Nautilus xl max or 3tand t-70

[bp8777]

Im looking for a new 8wt reel and was wondering if anyone had any reviews of the nautilus xl max. I own a 3 tand t90 and love it, so i no the t 70 will fit the bill or the tx-80. Basically will be used on stripers, blues and small albies. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sweetandsalt]

Well, bp, I have limited knowledge of 3-TAND but I like their rubberized handles. Nautilus makes great reels and, since you ask, take a look at their new CCFX2 for strippers and albies. I fish an X and love it but regard its open frame design, size and marketing not with standing, as a light weight but high performance trout reel. May I suggest taking a look at Allen Atlas, Taylor Revolution, TFO Atoll and Cheeky Limitless too.

 

[moucheur2003]

The T-70 uses the same reel frame as the T-90, but with a larger arbor spool that has a bit less line capacity. The spools are interchangeable, and the T-70 spool will fit on your T-90 frame, so if you want to save a few bucks, just buy the T-70 spool.

 

[callihan_44]

i have had about 3 different nautilus reels and every single one of them was flawless in craftsmanship, i like how the drag knob clicks into place and doesnt accidentally move at low settings...

 

[sweetandsalt]

I just mounted a new #8 line on my Nautilus NV-G, what a nice reel. I have no issue fishing Asian built reels and consider a number of them to be very well built and designed. And a high ratio of performance to price can be achieved. But it is kind of unfair to compare US crafted reels built by the anglers that designed them like Nautilus, Hatch, Abel/Ross to the best of the Asian made reels I mentioned above. They are fabricated in off-shore shops to help reduce the cost so tolerances and finish details are not high end. Design and performance may well be and, absolutely, finer detailing is possible but then we bump heads price wise eliminating the off-shore advantages.

 

[moosejuice]

I recently bought a Nautlius XL Max to pair with my new Orvis Recon 10' 3wt euro rod. I had to go with the XL Max size to properly balance the setup (this reel is light!).

Unfortunately, it is not working out as I fish a really long leader and the small diameter Rio Euro Nymphing line that keep finding their way through the gaps between the frame and spool. I have only fished it once and have broken off 2 fish due to this problem. I think with a heavier weight line hanging around the reel it would be great, but you might consider something with a full frame if you are going to be running smaller diameter line on it. The drag also seems to be a little sticky on on startup, what many refer to as "start up inertia." Again, i don't think this would really be a problem when running heavier tippet on a heavier weight rod, but for a euro rig it just isn't working out. I will be trying to return it to my local fly shop this weekend in exchange for a full-frame, tight tolerance reel this weekend. I'm thinking that a Hatch Finatic might be the reel that my Recon will be wearing next.

 

[dryfly70]

I would stay with the 3 tand great reel and flawless design, I had two of the Nautilus x reels and both developed a Bearing Squealing after a few months of use. Never had any problems with any of the 3 tands I owned. Michael