CatchAll
Member
You have to back it off a bit when setting gear so it doesn’t pull out of the clip on the drop. A little bump of the thumb and it goes full free spool. That’s annoying. Then a quarter turn or less when the gear is down sets the drag so it doesn’t creep while trolling, but at that setting it is way too tight to fight a fish. With a fish on I try to back it off a little bit but it is so touchy that a little bump of the knob and it is way to loose and I have to fiddle with it to get it right. I had a single action rookie out last weekend and he lost three in a row on that reel.
I don’t like the round knob on the Amundsen but finding the right adjustment is more predictable and it doesn’t need to be set as tight to avoid creeping. I had an abu Garcia diplomat mooching reel and the drag on that was perfect but the clutch was made out of soft aluminum so the clicker and anti reverse pawls beat it to pieces. I finally got them to warranty exchange it for a different reel after I replaced the clutch and bearings once. Maybe I expect too much out of an expensive r
I took the reel apart and checked everything again. I don't see any problems. I fished with it another three days. Caught a few more fish. I've fished with this reel about six days total now. I have caught around 20 fish on it and I am not enjoying it. I called Islander and explained my problems and the guy said it sounds like exactly what people want - a micro adjustment. I have used other islanders and I do not remember them being like this. I'm talking less than a 1/4 turn from too tight to free spooling line. The guy at islander was just like - you will get used to it. He said that if I don't like they hold their value well for resale. Definitely not happy with the interaction.Interesting. I've never struggled with it that way.
When I'm setting gear with a slight bit of drag sometimes the reel makes an odd humming noise and a couple times there was a squeal. The drag has to be so tight to prevent line creep that trying to lower the downrigger any more will pop it out of a brand new scotty clip on the tight setting. Trying to loosen the drag before letting more line out takes about 1/8 of a turn of the drag knob. Any more than that and it goes to freespool. When a fish is hooked and I need to back the drag off (because it must be set so tight in the downrigger to prevent line creep), I actually have to look at the drag knob while I adjust it because it is such a micro adjustment. It can't be done by feel.
Whatever. I'm stopping by the tackle shop today to see if I can return it. Ordering an amundsen.