mooching reel review?

[Feeling Nauti]

I upgraded this year to Abel Mooching reels and I have to say they are the best reel I have ever used. They are excellent when it comes to maintenance, a dream to fight fish on. If you can afford them, they beat everything else out there by far IMHO.

 

[Big Green Machine]

I upgraded this year to Abel Mooching reels and I have to say they are the best reel I have ever used. They are excellent when it comes to maintenance, a dream to fight fish on. If you can afford them, they beat everything else out there by far IMHO.

I would like to put those down 235 feet and see how they do. Have you tried?

 

[Fishhound]

I have fished with the Daiwa DX375 line counter mooching reel for years

 

[jeffywestcoast]

the line creep i was talking about was on a high price charter and we were fishing 80-140, and the drag on the islander was tightened up as good as one could get it and it still was creeping out line, my gt 2000 and gt 4000 have no line creep what so ever, i set the drag to a good tension for fighting fish and leave it be. i had my gt 2000 apart once for the first time in twelve years because the two mounting screws inside the reel had come a little loose and you could here it knocking back n forth a bit other then that i would call them bulletproof awesome reel for 100 or less. the only difference between the 2000 AND 4000GT IS THE 4000GT holds a little more line and has nice handles.

 

[Saxe Point]

I upgraded this year to Abel Mooching reels and I have to say they are the best reel I have ever used. They are excellent when it comes to maintenance, a dream to fight fish on. If you can afford them, they beat everything else out there by far IMHO.

For a reel "starting at $700" (US funds, according to their website), it better beat everything else by far! It's more than 10 times the price of my M-1 Plus! It is no doubt a fine reel, but not more than 10 times better than my Daiwa. One would think that the sensory experience of using a mooching reel has its limits! But some will spend $5000 or more on a Rolex watch that keeps time no better than $50 Timex, so the world is full of interesting people who make fascinating choices.

 

[Feeling Nauti]

I would like to put those down 235 feet and see how they do. Have you tried?

I've had them down at 190 and they handled it with ease. The best thing about them is the ease of maintaining them, they are much less work than any other reel I've had.

 

[Feeling Nauti]

For a reel "starting at $700" (US funds, according to their website), it better beat everything else by far! It's more than 10 times the price of my M-1 Plus! It is no doubt a fine reel, but not more than 10 times better than my Daiwa. One would think that the sensory experience of using a mooching reel has its limits! But some will spend $5000 or more on a Rolex watch that keeps time no better than $50 Timex, so the world is full of interesting people who make fascinating choices.

Saxe,

You can get them for $625 in Vancouver if you want to spent the money, which is not much more than the Islander series. Nothing I have used comes close to the Abel for quality and ease of maintenance, not to mention the lifetime warranty. Your right that people do make all kinds of fascinating choices, and to each there own.

 

[leftcoast]

My buddy has a green mr3 and a gold he switched parts so now it's green n gold the color of the local junior team

 

[Pink Pounder]

Hay the trophys are great those were that was the light blue reel my gramps was using when we went with him

 

[Karma-Kazi]

My buddy has a green mr3 and a gold he switched parts so now it's green n gold the color of the local junior team

Hmmm now I might go steal my fishing buddies gold drag knob and see how that looks! Cool!

 

[Sr SQ]

Putting my pennies on the table..........
Short of the Abel moochers (I have one of there spinners and its great) and the newest version of the Islander I have owned most of them and they all do the job.
Over the years I have settled on my Penn International fly reels for 2 reasons.
- Nothing has a smoother more powerful drag (you can tighten them so no creep) then the Penn HT100 drags.
- No ones powder coat and aluminium combination holds up better, nothing pisses me off more than paying top tier for something that starts to look like crap and corrode.
after 5 years 2 of my Islanders started to show small signs of corrosion inside the spool where the line only comes off when you respool them and where the seat hoods clamp to the foot.
After 20+ years my Peens show no corrosion even where they have the powdercoating rubbed off.
Unfortunately they stopped making them quite a few years ago so the only way to get them is used, however thats the way I bought all mine.

 

[J-GLOBAL]

I've had the Daiwa's and Shimanos, and this year have MR3s. The MR3s are way smoother, but way more finicky.

For the price/value, I don't think you can beat the 4000/2000GT. They perform forever, no need for maintenance, no creep, just a little clunky.

The Islanders cost more, look better, and feel great fighting a fish. But the creep (for the price of the reel) is a problem. I rarely fish below 100ft, and with 4 of them in the riggers its tick...... tick...... tick..... Can be eliminated by tightening it right down, but then you have to loosen the drag when the fish hits. No need for that with the Shimanos.

Also the clicker noise on the islander is the reverse of what it should be. Loud on the retrieve, quiet on the run. I want to hear that real scream when the fish takes a run.

MR3s are a 'bling' factor, no doubt. And I'll continue to run the ones I have, but will try something different next purchase.

 

[spring fever]

J-G I agree with you-the Islanders clickers are backwards IMO. When I talked to Islander about it they said people didn't want a SEAL Call-hell I would put an amplifier on a screaming reel if I could and Play the Ride of the Valkyries at the same time. Seriously-I love my Islander-but for the bucks I think the Tyee or is it Trophy have a better price point and I've had to use less maintenance on it in the same period. I have 6 4000 GTs on the go with no problems at all-great entry point reel and always a reliable back up.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I have an Amundson, really like the smooth drag, but I am having trouble with the
Spring breaking. Have been waiting over a week and a half for springs in the mail
From the company! Not very happy with their response. Had to buy an mr3 spring
From Tyee Marine, who put it in for me. Warranty runs out this week!

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I have an Amundson, really like the smooth drag, but I am having trouble with the
Spring breaking. Have been waiting over a week and a half for springs in the mail
From the company! Not very happy with their response. Had to buy an mr3 spring
From Tyee Marine, who put it in for me. Warranty runs out this week!

Just got back from a 3 day trip in Winter Harbour, reel worked fine, no problem with the spring, thanks to
Kevin at Riversportsman, and no thanks to the company that makes the reels,
Still no springs in the mail from them, as promised.
From them!

 

[combover]

i have two north coasts. there great the "diner bell" isn't any louder than the islanders when spooled. that being said i removed the the "dinger" have zero issues with line creep and find them to be a smooth as any cork drag out there. but then again i do the required maintenance.

 

[rovingfisherman]

I was given an MR3 as a gift from my bride last Christmas...good try honey! Impressed with her but not the reel at $550.00. Line creep is ridiculous, who should be expected to pay that kind of money and have to take it in after the first outing. I think someone mentioned maintaining them after each outing....seriously? The number of rotations required on the drag to get it from tight to loose is crazy. No sensitivity on this drag at all. Reel is bulky and heavy.
If you want a beautiful reel at a reasonable price try...http://www.allenflyfishing.com/alpha-iii-reel/ or the Kraken. Last week they had a 1 day 50% off reels. I bought 2 more. I now own 6 Allens of varying sizes for Trout, Steelhead and Salmon. The drags are silk, 1/2 turn from fully on to fully off and the drag is on the opposite side of the crank...bonus! Scott Craven, if I see you at the Cattle Point launch I'm giving you one to try.

 

[pescador]

Something I learned about Isanders that helps line creep. When you are not using the reel, back off on the drag totally, it allows the cork to return to its natural state. When you crank down on the drag and leave it when they are not in use, you're compressing the cork which then leads to the line creep issue. When I get home after a day on the water I crank them down, hose down the reel then totally back it off and hang it in the rack.

 

[leftcoast]

I have had my MR3 for 3 seasons never had any reel creep and I do what pescador said I guess it must work.

Roving fisherman let me know if they go on sale again! Worth a try at half price. Do you troll with them?

 

[wolf]

MR3 = line creep see guys putting clips on line to stop it "REALLY" a 600 + dollar reel and it does that cmon islander fix the problem ....wow!!!!!!!!!! been running trophys for over 6 years still the same ones id say over 10,000 times plus up and down and playing fish for 300 hundred id say good investment..... NO problem EVER with line creep every month oil the cork and WIPE off leave it on it will creep very simple to use and maintain IF you do it!!! and thats a big IF for some......


Wolf