll see.

Thanks for the post Gju42486 as well as for everyone else so far.

More honest/experienced opinions still welcomed please!!!


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## MDisbrow (Jul 14, 2006)

I have 4 of these. Got them because they're cheap and I prefer not to troll unless I have to. They're not great by any means, but they get the job done. 

always back the drag all the way off on every reel i own when not in use, so I've never run into problems with the drag. one of my Magda's tho, the clicker doesn't always engage, but a little bit of toggling the switch gets it to go.

I actually have magda 20's, on 8ft okuma rods. That's not a bad price on them, but I'm pretty sure I paid about 60 bucks a piece for rod/reel combo brand new. It's been a couple of years tho. 

I use em for dipseys and they work just fine. They're no SeaLine, but they get the job done.

My only complaint about the reels are the placement of the counter reset button. I find myself accidentally bumping it on occasion, throwing off the count. But after you do that a few times, you start to pay more attention to avoiding that button...


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## Papascott (Apr 22, 2004)

I actually really like the classic rods I have about 15 of them. The 7 ft leadcore rods are great for boards and bouncers and the 8 or 8-6 mooching rod for dipseys. These rods are cheap and fairly tough but when one gets broke its usually less than 20 for a new one.


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## shu9265 (Jun 15, 2008)

I run 12 of these combo's.

Sure they break down now and again. But, Okuma has a great warranty program. 
Been using mine for the last 6 years.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Hey all thanks for the honest replies. Appreciate it.

Found out this morning they are the Classic Pro Rods with the Magda 30s. These again are brand new other than him using them one time. He's a kind of guy that buys something uses it once and sells it if he don't like it.

Another thing he's throwing in is the Precision Trolling Big Water Edition that I don't currently own. So the depth charts and extra info in that book would help some too.

I don't know. I might be taking him up based on what I see:
-2 new Offshore Planer Boards(One with the flags) ($25-30 ea. new)
-4 new Poles with Okuma Classic Pro 8'6" rods and Magda 30s (say $60 a combo new)
-Precision Trolling Big Water Edition ($20-25 bought new)
For $190-$200 if he bites. That's $47-50 a rod including the other material mentioned. Again he's asking $225. 

I'll get to see some of the equipment tonight late after work.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

If I do end up making this deal for $200 bucks on more or less new equipment here's how I value it out.

Prec Troll book Big Water Edition *$19*
Offshore Planer Board w/ tattle flag upgrade $20 X 2= *$40*
Okuma Magda 30DX Reels $18.75 X 4 = *$75*
Okuma Classic Pro 8'6" Rods $16.50 X 4 = *$66*

No shipping and no tax.
For $200 if it's all new and in great shape. I consider that a pretty good deal. Wouldn't you all think so?


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## MDisbrow (Jul 14, 2006)

i'd say its a pretty good deal to get all setup to run dipseys or boards. For sure cheaper than going out and buying all of this stuff new.

If the stuff is in good shape, I think that's a really good price for all of that.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

My cousin just got a rod,reel and planer board for me to see off the guy at his work.

Cousin said the equipment is brand spankin new. Be interested to see it when I get home.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Alright so I got to see this gear finally tonight. Nice. Still looks like it came straight out of the box and packages except for the half spooled up line on the reel. I mentioned the book incorrectly it's the Precision Trolling 8th edition not the Big Water Edition. About same price though as the Big Water Book just a little more. Also the rods are the Downrigger/Mooching rods. 11 guides + tip. I was hoping that's what they were instead of the Salmon Troll 8'6".

So I called him earlier tonight and offered $200. He said he'll have to think about it.


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## jbrown (Jun 4, 2008)

we've been using okuma magdas on my dad's boat for about 4 years now and have had absolutely no problems with them (knock on wood). IMO they are a great combo for the price. we also have a couple Cabela's brand line-counter combos that have been very dependable too.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

*SOLD!!!*

Well, I couldn't get him to come off the $225 by this morning. He was going to take them down to a flea market booth this weekend where I know he'd get more out of them than that especially selling them one at a time. Then figure a guy not having much time to research them he could've probably got someone for $250+ easily. So I gave in and told my cousin at work to meet him at $215. He said deal. So I reckon they're officially mine now.

Gotta gettem spooled up now. I imagine I'll take them to a shop and have them spooled instead of buying a bulk spool this time. Maybe put PowerPro on them. 

I'm a BassPro excel mono user for my Bass fishing gear and I seen they had some Braid Line out now. Reviews on the BP website for that line seem to well liked. Anyone here had a chance to use it?

*I appreciate everyones response it helped make the decision. Thanks to OGF!!!*


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## MDisbrow (Jul 14, 2006)

never used their braid. I like their mono and fluoro alot. Been using PowerPro until I checked out this new "fireline braid". 

I bought a bulk spool of 40lb powerpro for mine, and a bulk spool of 17lb XT as filler. 

After you get them spooled up, you might want to check the line counters by giving the end of the line to someone and having them pull off 50 or 100ft, while holding a tape measure. It's not super important or anything, but it's nice to see just how much line actually comes off, when your counter tells you its 100, and you can adjust for that while on the water.

I think you'll be really happy with these, esp. at that price. And I think, tho not sure (haven't pulled my books out yet this year) that the Big Water edition has all the dipsey and jets charts, whereas the regular version has charts for cranks, etc. If you want the dipsey and jets charts, I think you'll still need the big water edition.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Filler will sure save you some cash. Thanks for the advice.

I like the Fireline stuff too. I've actually used it all last year Saugeye fishing and although you get the wine through the guides when tension is applied I still like it. Can feel everything. Plus I can bend some of my hooks out.

I still like my limber BP excel though. Price is right on that stuff too.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Hey how much filler line do you guys use on these Magda 30's. I just put 250yds of Yo-Zuri Hybrid 20lb. on one of them today and I'm waiting on some PowerPro 40lb to come in to fill it out. I figure I'm probably going to get another 250+ yards of that on.

Sound close?


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## MDisbrow (Jul 14, 2006)

Honestly, I have no idea. I just spool it up til its about 3/4 full of mono. It was suggested to me to zero out the counter and start cranking on the mono, but that was after I had already finished.

I never see more than about 45 FOW out here tho, so I'm not too concerned with getting 200yds of braid on the reels. 

I guess my point is, when you think you've got enough mono on there, keep going.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Mdisbrow, I'm glad you chimed in. I'm thinking you're probably right on that. Glad I've only put filler on one so far. Bought a 1500yd spool of PowerPro and was setting there trying to figure out the recommended fill capacities. Zeroed out the counter and ran it from 999 down to 750 with filler. So I might want to go about 3/4 full as you mentioned.

Done some math in my head and thought it would be close. However I'm thinking towards what you're pointing out. Thanks.

Just got the rest of the gear handed to me today. All in great shape.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

The whole set of rods/reels, p-boards, and book I purchased for $215.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

a little late, but heres mine. magdas are only good for about 2 seasons. i have switched over to convectors and love them. big gears and smooth drags. most of my magdas have either locked up or drags slip and can no longer get any tighter. i will admit, the first year i had them, i didnt loosen the drags before storage for the winter. convectors are the way to go. IMO. ive got 6.


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## Chub Buster II (Jul 16, 2008)

Little late is better than not showing at all ezbite. 

Hey I think when I was researching I ran into of couple of your posts where you were alright for the first couple years with these reels and then they started giving you problems. Appreciate the reply.

I just figured $32 a combo is pretty hard to pass up especially when I'm probably not going to be using these reels too often as we have plenty to rotate with using the Diawa Sealine's. I'll just try to baby these a little as making sure drags are backed off and be sure to keep lubricated on a normal basis. I do like the bigger handle compared to our Diawa's.

Thanks for the honest comment on forgetting to back the drags off prior to winter storage.


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