Hatch Finatic 7+ for 9wt

[mitchman]

46 mins ago, Cpalms said:

Wow, you ding dongs sure take everything so literally.  You cry like 6 year old girls after somebody called your cabbage patch kid ugly. I'm glad you are so devoted to your your precious little reels. Bang up job for the Hatch marketing dept.  God bless.

 

No crying here, people are just annoyed that you detracted the OP's whole thread because you are so triggered by HATCH. But its really my mistake as I forgot to not feed the Merry Christmas and hopefully Santa doesn't leave ones of those POS under your tree.

[qecfly]

I usually stay away from the typical forum name calling responses but in this case the information does not seem to be very accurate.  I've never owned or used a Hatch reel but I have used several other "trout reels" in the salt. I have a large number of Lamson reels as well as a couple of Teton reels all of which get used almost exclusively in the salt or on large game (salmon and steelhead). With the exception of a single bearing failure on one of the Lamson reels (replaced under their lifetime warranty) i've never had a problem (10 years worth of usage).  I do pull the spool and rinse after every use but that is it.  Every reel manufacture has had issues over the years including Orvis (own a couple of those as well).  What really matters is how you are treated if there is an issue.

I bet the Hatch reel will provide you with a great experience and if it does not they will take care of you.

[Cpalms]

31 mins ago, mitchman said:

No crying here, people are just annoyed that you detracted the OP's whole thread because you are so triggered by HATCH. But its really my mistake as I forgot to not feed the Merry Christmas and hopefully Santa doesn't leave ones of those POS under your tree.

Hopefully, I wouldn't want my loved ones to make the same mistake you did.

[gman1253]

You could go a with a Colton Terrapin.... great reels along with service.

[bae7837]

Price is relative to owners needs budget and income. Hatch is more expensive than some and less so then others. I've used a Cotlon for years with no issues. The $200 or so difference between them is noticeable but not necessary in fly gear which is inherently simple. In the end buy what you want if you can afford it and ignore internet trolls.  

[KennebecJake]

If you're in New England and want the fast pick-up of a 4" reel with lots of backing capacity, I recommend a (vintage) Pflueger Medalist 1498.

[flyrad10]

Kenebecjack

The 1498 is a great real and the break shoe drag gives the fish a fighting chance but they are susceptible to serious galvanic corrosion when used in salt water. The frame at the pillars corroded badly due to dissimilar metals fastening the parts and require meticulous care. However, a good coat of thread locker and or boeshield may curtail this but I haven’t used  this method yet on my 1498s, and still flush with fresh water and spray with WD40 after use with an occasional end of season strip down cleaning. Bargains can be found on eBay and don’t ignore the old US made (Mohawk, NY) Martin reels with disc drags for the salt. However, these are also susceptible to corrosion and must be pampered to last more than a couple years of intense use in the sea.  I’ve never owned one of the top of the line reels like Abel or Hatch or Islander but would love to put one through it paces just to see how rugged they are. Many good reels out there and some of the cheaper or so called “vintage” ones may be real  finds but like anything else, as many models of fly reel as there are, there are also that many differences in opinions on their quality.

[albacized]

On 12/13/2019 at 2:32 PM, KennebecJake said:

If you're in New England and want the fast pick-up of a 4" reel with lots of backing capacity, I recommend a (vintage) Pflueger Medalist 1498.

I recently found (and picked up) a pflueger 1598RC and fully intend on taking an albie on that reel

[James Browne]

Hatch Iconic 7+ mid arbor is an excellent reel.  I hooked a little 45-55” 60ish pound bluefin tuna on mine with a Scott sector 9wt over the holiday weekend.  On a popper too so that was cool to watch the eat.  That hatch is spooled with a Rio coastal Quickshooter (with factory loops) and 100 yards of 30# Dacron followed by 350 yards 35# black spot gelspun.  All gear held up great, didn’t even lock out the reel and got pretty close to the fish.  Unfortunately fish spit the hook about 30 minutes into the fight.  Put up some video on my Instagram page if you want to see it.  The debate over a lighter reel or more backing seems to continue on, but I’ll always choose more backing and this is why.  Stripers will never need more than 100-200yards, but when tuna are super fussy on the 14wt and this happens I was very happy to have planned ahead.  

[BWalsh]

11 hours ago, James Browne said:

Hatch Iconic 7+ mid arbor is an excellent reel.  I hooked a little 45-55” 60ish pound bluefin tuna on mine with a Scott sector 9wt over the holiday weekend.  On a popper too so that was cool to watch the eat.  That hatch is spooled with a Rio coastal Quickshooter (with factory loops) and 100 yards of 30# Dacron followed by 350 yards 35# black spot gelspun.  All gear held up great, didn’t even lock out the reel and got pretty close to the fish.  Unfortunately fish spit the hook about 30 minutes into the fight.  Put up some video on my Instagram page if you want to see it.  The debate over a lighter reel or more backing seems to continue on, but I’ll always choose more backing and this is why.  Stripers will never need more than 100-200yards, but when tuna are super fussy on the 14wt and this happens I was very happy to have planned ahead.  

You have a linked to the footage?

[James Browne]

5 hours ago, BWalsh said:

You have a linked to the footage?

I don’t think we are allowed to share links on here.  Mainestriperguide is my Instagram and has the footage.  Not sure if that’s against forums rules to say, hopefully not.  Either way those hatch reels are great despite what some folks on here have said, and their customer service has always been outstanding.  I’ve dealt with a large volume of reels through my work and definitely seen the most problems with Nautilus, but they’re also good reels and they’ve gotten better other than those spool release knobs endlessly jamming up.  

Edited July 17, 2022 by James Browne