Piscifun Blaze

[pnc]

This past year picked up a Blaze reel. Probably because I had to see for myself. Got the 9/10w and after looking over put on gel spun. Planed on using on backup tarpon outfit.
Did not get to try it on such this year.
Coming season may be first reel used. Now I have to know. Past month been out twice for Blackfin tuna. Gave Blaze christening wiith workout. And it worked as good as any reel could. Blackfin will test a reel. Drag, start up especially. There is no doubt as to a fly being hit. Bang and reel screams. That's the take. Then spool rpms skyrocket when fish doesn't like taste of hook.
Blaze functioned without a hitch. Have used Fin-Nor FR10 on 10w tarpon set up for years. And while the Fin-Nor is prettier. The Blaze worked as well as I would expect from the Fin-Nor. Only catch in my mind is shape of handle. Fin-Nor has tapered handle. Makes getting fingers away faster. Important on direct drive 10w for tarpon. Mmmm important for my knuckles. Be looking in to modifying Blaze handle.

..... pc

 

[stoneflylama72]

I have had a Blaze 5/6 since last winter. Used it once a week, occasionally twice for entire season on local tailwaters for trout. Took a few 16-18" fish and anything over 13" usually takes some drag as I almost always use 6x tippet, sometimes 7x. The reel is nicely machined, especially for price. Took a couple of drops, one off tailgate onto pavement. Only has cosmetic damage, a few scratches and a little ding, but it's still straight and works the same. The drag works great for running trout, seems to have little startup inertia at low drag settings anyway. The main issues I have with the reel are the drag knob and drag consistency. The drag knob is very easy to turn, even though it has indents when adjusting, it's just too easy to turn and one or two clicks can be the difference between not enough, and too much drag when using 6x/7x tippet. The drag is also not sealed, sometimes in the middle of the river I find it necessary to dunk the reel in order to pull leader and fly line back out of the top guide after a fish, ( long leaders). After this the drag almost always needs re-adjusted which I can deal with considering the price. However sometimes when fishing and not after a dunk the reel will suddenly have minimal to no drag. I don't know if I accidentally bump the knob but I don't think I do. I go to strip out some line and its in free spool, so line overruns and I have to pull out loose coils and re-adjust the drag. I have never had it fail on a fish though. I know to watch out for the loose drag after using reel all year but I'm looking at other reels for next season. Probably spend a little more for a sealed drag this time. The Blaze will make a nice backup.

 

[pnc]

Have heard similar about drag knob. Just pulled out reel. I've not used the reel often just of late. Had no such problems as described. Haven't tried dunk test yet....lol. Just now playing with knob. On lightest settings of drag , knob seems easy to turn. Like bumping might change. Once knob engages a little more drag , loose feeling goes away.

....... pc

 

[stoneflylama72]

Yeah, my drag almost never gets past very minimal settings. Basically just enough to keep it from free spool when stripping out line. I might be a good candidate for one of the modern click/pawl reels they are making these days.

 

[mjkirshner]

Yeah, my drag almost never gets past very minimal settings. Basically just enough to keep it from free spool when stripping out line. I might be a good candidate for one of the modern click/pawl reels they are making these days.

Orvis Battenkill is a nice machined click/pawl. If you do need drag, and want sealed, but cast rather than machined is okay, Sage 2250. If you want machined, I think you can still pick up a 3250 for under $200. I don't know much about Allen reels, but people here swear by them and the Trout II looks nice for under $150. For a few dollars more, Battenkill Disc is machined, with a sealed drag. My experience is limited, but IMO, dollar-for-dollar, the Battenkill Disc is the best value out there.

 

[stoneflylama72]

Well the extremely easy to turn drag knob kept bothering me as did the unexpected free spool about once per trip. I emailed. Piscifun customer service and explained my concerns. I received an email back the next day from Cathy in China. After giving her my order number from Amazon where I bought the reel ( directly from Piscifun through Amazon) she emailed back asking for a short video to show her engineer. I couldn't very well show her how easy the knob turns or how it gets knocked off setting but I made a terrible quality video trying to show how easily I can turn the drag knob. Next day I get another email asking if I would be willing to pay $8 and they would ship me a new reel frame, one that has been checked by the engineer. This seemed more than fair so I PayPal $8 and receive tracking number in a day or two. Took about 15-20 days to get here but it's a brand new frame. I tested the knob and while it is definitely firmer than the old one it's still pretty darn easy to turn. So I take the drag knob off the old frame to see what's going on in there....well the part you can get to easily is pretty simple and the knob tension and click indents can both be helped easily without going into the actual discs. The drag knob comes off by unscrewing the reverse threaded screw. Righty loosy, lefty tighty. Then unscrew the drag knob itself until it comes off. Carefully though there is a small pin on underside of knob that is held in a tiny hole by a tiny spring. If you carefully remove the pin and spring you can drop a 2mm bead in hole then replace the spring and pin. This increases the indents you feel when adjusting the drag. Then a couple of wraps of Teflon plumbing tape ( the white stuff) around the threads if the spindle that the drag knob scores back onto, now the drag knob doesn't turn so easily, feels solid but still very smooth. Put all back together and it feels the way I want it to. Will see if this fixes the drag getting knocked off setting or if it's something internal and not knob related. Either way Cathy in customer service at Piscifun is awsome and they are great to deal with.