mjkirshner
Well-known member
I just got a Loomis Shortstix 8/9 rod, but because it is so short and so light, the reels I had for 8 or 9 wt line all looked too large and made the rod handle-heavy. I have a Ross Flyrise 4 that looked and felt good on the rod, but I was concerned that the drag might not be up to the challenge of saltwater fish. An Orvis Access seemed like it might work, but it has been discontinued and replaced with Battenkill Disc. I read that Orvis upgraded the drag to one based on the new Hydros, supposedly with a maximum drag of 7 lbs, which I understand should be more than enough for light saltwater.
I was concerned about the arbor size, as I only have large arbor reels on my 8 and 9 wt rods, but decided to get the Orvis, since I could return it if I was not happy with it. It arrived a few days ago, and I was very impressed with the appearance. Honestly, I like the design of the Access a little better, but the Battenkill is pretty similar, and the finish is much nicer than I expected. The black nickel gives it a richness that the typical polished or anodized black aluminum just does not have. It has both outgoing and incoming sound, which is not too loud or plastic sounding.
Getting enough backing on the reel along with the 8 wt line was a challenge. I have never used gel spun before, and had read that it could have a tendency to slide on the arbor, preventing it from being reeled in, and that it can cut the coating on the fly line where they are tied together, and can also cut your hands. I avoided those problems by starting with a few yards of dacron on the arbor, then once I had a solid base of dacron, I switched to 100 yds of gel spun, and then back to dacron for another 100 yds. I joined the two types of backing with blood knots, and tested them pretty well. I'm not sure if there are any drawbacks to mixing dacron and gel spun, but it does avoid the problems at both ends. If there is a problem at the middle, I will only discover it if a fish gets that much backing off the reel. I have never had a fish get close to taking 100 yds of backing, especially in the kayak, and I figured that if I ever hook into one that takes the entire line and 100 yds of dacron, and gets to the gel spun, I'll deal with the problem then. :teef:
I fished the reel it for the first time yesterday, from a kayak in the Indian River, and landed four Crevalle jacks. They were not huge fish, but large enough to pull the kayak a little and put a heavy bend in the rod, but the reel was not stressed in the least. And I had no trouble reeling in the line on the smaller arbor. All in all, I am really happy with this reel. My other options were considerably more expensive and generally had far less drag. For the money that I spent on this one, I am thrilled with it. That having been said, I got the size IV (7-9) because of the weight, but if weight is not an issue, I'd go with the V (9-11). I guess the Battenkill is designed as a freshwater reel, and to get enough backing for salt, you probably need to move up one size. The beauty of buying Orvis, though, is that if I fish with it a few more times and decide that more backing capacity will outweigh the weight issue (pun sort of intended), I can exchange it with no hassles. I would definitely recommend this reel.
I was concerned about the arbor size, as I only have large arbor reels on my 8 and 9 wt rods, but decided to get the Orvis, since I could return it if I was not happy with it. It arrived a few days ago, and I was very impressed with the appearance. Honestly, I like the design of the Access a little better, but the Battenkill is pretty similar, and the finish is much nicer than I expected. The black nickel gives it a richness that the typical polished or anodized black aluminum just does not have. It has both outgoing and incoming sound, which is not too loud or plastic sounding.
Getting enough backing on the reel along with the 8 wt line was a challenge. I have never used gel spun before, and had read that it could have a tendency to slide on the arbor, preventing it from being reeled in, and that it can cut the coating on the fly line where they are tied together, and can also cut your hands. I avoided those problems by starting with a few yards of dacron on the arbor, then once I had a solid base of dacron, I switched to 100 yds of gel spun, and then back to dacron for another 100 yds. I joined the two types of backing with blood knots, and tested them pretty well. I'm not sure if there are any drawbacks to mixing dacron and gel spun, but it does avoid the problems at both ends. If there is a problem at the middle, I will only discover it if a fish gets that much backing off the reel. I have never had a fish get close to taking 100 yds of backing, especially in the kayak, and I figured that if I ever hook into one that takes the entire line and 100 yds of dacron, and gets to the gel spun, I'll deal with the problem then. :teef:
I fished the reel it for the first time yesterday, from a kayak in the Indian River, and landed four Crevalle jacks. They were not huge fish, but large enough to pull the kayak a little and put a heavy bend in the rod, but the reel was not stressed in the least. And I had no trouble reeling in the line on the smaller arbor. All in all, I am really happy with this reel. My other options were considerably more expensive and generally had far less drag. For the money that I spent on this one, I am thrilled with it. That having been said, I got the size IV (7-9) because of the weight, but if weight is not an issue, I'd go with the V (9-11). I guess the Battenkill is designed as a freshwater reel, and to get enough backing for salt, you probably need to move up one size. The beauty of buying Orvis, though, is that if I fish with it a few more times and decide that more backing capacity will outweigh the weight issue (pun sort of intended), I can exchange it with no hassles. I would definitely recommend this reel.
