Hatch Reels Drag Setting

[sweetandsalt]

Hatch Reels are among the finest built and most respected reels here on our Forum and in the extended fly fishing community. Trout fisherman love their precision and feel and big game and saltwater types are addicted to their rigidity and stacked, sealed drag mechanism.

But nothing in the World is perfect and while I have no experience with this problem on either of my two reels, a 5+ that lives on my Z-Axis#5 and 7+ which mates with S4s#8, there is something Hatch owners should know. We are correctly trained to clean and allow our reels to be completely dry before stowing them and also to set the drag setting to "zero", the drag knob completely turned to the lowest setting stop. This last, to have no compression on any spring or drag elements.

Except on Hatch Reels. Turned to full knob rotation stop can actually, though rarely, induce the stacked drag elements to lock, even miss-align, and not function! Fortunately this is easily preventable by turning the drag setting knob to one stop short of full off. This still eliminates unwanted compression during storage and also eliminated the risk of drag function anomalies. Odd, yes, this is an idiosyncrasy I don't understand but by performing this one stop short of off have eluded. Other than this rarefied oddity, Hatch Reels are among the very few totally reliable reels made suitable for intense use in the most demanding fly fishing environments.

 

[tw1st3d5]

Which version of reel do you have? I talked for quite a long time with someone from Hatch when I was looking at a used 7+ Monsoon. He stated that the issue you describe was a potential problem with the Monsoon version but has since been remedied with the Finatic version.

 

[ausable]

Hatch 5 plus on a 5 weight Z Axis? At 6.5 ounces sounds heavy


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[kuch]

That locking up problem existed on the earlier Hatch's and they acknowledged it to customers that had the issue. It has since been corrected for the past couple of years with a revised design and construction. I don't know the exact details. If your reel has that issue, then contact Hatch. They will replace the entire stacked drag with a new one. Their CS is awesome. It should be problem free and never lock in that full "off" position.

 

[sweetandsalt]

True enough, mine are two of the first Monsoon's even built. I'm glad that they have corrected the issue and not surprised but I too have corrected it by, as described, setting them one click above zero. 5+ heavy on a kind of heavy Z-Axis?...I hadn't thought so but I also haven't had that rod out of its case since ONE was released and it need a much lighter reel (an FWX 7/8). My wife has her 5+ Finatic on her light 7-weight.

I'm going to have to check the ages of the two saltwater size Hatches my guide friend says have locked up for two of his clients.

 

[Sage & Abel]

I have a MA Finatic 7+ in full "off" position in my closet. I should give it a peek.

 

[kuch]

The locking up definitely happened and will happen on the early versions (the monsoons and the early finatics)....in my opinion it's worth giving Hatch a call to get the drags replaced with a newer unit and never have to worry about it. Accidents happen and the lock up could occur without warning. Once it does lock up it is nearly impossible to get it unstuck.

Hatch makes great reels and I have found the customer service to be exceptional. I had a 4 plus the the drag was not super smooth and they easily and quickly replaced the drag for me and the swap made a positive difference in drag. I did not even have to send the reel back.

 

[dharkin]

I have a Monsoon 7Plus that was bought a couple years ago but never used. I was checking out some of my gear the other day and sure enough, I have the drag issue that you described. The drag was completely off like all of my other reels that are in storage. I tried to remove the bearing but it is stuck. Tried a pair of needle nosed pliers but it isn't budging! Called hatch and they said to ship it back to them so they can fix it. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[sweetandsalt]

I have a 4+ (1st. gen.) Finatic on my NRX#5, a great set up. The reel is as solid as can be and the drag as smooth and incremental as possible. Zero problems but, for storage, I still set the drag one stop off full off...out of habit I suppose.

 

[dharkin]

I called the number on their website last night, funny experience.

dialed the number, 2 rings then a "hello"

me: Hi, is this Hatch Outdoors?
him: yes it is, what's up?

after explaining what's wrong, where I bought it, etc...

him: "hmmmm, bearing is stuck? That puppy needs some work, ship it to us, we'll take a look at it and fix it for ya, we can fix anything".

Great guy.

 

[clsmith131]

I spoke to those guys at their booth at the Atlanta show last weekend. I have a 5+ and 7+, both gen 1 finatics. They told me they would upgrade the components to match that of the gen 2 models for $25 (ea) if I sent the reels to them. I thought that was pretty awesome.

 

[dharkin]

No brainer, SOLD!!!!!!!

They're really just swapping out the cylinder I think. Great design.

 

[el jefe]

Hatch reels are a great example of groupthink. Hatch has a reputation for being sturdy and bulletproof, of unparalleled quality, but why? That lockup problem is a non-starter, and not that uncommon. When that reel locks up, you're done until that reel goes back to Hatch. There are no field fixes for it. The fly shops can't even fix it. That problem happens frequently enough that Hatch is preemptively fixing it. If that lockup were to happen to Lamson, for instance, there would be near-universal condemnation of them, and we would rightly criticize them for such a poor product, and question how that product ever made it out of testing and to market. But Hatch not only gets a pass, they're the greatest reels on earth. Particularly for the price, that's ridiculous. That's the kind of thing you hear about happening to the cheap reels from MaxCatch on eBay. So Hatch fixes it for free, big whoop; they ought to, with such a crummy product. And nearly every reel company out there would do the same, but alas, they're not having that problem. On top of that, the start-up inertia on Hatch reels is horrid. Hatch reels look cool and feel sturdy in the shop, but don't pass too many other tests. They have become a status symbol, and as such folks impute characteristics to Hatch they do not have, and in fact are opposite of documented reality.

 

[falcon53]

At the Edison Show I was told the upgrade is 70.00.

 

[el jefe]

At the Edison Show I was told the upgrade is 70.00.

Wow! Hatch wants to charge $70.00 to fix a notoriously poor design, on top of the initial high price of the reel? PT Barnum was right.

 

[falcon53]

cdsmith indicated that the upgrade was 25.00. When I spoke to the Hatch Rep at Edison. I told him that Gen1 reels were still be discounted and I was looking at them. He indicated that the upgrade was 70.00. I think his thinking was I was not a Hatch reel owner and maybe this charge is more than a existing owner would be charged. I also stopped by Ramsey Outdoors booth (NJ retailer) and Kevin (a store manager) told me the upgrade was 70.00.

 

[dharkin]

the upgrade that you speak of, is that to fix a problem or just a price to upgrade to a Gen 2 finatic? My reel is an older Monsoon reel with the drag issue.

 

[dennyk]

I've had nothing but positive experiences every time I've called Hatch.

Denny

 

[falcon53]

The upgrade of 70.00 was to upgrade Gen1 to Gen2. Its my understanding that Hatch does not charge anything to fix reel problems.

 

[clsmith131]

Maybe I was told wrong. But I know he told me $25. If it's $70, that's no longer a no-brainer.

Also, Hatch are not my favorite reels, but I have to disagree with el jefe on the start-up. To call it "horrid" is at the very least, gross exaggeration. So far my Hatch reels have been great, and I find the start-up to be negligible...

and I've put some good stress on them.