WWMD? - New Fly Reel

[WyoWill]

Looking for some advice from the collective on what fly reel to buy. I'm in Alaska and most of my fishing is for salmon, steelhead or large trout. The new reel will be loaded with 8-weight line and used to target fish up to ~20ish pounds. It will be replacing a Ross Momentum LT #4.

What I'm looking for:
*Dead solid reliability.
*Sealed drag/low maintenance.
*Well proportioned.
*Precisely machined.
*Excellent customer service/warranty.

Fire away...

[snapt]

I'm pretty stoked on the new Sage 4200 series for the price http://www.sageflyfish.com/dyn_prodlist.php?k=383859
If money is no object get a Hatch.

[schwerty]

If you don't mind dropping some coin, hands down go with Hatch. You will never want to fish any other real.

[adipose]

The Lamson series has filled the same bill for me ever since I found them years ago.
http://waterworks-lamson.com/

[Denny1969]

Hatch Monsoon 7+

Mako 9500 with the 810 spool

[Happy Fun Ball]

Nautilus CCF has my vote. Picked one up last year and have nothing but great things to say about it.

[2nd mate]

After 6 months of heavy fishing of Tibor vs. Galvan Tourqe I think I like the Galvan better. It just feels better and is a couple hundred cheaper. Still feels the same as the day I first fished it. No change in performance at all. Super quick spool changes too. I have been using the 10wt but my next purchase will be a T-8.

[WyoWill]

Thanks for the suggestions--keep them coming.

Hatch - Looks good, but I'm not familiar with the company. I'll have to check around and see if there's one locally I can fondle.

Nautilus - Any advice on choosing between the CCV vs NV reels?

Galvan - These always seem to have lateral slop in the spool-frame connection. Any long term issues?

Lamson - The Velocity and Guru are great reels for lighter trout outfits, but I'm looking for something burlier here. Lamson's higher end reels always seem a bit oddly proportioned for my taste.

Any thoughts on the Abel Super Series? I have a friend who's abused his for years without significant issue.

[WyoWill]

. . . and the Mako is probably out of my price range.

[2nd mate]

I would have sex with one of those hatch reels, fucking beautiful. I don't know anything about them but I do hear good things.

If you can hop a flight to the Indian ocean you can give the T-10 a whirl?

[Denny1969]

Thanks for the suggestions--keep them coming.

Any thoughts on the Abel Super Series? I have a friend who's abused his for years without significant issue.

I did not mention Abel because you mentioned sealed drag. All my big game reels are Abels. I use a 1998 Abel Big Game 3N as my 8 weight reel. It still has the original cork and bearings. It has seen use on Steelhead, Chinook Salmon, Striped Bass, Bonefish, Baby Tarpon, Snook, small Trevally, Jack Crevalle, and smaller Roosterfish. The reel has been used and abused. I also have some Big Game 4N and Super 11 reels.

There is some maintanance involved with these reels. Since the drag unit is not sealed, occassional cleaning is involved. I lube up the cork with Neatsfoot oil once a year to keep it from drying out.

One thing that I learned from others who use their Abels more than I is that the cartridge bearings on the spool (inboard and outboard) will need to be replaced eventually. It will take years of use and abuse for this to happen. Abel will replace the bearings for a small service fee. My BG 3N bearings are probably due to be replaced soon.

You may want to look at the new Super 7/8. It has new dimensions that make it taller and skinnier to give it the right amount of capacity for 7/8 lines. Plus it has the reliable drag system that Abel has been using for years.

Denny

[Happy Fun Ball]

Nautilus - Any advice on choosing between the CCV vs NV reels?

The difference between the NV and the CCF series is that the NV has a little bit larger drag surface and the parts that are made of stainless in the CCF are made out of titanium and carbon fiber in the NV. I've got a 10/11 NV that I use on my spey rod and I'm a big fan of that reel as well. It's the reason I went with Nautilus again when I bought my CCF.

I know Abel reels are beautiful, but I do a lot of fishing through the winter and a sealed drag is more along the lines I was looking for. I don't abuse my reels, but I use them and dunking them in water without worrying about them freezing and getting the drags full of dirt is important to me. That's not to say the Abel can't take that abuse, I just know the Nautilus reels hold up to what I throw at them.

[WyoWill]

I did not mention Abel because you mentioned sealed drag. . . .

There is some maintanance involved with these reels. Since the drag unit is not sealed, occassional cleaning is involved. I lube up the cork with Neatsfoot oil once a year to keep it from drying out.

One thing that I learned from others who use their Abels more than I is that the cartridge bearings on the spool (inboard and outboard) will need to be replaced eventually. It will take years of use and abuse for this to happen. Abel will replace the bearings for a small service fee. My BG 3N bearings are probably due to be replaced soon.

You may want to look at the new Super 7/8. It has new dimensions that make it taller and skinnier to give it the right amount of capacity for 7/8 lines. Plus it has the reliable drag system that Abel has been using for years.

Denny

I'm not afraid of regular maintenance, so long as the end result is a 100% reliable reel. My favorite reel currently is a bauer, which has a cork drag that requires periodic lubrication and cleaning.

The difference between the NV and the CCF series is that the NV has a little bit larger drag surface and the parts that are made of stainless in the CCF are made out of titanium and carbon fiber in the NV. I've got a 10/11 NV that I use on my spey rod and I'm a big fan of that reel as well. It's the reason I went with Nautilus again when I bought my CCF.

I know Abel reels are beautiful, but I do a lot of fishing through the winter and a sealed drag is more along the lines I was looking for. I don't abuse my reels, but I use them and dunking them in water without worrying about them freezing and getting the drags full of dirt is important to me. That's not to say the Abel can't take that abuse, I just know the Nautilus reels hold up to what I throw at them.

Good insight. I regularly have had issues with my rod guides freezing, but only once have had my reel freeze--and it was frozen to the point that it didn't matter whether the drag was sealed or not.

I'll have to check out the Hatch and Nautilus.

[WyoWill]

I would have sex with one of those hatch reels, fucking beautiful. I don't know anything about them but I do hear good things.

If you can hop a flight to the Indian ocean you can give the T-10 a whirl?

I'd love to. Those pictures you post are incredible. And it's nice to see that rod/reel you picked up from me caught some fish before you upgraded.

[schwerty]

I'll say it again. Buy a Hatch! I've fished most other companies mid-high end reels and these are simply the best. Tibor for big salt stuff is more popular and a damn fine reel but I'd still take Hatch. If you golf, you'll recognize Scotty Cameron putters....Hatch machines their reels and tools in the same shop. That's says a lot about the quality.

IMHO, Hatch is the Ferrari of reels. If my Wife wouldn't kill me, I'd have one for every wt rod I have and have 2-3 spools for each. They are worth every penny and are damn sexy, especially in the silver. One big pull and you'll be hooked.

[snapt]

I'll say it again. Buy a Hatch! I've fished most other companies mid-high end reels and these are simply the best. Tibor for big salt stuff is more popular and a damn fine reel but I'd still take Hatch. If you golf, you'll recognize Scotty Cameron putters....Hatch machines their reels and tools in the same shop. That's says a lot about the quality.

IMHO, Hatch is the Ferrari of reels. If my Wife wouldn't kill me, I'd have one for every wt rod I have and have 2-3 spools for each. They are worth every penny and are damn sexy, especially in the silver. One big pull and you'll be hooked.

It's not just Scotty's, the boys at Hatch have one of the most impressive machine shops around and do some serious work, a lot of government contracts and really complicated machinery. Jon and Danny are super good guys that will take care of you too.

Waterworks are nice, a Velocity 3.5 would fit the bill nicely. My only gripe with them is their older generation of bearings totally crapped out and we had to send a ton of them back. They did stand by their customers and made things right, ever since no problems.

Nautilus, owned some CCF's, they were ok but in really cold weather they made a whining sound and in the tropics we had some get funky. No problems with the NV's though, not sure if CCF's are better as their overall sales are pretty dead.

Galvan Torques are sweet, never had a problem with the ones I owned, although we did see a few back with drags that got a bit off. Never had any lateral slop issues.

For as ugly as it is I still like my momentum for a sealed drag. The new Ross F1 is super sweet and the drag is pretty amazing. For all my steelhead stuff I have no issues with Hardy's, Korean or English.

[Professor]

Throw in my quick $.02. Those Hatch reels do look gorgeous. But until my Lamson Lightspeeds stop treating me so well, I dont think I want to mess with a good thing. Really can not say one bad thing about the Lightspeed other than I like the old ones I have better than the new ones. The new ones in small sizes are hard to get your fingers in to pop off the spool. But not a problem in the sizes you are talking about here.

[2nd mate]

....And it's nice to see that rod/reel you picked up from me caught some fish before you upgraded.

It's still the record holder for my largest bonefish. Unfortunately she was the victim of an untimely death at the hands of a "hey bro" New Yorker, who tried to cast it like his spinning rod. He was all gung ho to fly fish so I gave him the setup for the price of the new fly line that was on there. Fucking retard.

[mushmouth]

As if you needed more choices...

Last year I bought a Danielsson 6Nine after thinking about most of the aforementioned reels. I wanted a reel that was light, highly capable and pretty impervious to salt water. The Dani met all those criteria and more.

Here's the spreadsheet I made to help in the decision making process:


Here's a pic of the Dani #1*:


I've landed small tuna on it:

(i know that's not the Dani, but this was same day and same sized fish)

Hooked big bluefish where the reel outlasted the rod...
(dani on the rock)


dani holding on




*I tend to do impulsive things and after loving the reel and being in the midst of the season I bought a second one...just in case. I realize I have no use for the second one though and was thinking of putting it on ebay. Let me know if you're interested. It cost me $500 and it's been used 3 or 4 times. It has about 150yds of backing on it and I can toss in a floating wulff TT line if you need it.

[WyoWill]

It's still the record holder for my largest bonefish. Unfortunately she was the victim of an untimely death at the hands of a "hey bro" New Yorker, who tried to cast it like his spinning rod. He was all gung ho to fly fish so I gave him the setup for the price of the new fly line that was on there. Fucking retard.

That sucks...

As if you needed more choices...

Last year I bought a Danielsson 6Nine after thinking about most of the aforementioned reels. I wanted a reel that was light, highly capable and pretty impervious to salt water. The Dani met all those criteria and more.

*I tend to do impulsive things and after loving the reel and being in the midst of the season I bought a second one...just in case. I realize I have no use for the second one though and was thinking of putting it on ebay. Let me know if you're interested. It cost me $500 and it's been used 3 or 4 times. It has about 150yds of backing on it and I can toss in a floating wulff TT line if you need it.

Thanks for heads up and some fish porn. I've heard good things about Danielsson but need to fondle a bunch of different reels before I pull the trigger. I have a little time so there's no big hurry.

The Ross Momentum I've been fishing the past couple years is nice, but it started to have some reliability issues last year. The seal on the drag gave out such that every time the reel got wet the drag would become inconsistent. Free spooling when hooked into a 30incher blows. Ross warrantied everything, but I'm to the point where I'd rather pay for something bomb proof and give the Ross to my wife, who doesn't log nearly as many days on the water as me.

[mushmouth]

One thing about the Hatch...it feels bombproof. The Dani may be equally capable, but it's weight makes it feel more like the Nautilus...meaning you think, "how can something this light be so strong?!?"

in the end I chose it above the Hatch for it's weight and simple design. One thing I didn't love about the Hatch was the spool release mechanism. I think I remember it was a machined thread which I thought might be a weakness, but in reality that's my mind simplifying an experts well thought out plans...and that's just dumb.

[Sagamoron]

Mushy I love the Spreadsheet.......

[LukeS]

Nautilus NV Giga

Most badass Huge reel outthere. We just started carrying them at the shop and they make a Ross look like a tonka toy how clumsy and flimsy it is...

[neckdeep]

The Bauer Rogue is a very, very sweet reel for the pricepoint. Bauer is a boutique company, though, so one never knows if it will be around longer than the reel. I've only used a smaller size Rogue so no idea about the big game size. I think that Bauers are much more durable than comparably light weight reels. I have two other cork drag Bauers that have held up very well over the years. Also, I worked at a store that sold Hatch and saw two come back with broken internal parts within days of being taken out of the box, so great reel but not as invincble as it appears. We had a sales clerk/underemployed guide who would abuse them to demonstrate how tough they were and I suspect his sales pitch broke the reels. Lamsons are nice and light but don't ever drop one. Same for the Ross Evolution series.

Keep in mind that having different lines/extra spools is really helpful for salmon and steelhead and buying a very expensive reel means buying very expensive spools.

[Lumpy]

WHa...?!!! Danielson, don't they just make 10-cent snelled hooks and reels a couple notches below a Wal-Mart Pflueger?

, I've had my head stuck up works arse so far for the last couple years I'm falling behind on EVERYTHING...

I was going to say for yeoman's work just get a Ross CLA and beat the crap outa' it. But if you've been going with the Momentum, you better upgrade, bite the bullet and get a Charleton. Then I finds out HOW far outa the loop I've been and see old Jack Charleton (not the former Seattle Mariner's 50-50 reliever named Norm), but the humble Skagit Valley machinist, has morphed or been bought out and is now MAKO.

I'm going to crawl back under my work rock in the middle of the Zionic wasteland and shrivel some more.

Good luck on the reel.