Newish Fly Reels

[Trial153]

I’m looking for anyone that has had their hands on any of these newish fly reels preferably if they’ve been fished. I’m planning on picking up two reels from the list each with a extra spool. They will going on fast action 9ft single handled Rods TBD, 7wt and 8wt. Mostly being used to for Rainbows /Steelhead but also sea run browns and Atlantic’s .


Abel Rove 7/9
Abel Vaya 7/9
Hatch Iconic 7 plus
Nautilus CCF 6/8
Nautilus NVG 7/8
Orvis Mirage IV
Tibor signature 7/8.

 

[mlob1one]

I've only had experience with the Hatch & Nautilus. The Hatch is great, but super heavy. Durable with a good drag system and pick up. The Nautilus is lighter and I feel balances better.
Can't go wrong with either. Never swung a Tibor, and the Abels I've run have all been smaller.

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[Salmonchaser]

Yes to the Hatch, Nautilus nvg and the Orvis. On 8 wts fishing mostly sockeye and silvers. Great drags. I’d give the nod to Hatch. We have reels that are two or three years old and have all had several 100 fish days. They are spendy but for a recreational reel, I don’t know of anything that is going to last longer.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Nautilus reels are great. I’ve never been too impressed with Abel reels for the price. They offer some cool graphics but then you end up with a 250.00 reel that cost 1200.00.

I’m a fan of Ross reels but from what you mentioned, I’d probably focus on the nautilus. Orvis stuff is….ok, I had a recon rod set up with a mirage reel for awhile and it wasn’t bad but like most shit orvis makes its nothing to write home about. If you like the orvis brand, their stuff is great. If you have access to lots of high end stuff, you quickly realize that when you buy orvis, you pay for the name.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

My 8 weight rod that I use for silvers and reds has a Ross animas reel on it for the record.

 

[Riplip]

I have the Nautilus NVG 8 and Iconic 9+ that I use primarily for salt water fishing. Both are great reels with awesome drag systems. As mentioned the Hatch is a bit heavier, but balances great on my 10 wt. I use the NVG on 8wt mostly for bonefish. I have an Iconic 5+ on order for trout. I have an older Tibor Everglades that I dont use much anymore, but will never get rid of.

 

[CoStick]

CCF is the way to go unless you want to spend more. I use 6/8 and 8/10 for flats, certainly hold up to your targets.

 

[Clarktar]

I've heard good things about the Redington grande. Should have one here in a few days and taking to to Belize.

I know it's not on your list but thought you might want to dig up what you can find on it.

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[CoStick]

Nautilus reels are great. I’ve never been too impressed with Abel reels for the price. They offer some cool graphics but then you end up with a 250.00 reel that cost 1200.00.

I’m a fan of Ross reels but from what you mentioned, I’d probably focus on the nautilus. Orvis stuff is….ok, I had a recon rod set up with a mirage reel for awhile and it wasn’t bad but like most shit orvis makes its nothing to write home about. If you like the orvis brand, their stuff is great. If you have access to lots of high end stuff, you quickly realize that when you buy orvis, you pay for the name.

I fish a lot of Ross , same company owns Abel and Ross now, but still like to support local here in CO. Ross evolution R salt is amazing. Lots of choices these days.

Nautilus CCF is still a bargain.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I fish a lot of Ross , same company owns Abel and Ross now, but still like to support local here in CO. Ross evolution R salt is amazing. Lots of choices these days.

Nautilus CCF is still a bargain.

I’m with you, yeah the same company owns Ross and able (and Bauer I believe). I’d rather have a 350.00 Ross than an 1000.00 able though.

 

[CoStick]

I’m with you, yeah the same company owns Ross and able (and Bauer I believe). I’d rather have a 350.00 Ross than an 1000.00 able though.

Most of my rods have animas

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Most of my rods have animas

They are damn good reels.

 

[Trial153]

The weight on the Iconic concern me. I originally was thinking of steeping down to the 5plus and running a 7 wt on it. However the lack of backing capacity makes that a no go.

A buddy of mine is getting a Vaya 7/8 fedex to me this weekend and I should have it Monday or Tuesday. He guides and owns lodges in Belize and Costa Rica and said it’s the best light weight 7wt light weight reel he every used, guy is part fish and on the water a couple hundred days a year so I have to give it a try. I should be able to get it into some steelhead next week if the weather holds up.


Point Taken on CCF, same drag on both Reels I listed. Like you all confirmed they have reputation for being a fantastic drag. Has to be a strong contender for me.

On the Orvis Mirage, I often hear the premium for name brand Ect brought up and at one time I would agreed however I think in todays internet’s age that holds less weight in the fly fishing world then it did. Seems like all the premium brands are commanding premium prices in their higher end product lines.
Truth is the higher the price at this point more the value to price ratio declines. In any event the reviews on the mirage are pretty good and there is a lot of them out there and seen a lot of with pretty much no issues. Since nothing about this is really budget friendly ( or necessary since I can just use the rods and reels I half without an issue) so I tossed it on the list ..

Here is pretty much what I have it narrowed down to

Hatch 7 plus
Able Vaya 7/8
Nautilus CCF 6/8

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I've heard good things about the Redington grande. Should have one here in a few days and taking to to Belize.

I know it's not on your list but thought you might want to dig up what you can find on it.

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My buddy has a Remington behemoth and one of their rods which he uses for pike. Seems pretty good.

 

[eamyrick]

My trout rods have old school Ross. For my saltwater rods I use Galvan and have had zero issues in 6-7 years. Sometimes they will be dunked in saltwater fishing for a week at a time. Fished Tarpon and Permit in Belize and the guide uses Galvan year round.

 

[dtrkyman]

I have three Orvis Mirage reels, 4-5 and 9wt. Excellent reels. Not needed in the light weights in my opinion but for the heavier stuff a high end reel is likely worth it.

 

[Trial153]

I have three Orvis Mirage reels, 4-5 and 9wt. Excellent reels. Not needed in the light weights in my opinion but for the heavier stuff a high end reel is likely worth it.

Good to know. I honestly haven’t heard a bad review on them yet. I am going to take a look at them when I head over to Manchester

 

[Q child]

I have primarily fished Nautilus and Hatch so I'll focus on those.
First, the NVG is a worse reel than the CCFX2, so it isn't worth the money. The CCFX2 has a more nuanced drag - turn the knob a little and the drag increases or decreases a little. The NVG kind of has two settings free spool and lots of drag. Also the knob on the CCFX2 is a lot bigger and easier to adjust when your fighting a fish. Sounds like you are leaning towards the CCFX2 anyway, so your on the right track there.
Second, neither the Hatch or the Nautilus are great reels. Both are pretty good though. I haven't found a great reel in the 8 weight range.
I don't trust Nautilus with their current line up. This is kind of hard to explain, but I'll try and include some photos. A few years ago Nautilus identified a problem with their reels, which was that under load the spool could deform enough so that it would grind against the reel (I have never experienced this). They tried to remedy this by increasing the tolerances between the reel and the spool. They essentially made it so that you cannot quite screw the spool all the way onto the reel. Its weird and dumb. What this results in is a decent gap between the reel and the spool. The line can skip out. This has happened to me and it sucks. They made this change to the CCFX2 and the NVG. I have a CCFX2 from before they did this and two from after. The older one is the better reel. I would not have bought the newer ones if I had known about this before hand.
The click sound mechanism on the CCFX2 is pathetic. They use these little spring loaded plastic fingers on the spool that click in and out of detents on the reel as it spins. The plastic fingers get worn down quickly and the reel is silent after that. Not the end of the world, but very stupid for the price.
Also, with the Nautilus you often need a tool to take the spools off the reels. This is particularly problematic if the reel will allow your line to skip out unexpectedly due to an intentionally large space between your reel and your spool. I carry a set of plumbing pliers which have rubber jaw covers to take the spool off.
Don't get me wrong. The CCFX2 is a good reel. I just don't trust the current iteration.
The Hatch has, in my opinion, one major problem. The reel foot is machined to the reel. Not screwed on like most other manufacturers. This means that if you drop your reel, and bend the foot, then your screwed. I have no idea why they did this. I've dropped and bent reel feet two or three times over the years. Its usually as easy as calling up the company and getting a new one, then simply screwing it on. Not with Hatch. I don't know what you do with them.
The drag on the Hatch is nice. Not nearly as powerful on the top end as the Nautilus. But it still has plenty of power.
I've only fished the Finatic, but I'm sure the Iconic is similar in the important stuff.
The weight of any of these reels is a non issue. If you are putting together a real 8 weight setup, then that's the price you have to pay.
Someone else mentioned Galvans. They are fine. Kind of a drag on or off without much adjustment in between type of deal.
I have the Ross Evolution R. It is trash. The hub is not waterproof and water gets in there. This will result in a horrible whining sound. I've told Ross and they traded me for a new reel. Then that one did the same. So they gave me another one. Then that one did the same thing, so I retired it. Just plain junk.
Regarding the photo of the new CCFX2 with the large gap: I have added a piece of sticky felt in the gap to try and prevent the line skipping thing. So that's what you can see there.

 

[Trial153]

I have primarily fished Nautilus and Hatch so I'll focus on those.
First, the NVG is a worse reel than the CCFX2, so it isn't worth the money. The CCFX2 has a more nuanced drag - turn the knob a little and the drag increases or decreases a little. The NVG kind of has two settings free spool and lots of drag. Also the knob on the CCFX2 is a lot bigger and easier to adjust when your fighting a fish. Sounds like you are leaning towards the CCFX2 anyway, so your on the right track there.
Second, neither the Hatch or the Nautilus are great reels. Both are pretty good though. I haven't found a great reel in the 8 weight range.
I don't trust Nautilus with their current line up. This is kind of hard to explain, but I'll try and include some photos. A few years ago Nautilus identified a problem with their reels, which was that under load the spool could deform enough so that it would grind against the reel (I have never experienced this). They tried to remedy this by increasing the tolerances between the reel and the spool. They essentially made it so that you cannot quite screw the spool all the way onto the reel. Its weird and dumb. What this results in is a decent gap between the reel and the spool. The line can skip out. This has happened to me and it sucks. They made this change to the CCFX2 and the NVG. I have a CCFX2 from before they did this and two from after. The older one is the better reel. I would not have bought the newer ones if I had known about this before hand.
The click sound mechanism on the CCFX2 is pathetic. They use these little spring loaded plastic fingers on the spool that click in and out of detents on the reel as it spins. The plastic fingers get warn down quickly and the reel is silent after that. Not the end of the world, but very stupid for the price.
Also, with the Nautilus you often need a tool to take the spools off the reels. This is particularly problematic if the reel will allow your line to skip out unexpectedly due to an intentionally large space between your reel and your spool. I carry a set of plumbing pliers which have rubber jaw covers to take the spool off.
Don't get me wrong. The CCFX2 is a good reel. I just don't trust the current iteration.
The Hatch has, in my opinion, one major problem. The reel foot is machined to the reel. Not screwed on like most other manufacturers. This means that if you drop your reel, and bend the foot, then your screwed. I have no idea why they did this. I've dropped and bent reel feet two or three times over the years. Its usually as easy as calling up the company and getting a new one, then simply screwing it on. Not with Hatch. I don't know what you do with them.
The drag on the Hatch is nice. Not nearly as powerful on the top end as the Nautilus. But it still has plenty of power.
I've only fished the Finatic, but I'm sure the Iconic is similar in the important stuff.
The weight of any of these reels is a non issue. If you are putting together a real 8 weight setup, then that's the price you have to pay.
Someone else mentioned Galvans. They are fine. Kind of a drag on or off without much adjustment in between type of deal.
I have the Ross Evolution R. It is trash. The hub is not waterproof and water gets in there. This will result in a horrible whining sound. I've told Ross and they traded me for a new reel. Then that one did the same. So they gave me another one. Then that one did the same thing, so I retired it. Just plain junk.
Regarding the photo of the new CCFX2 with the large gap: I have added a piece of sticky felt in the gap to try and prevent the line skipping thing. So that's what you can see there.

Great information. Thank you very much

 

[Ferrulewax]

Another reel you may want to consider at your price point in the Lamson Lightspeed M, as well as the Cobalt. I have the cobalt (got it before the lightspeed came out) in the 11/12wt and it is a tank- no complaints whatsoever. The new lightspeed has the same drag as the cobalt but at a much lighter weight. I've considered putting one on my bonefish rod. They have the only independently tested, truly sealed drag.

The drag is also indexed, and has a single rotation (at least on my cobalt) so you can set it to the same place every time.

That said it's hard to argue with the pedigree of the tibor- you just about can't mess one up.