Orvis clearwater reel

[syow25 0]

I have been looking at the orvis clearwater reel. Is it worth 79 bucks for my 1st salt reel? at that price I could get two for different lines?

 

Any thoughts?

[phg 0]

How about 1 reel and 2 spools? The Clearwater is a well made reel that will give you years of service.

[Peterjay 0]

Depends on what you're going after. If you're just dorking around with pompano and small bluefish, you'd probably be OK for a while, but I've seen false albacore fry cheap reels in a matter of seconds. If there's one part of a saltwater rig you don't want to skimp on, it's your reel. Sooner or later, you're going to be overmatched. I use Orvis reels, and I love them, but if it were me, I'd definitely look to move up a notch or two from a Clearwater. There's no getting around the fact that it's a cheap reel, and cheap reels don't hold up in salt water.

[oatka 0]

I've had one for over 12 years. I use it mostly for bass, but I have a second spool loaded for salmon/fat browns/steelhead. For those, it's worked fine. I fished it once, just once, in the salt, for 15 minutes, then took it back to the motel and gave it a shower.