Jump to content
Fly Tying
Sign in to follow this  
swampsinger

? re Hydros sl reel

Recommended Posts

reels can have resistance (drag) paying out line with the drag adjusted but wouldnt have resistance when reeling in the line

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My 8 wt reel can't "free spool" line in like the 5 wt. I like this feature to manage line and quickly put fish on the reel. I guess the 8 wt is just a cheap poor design.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds suspicious to me. Give Orvis and call and ask, either HQ or a store better yet.. They have pretty good customer service and stand by their products. None of my Orvis reels of the same model varied in performance just because of the size of the reel, so there could well be something wrong with that reel.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

All of my reels are BPS White River reels. Some are less than $40.00.

They ALL spin freely in the "take up line" direction. As you say, swampsinger, it's handy for getting line on the reel quickly. Fishing in a boat, I don't do it to "put the fish on the reel" ... I do it to put the rod down and pick up another.

 

You might need to pull the spool off. If it's been lubricated with grease, change that and put reel oil in there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds suspicious to me. Give Orvis and call and ask, either HQ or a store better yet.. They have pretty good customer service and stand by their products. None of my Orvis reels of the same model varied in performance just because of the size of the reel, so there could well be something wrong with that reel.

Sorry if I misled you. I don't have an orvis reel, but I am considering upgrading to a reel that has that feature. I suppose I can give them a call tomorrow and find out.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry if I misled you. I don't have an orvis reel, but I am considering upgrading to a reel that has that feature. I suppose I can give them a call tomorrow and find out.

Sorry, misunderstood the question. Have played with the Hydros in the stores, and it does 'free spool' as I remember it (i.e. you can spin it to pick up line fast), although I still would call just to be sure because I have favored the Mid-Arbor models in the past and do not own one. In fact, the only reel I know/own that does not 'free spool' are the Lamson reels due to their drag design.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

OK. I don't mean to insult any ones intelligence here, but are we sure that the handle is on the correct side and the line is not spooled on the reel the wrong direction?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I guess I'm a total dunce. I own 4 Orvis Hydros SL reels and don't know what you are talking about when it comes to no resistance or free spooling. I really don't see any difference with how my Hydros SL reel performs when winding in line as opposed to the many other reels I own. For what it's worth, my candid opinion about the Hydros SL reels is that they are probably one of the best values on the market, especially for use in saltwater because of their semi-sealed drag set-up, which has saved me a lot of worry and clean-up time after fishing in saltwater. Just keep the spool on the reel and rinse them off after each outing; then, after the total trip is over do a more thorough cleaning including accessing the drag housing to rinse any salt particles away and reapply a little oil. With my substantially more expensive (and older generation) reels, I have to do a time-consuming cleaning after each outing. For their price range, the Hydros reels do have an impressively smooth action and, after catching (and releasing) more than 85 snook on a recent Florida trip, my Hydros SL IV has performed flawlessly. However, these days, I rarely rely on drag, and I usually only target fish less than 20 pounds. So far, I have only used the Hydros reels for catching peacock bass, bass, snook, seatrout, small jacks, and redfish, and have yet to catch a fish with a Hydros reel that has taken me into the backing. Hope this helps.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey mikechell,

Hope this is not a thread hijacking, but others might find this useful anyway. I have noticed that you suggest that one not use grease on a fly reel, but oil instead. I like this concept. What oil do you recommend? Is the old standard 3 in one oil OK? I usually use 3 in one for cleaning and lubricating and it seems to work for me.

Joe

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've got a bottle of "Abu Garcia" reel oil. I've had it so long, I don't remember where I got it from. I use it every year on my dozen + fly, spinning and level wind reels, and it's still 1/4 full. It takes so little to lube up all the workings.

 

Feeling it ... I would guess it's exactly the same as 3-1 oil, which I use a lot of, too. The only reason I don't use that on my reels ... I haven't run out of the other. As soon as I do, it'll be 3-1 oil from then on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I guess I'm a total dunce. I own 4 Orvis Hydros SL reels and don't know what you are talking about when it comes to no resistance or free spooling [snip]

Suspect you misunderstood the question, Barbless. The original question is if you spin the reel say by the rim, will it continue to spin and pick up line, hence "freespool". There are some reels that do not do this (e.g. Lamson/Waterworks) and that's what the OP was asking about. In this case it is a "feature", not a liability.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Whatfly, Thanks. I didn't get it the first time. I've never even thought of spinning a fly reel by the rim to pick up line while fishing. I would think that you'd have to be extremely well coordinated to do it effectively, and it's hard for me to imagine that line drag on the water wouldn't quickly stop such a retrieve unless you kept spinning the rim vigorously, which would mean you could probably do a traditional crank retrieve faster, or if you like that sort of thing, you could use one of the automatic lever-operated reels that were once made by Pflueger. Anyway, since I already have 4 Hydros SL models, I might just give it a try and see what happens. Perhaps, it would feel similar to the reverse of fishing with a centerpin reel (something I only tried a few times). Admittedly, however, I'm still totally confused and am sure I'm missing something important that I've never encountered before. :-) Heck, maybe I'll like it!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've got many "White River" reels from BPS. They all free spool in the retrieve direction. Fishing from a boat, it's a handy feature to have. One flick of the wrist and the reel spins on multiple rotations of line. I've actually become so accustom to doing it that way, I rarely even touch the handle.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

. I've never even thought of spinning a fly reel by the rim to pick up line while fishing. I would think that you'd have to be extremely well coordinated to do it effectively, and it's hard for me to imagine that line drag on the water wouldn't quickly stop such a retrieve unless you kept spinning the rim vigorously, which would mean you could probably do a traditional crank retrieve faster,

it's a lot easier than you think. Gets all your line on the ground back on the reel real quick if your gonna move. Or gets the fish on the reel very quickly. I just kinda slap the rim if the spool and it spins like a top.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...