[burns]

I'm in the market for a reel for my 4-weight DT line / rod. I have large hands, and larger arbors make it easier for me to retrieve. I had looked at the Battenkill Large Arbor and I saw both positive and negative comments on it. It is currently on sale at Orvis for $99.

I'm not worried about backing capacity because this will be used almost exclusively for trout fishing, with some smallies on the side. I will use gel-spun backing to maximize capacity.

My concerns are:
- I've heard that this reel has a tendency to favor line retrieval on one side of the arbor or another, which can bind up the reel.
- When you "trap" the line against the cork handle with your non-winding hand, I would think it would be hard to retrieve line since the reel is so big.

I would appreciate feedback on this, especially from folks who have used the reel. The Bauer Rogue looks PERFECT to me, but I don't have the cash for that. Other reels I'm considering include the Lamson Konic, the Pflueger Trion, the Battenkill Mid Arbor, and the Battenkill BBS (standard arbor).

Thanks.

[sandfly]

You dont need gel spun, save your money and go with12lb backing instead of 20..Also you have to guide the line on any large argor reel or you'll get binding, same goes for the mid arbors too...Get the battenkill its worth every red cent...

[mhclayton]

I had a LA Battenkill and didn't have any problems with binding. I used the gelspun backing. What I didn't care for was the balance, size and the way it looked on my rod. I could never get used to it.

On the other hand, I bought a Orvis mid arbor on ebay for about $100 new and took it to Alaska this summer. Caught quite a few large rainbows and salmon with it on my 8 weight and it worked like a charm. Great drag, smooth functioning, stores a lot of backing and balances beautifully. For this price, didn't mind bouncing it around in the bottom of the drift boat from time to time (which by the way, resulted in "0" scratches, dings, etc.---tough finish on the black reel). In my opinion, very hard to beat for what Orvis charges for it, and a terrific all-around reel.

[BigCliff]

I second the recommendation of the Mid-Arbor battenkill over the LA, especially if you're going to be fishing a DT line. The LA version has a very shallow arbor, that requires one to either load the reel lightly with backing, or pay close attention to getting the line wound onto it evenly. Since a DT line is bulkier, this would be more of an issue than with a WFF line. With the Mid-Arbor version, the DT line would cause fewer problems.

Other great options are Waterworks Lamson Radius Fly Reels fly fishing gear or Lamson Konic Fly Reels fly fishing gear I'd rather have either of those than a Orvis reel, but diff't strokes for diff't folx, and all that.