Orvis reel selection

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

Hello once again everyone. 've been browsing the Internet and I have a couple of questions. I want to purchase the Orvis Battenkill LA trout reel. What are the major differances between that reel and the BBS and the Mid Arbor. Is ot worth the extra money?

 

Thanx, Marcus

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

Buying from Wilsons In T.O BTW.

[Moosebunk]

I have a regular Battenkill and a mid arbor Bar Stock. Both great reels I don't use enough.

 

If you're fishing bigger fish and you need extra backing then the mid arbor is likely the better choice. Otherwise, the regular Battenkill if you buy the size that suits your rod and quarry, you shouldn't have problems by not having enough line for the job.

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

im using it with a 7wt. The LA holds more backing and retrieves line 1.5 times as fast other than that i DONT KNOW ANY OTHER DIFFERANCES BESIDES THE LOOK. srry I hit caps lock

[huntervasili]

The Battenkill is a great real... Havent gotten nearly enough use out of it as of yet but it has served me well so far.

[wvfisherman]

Orvis is a good reel,but check out the reels at Albright Tackle. You cannot find a better reel for the price. http://www.albrighttackle.com/index.html.

[danbo]

The best buy for your 7wt is a Pflueger Trion.(at LeBarons,etc.)

 

http://mactackle.com/secureshopping/images...on_fly_reel.jpg

 

For a Black Flyreel..check out the Okuma Integrity.

 

http://www.4fishin.com/images/okuma_integrity.jpg

Edited December 8, 2008 by danbo

[carp-starter]

Marcus, before you start deciding as to which reel to buy, you must ask a number of questions first. I think I will ask you a number of questions.

 

All I know is that you are 14 years old – if your profile is correct. Are you looking to buy the - Battenkill Large Arbor Trout Reel at Orvis? The precise model is – “$198.00 BLA III Fly Reel: (4.4 oz, 3 5⁄8" diameter, for line weights 5-7)”. Otherwise, you and I may be talking “apples and oranges”.

 

What do you have right now – besides wanting to buy a fly reel for a line weight of 7?

 

Do you have a fly rod, fly reel and fly line? Or are you just investigating and have NOTHING? I hope you have nothing so far. .

 

People who want to start fly fishing must ask 3 questions first before they buy the rod, reel and fly line. Since you want to buy a reel for a 7 weight fly line, these 3 questions must also be answered so that you could buy the correct fly reel.

 

The 3 questions are – what species of fish, how large is the water and what size flies will be used.

 

And now for some facts you should be aware of.

 

The purpose of a fly reel is to just hold the fly line – no more, no less – just something to store your line when you are not fishing. If you are going to fish for steelhead or salmon, then you would also need is a good drag because these fish will “RUN”. But, most of the time you will hold your fly line in your hands or just leave it in front of you in the water - floating. So who cares how much line you can retrieve in 1 evolution.

 

The most important thing in a fly reel (besides that it is big enough to hold your fly line) is that it is balanced with your fly rod. If the 2 are not balanced, I will be sorry for you because you will be tired at the end of the day and the day will not be as enjoyable as it should be.

 

Today, many reels have a high tech drag system. If you are fishing for salmon or steelhead, a good drag would be helpful. Otherwise, who cares. All my fly reels have that “click, click” drag – it is the most basic of drags systems – but I do not fly fish for steelhead or salmon. Even if you fish for large bass, you do not need a high tech drag system because the bass will go down into the weeds – most bass will not run any distances. Instead, for such bass, you better have a stiff rod to be able to pull the bass out of the weed. Having all off the fancy stuff on the reel adds weight to the reel.

 

I hope I have given you some good info for you to think about. You must ask certain questions and get a get answers and after you will be better prepared to buy what you want or need.

 

As a beginner, you do not have to spend over $200.00CAD for a reel. And do not forget, the objective when you buy something is not to make a mistake otherwise in fly fishing, it will cost you a lot.

 

Carp-starter

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

I'll Be fishing the southern ontario tribs, for salmon and steelhead. I have no gear. I looked into the orvis brand because I went into one fo there stores in england. They seemed to have quality Items. I have wached numerous videos on the brand and their reels. All comments have been posative and It seems to be a quality reel. Id rather have a quality reel that can handle amateur mistakes. In the winter my family go's down to mexico for a week or so and i'd want to bring my gear their. I plan to pair it up to the whire river fly shop classic travel fly rod 7wt from BPS. Again its a product that I've heard mostly good reviews on. thanx for all your help. Is it worth the extra money compared to other orvis reels?

[danbo]

I gave you my best advice.

[carp-starter]

Marcus

 

A warning first – this post will be a post of negatives.

 

1 – Instead of weight 7 line, I would suggest that for steelhead and salmon, a 8 weight line would be better. Seven weight is OK for steelhead but 8 is better for salmon. I think that an 8 weight line would be better for bass fishing.

 

2 – I would never buy that White River Fly Shop™ Classic Travel Fly Rod. I guess the main reason is simply because it is BPS’ brand. It is said that Temple Fork Outfitters fly rods are good and at a very good price. There is one – 9’, 8 weight line, 4 pieces. Store brand tackle is usually not as good as brand name tackle.

 

3 – I would never spend more on a reel than on a rod. Remember what I had stated in my previous post – the major reason for a fly reel is to hold the fly line.

 

4. Get a reasonably good fly line. You will not be able to cast well with a poor and cheap line. SA Ultra 4 or Courtland fly lines are OK. Right now, Le Baron is selling the SA line at a 2009 special price of $33.00. Last year, they were selling it for around $44.00. And a fly shop here in Oakville was selling it for around $60.00.

 

5. How important is the drag system on that Orvis fly reel? I do not know. I do not fly fish for steelhead/salmon. I do not fish for salmon and for steelhead, I use a 5 ½ foot ultra light with 4lb test line. Some other people here would be more knowledgeable to tell you as to how important a high tech drag system is.

 

6. People here have said that Orvis are good reels. I suppose they are but I beg to differ. I have 1 Orvis Battenkill fly reel. When I bought it, I think it was made by Hardy. The Battemkill looks very similar to the lightweight Hardy’s. But the quality was simply not there – relative to the Hardy. One example is that the Battenkill has scratches but none of the Hardys have scratches. I am not trying to put Orvis down because all my fly rods are from Orvis. Whatever else I have in fly fishing is probably from Orvis. It is just that I would not buy their fly reels nor fly lines.

 

6. “Is it worth the extra money compared to other Orvis reels?” I have checked all 3 Orvis models and I would not buy the reel you want to get just because it retrieves line 1½ faster than the BMA III or 3 times faster than the BBS III. BUT, if you decide to get the 8 weight line (and you should), you will not have a problem because the BBL III is for only lines 5-7 and there are none larger. The BMA IV will hold a line 8 but the reel is heavy at 6.1 oz. The BBS IV is only 4.5 oz. The 3 Orvis reels use different materials – but I do not know if this fact is significant. The BLA reel is probably is also more fancy – bells and whistles.

 

My answer is that I would not buy the BLA over the BBS or BMA. BUT I AM WONDERING IF THE BBS WOULD BE ABLE TO PERFORM IF YOU HOOK A 20LB SALMON THAT RUNS DOWNSTREAM. Or will it burn itself out?

 

I agree with Danbo’s 2 suggestions except for the fact that Pflueger and Okuma reels weigh a ton because of the ball bearings – 7 oz for a line 5/6 reel?????. I quickly looked at Albright reels and they also are HEAVY.

 

If I were you, I would spend more time investigating during the winter. As far as I am concerned, WHY RUSH TO BUY. There will be a lot of things to do in Mexico.

 

Carp-starter

[danbo]

The drag alone + the bearings excel for fighting Big, fast Steel.

Both reels can take a beating, friend.

I like your line choice.

You need a fighting-butt on the rod.

A cheap 7wt Martin RollingFork rod will suffice for rivers like the Credit or Ganny..

Edited December 9, 2008 by danbo

[danbo]

DMASSE has an awesome combo in the classifieds here!!

[dp3200]

DMASSE has an awesome combo in the classifieds here!!

 

Not anymore

 

Marcus - I don't want to diminish the importance of quality equipment, but until you get some real experience fishing and learning what you need, I would recommend going to BPS and getting a $50 reel. I used a cheap fly combo for about 7 years before going out and buying my first quality combo - and I grew up on the Ganny fishing salmon and steelhead all the time. Until you get some experience and learn what you need, you will probably end up dropping a lot of cash on the wrong gear.

 

With respect to your question about the drag, I don't think it's important. I prefer to palm the spool as you would with a centrepin, even though my reels all have drag systems.

 

I suspect you have probably made up your mind though, so good luck.

[danbo]

Why suffer with cheap stuff? The Drag is important with big fish..

OK..Let's just pull the guy in 20 directions so he stays confused.

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

I appreciate all of yor help. I have quite a few things to think about. :S

[kemper]

I just picked up my first fly gear last night, had some extra money in gift cards and said why the heck not!

 

Bough an 8 wt Ross worldwide rod for 100 bucks, and an Okuma (I know I know, I hate Okuma too but I was on a budget) reel for just under 100 bucks.

 

Feels great, looks great and it didnt bust the bank.

[danbo]

Atta boy!

[kemper]

Atta boy!

 

 

Also just found out that i got a wicked deal...not knowing much about fly rods I figured 100 bucks was a decent rod. I checked out the web site today and found that the rod retails for 139.99 and the dealer that sold it to me knocked 20 bucks off the sticker price of 92.99 which means I got it for 72.99.

 

HALF PRICE WOOOOOOOO

[MarcusDiGiovanni]

bahaa, nice one, BPS I presume?

[kemper]

bahaa, nice one, BPS I presume?

 

 

Never,

 

As amazing as that place is I just can't spend my money there. They kill the little guy, and its the little guy that is good to us fishermen. I have a store that I am very loyal to and they appreciate my business. BPS doesnt know me from a hole in the wall.

 

That said, I do go into BPS from time to time and grab plastics and small ticket items etc when they are on sale but if its a big purchase they arent gettin my money.

 

Sorry for the hijack dude, Have you figured out what you are going to go with?