Muffin Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Hello everyone, I am currently looking at getting a new reel for my Sage XP 690 rod. I am thinking of this nautilus NV-G WF6 reel: http://www.nautilusreels.com/estore/details/103018/0/7937 Or this Hardy Ultralite DD Reel: http://fly.hardyfishing.com/en-us/products/reels/performance-reels/ultralite-dd-black-edition-reels/ Does anyone have any experience with either brand or reel? Also any recommendations of reels I should be looking at? My 6wt rod is basically my swiss army knife for fly fishing as I use it for lots of things so I don't mind spending some money on a high end reel. I have a Hardy reel for my 4wt which I really enjoy. I am not looking for the "best" reel as that is subjective just curious about any new products or great experiences. I am still going to keep the Galvan reel for the 6wt but throw on a sinking line for it and put a floating line on which ever reel I end up buying. Given that high cost of second spools this seems as cost effective as anything. Thanks for any input. -Russ Quote
murray Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Muffin, I have to admit, I don't have any experience with the Hardy reel or the Nautilus NV-G so I can't comment on them. The favorite reel in my collection is the Lamson Litespeed. I have two of them and greatly prefer them over my other reels which include a couple of Orvis, as age and an Islander. The Lamson reel is very lightweight, a very good and easy to adjust drag system and has sealed bearings should you decide to use it in salt water. Murray 2 Quote
Snouthunter Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Hey muffin, the nv-g nautilus is an amazing real light fully sealed drag system. The hardy is a nice reel but the nautilus drag system is something of a trouts nightmare. Down side to nv-g is price vs the dd, and nv-g is a little over kill for trout... If it were me I'd go with the nautilus fwx as the drag is just as good I have several fwx and and haven't had any issues. 1 Quote
darrinhurst Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 I have the Hardy Ultralight DD on my 9'6" 6wt Access and I love it. I also had an Access reel on my Access rod, and loved it too. Both are light in weight and have a great drag on them. The hardy is a larger arbor, so it will retrieve the line much quicker and, in my opinion, is a sharper looking reel. I have two Access reels, one for my 5wt BVK and one for my 3wt BVK. Both balance the rod well, and can handle anything I put it through. From what I understand about the nautilus reels, is that they are pretty bomb proof and are great for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. So if you plan on taking the rod to the flats, you can easily adapt it. I have no experience with the nautilus reels, nor salt water fishing, so take this with a grain of salt lol 1 Quote
ÜberFly Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Go for either a Bauer or Galvan. Made in the USA and tough as nails. Nuff said! 1 Quote
Muffin Posted June 30, 2015 Author Posted June 30, 2015 That is some great information, thank you everyone for the quick and detailed responses. I do have my Galvan Reel and really enjoy it but I want to give something else a shot as I spend a lot of my time on my 6wt. I am leading towards the sealed bearings and I feel that can only help with the life of the reel. Snouthunter that is good to know the difference between the two Nautilus reels. Murray, I had forgotten to look at Lamson, thanks for the reminder. Always a tough choice with so many good products out there these days. Quote
ÜberFly Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Made in the USA (with Lifetime Warrantee) or off shore for pretty much the same price? Easy decision! Quote
bcubed Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Don't think you can beat the Litespeeds from Lamson. They're incredible little reels. Plus the Hard Alox coating is unbelievable at keeping it in tiptop shape. I'm brutally hard on gear, and my litespeeds still look (and perform) as new. I have them in trout, saltwater and steelhead sizes...can't be beat for the price. 2 Quote
BurningChrome Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Made in the USA and tough as nails.So are Nautilus reels. Quote
ÜberFly Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Yup! Though I can only comment on what I own, and I don't have a Nautilus, yet! So are Nautilus reels. Quote
Vagabond Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 Totally biased opinion here,but......I've purged all of my modern disc reels in recent years and gone to ALL click n pawl reels,most of those being Hardys. Drag performance is typically wayyy over thought,over discussed,overated,and over emphasized in a trout reel IMHO...they are only trout for chrissakes......and even with salmon/steelhead reels for that matter.....an exposed rim clicker will land any fish that swims in Canada in a timely fashion,searun or otherwise,and do it with style and a whole lotta fun noise,just like they've been doing for well over a century. .....ducking now 2 Quote
Muffin Posted June 30, 2015 Author Posted June 30, 2015 Haha, nothing wrong with having an opinion Vaga it is specifically why I asked for favorite's and not best. I agree though, one can never go wrong with some good noise and style. Is there any other reasons you had for going away from current modern disc reels? Always interesting to hear opinions on these sort of things. Quote
SkwalaStonefly Posted June 30, 2015 Posted June 30, 2015 I have a Hardy Ultralight DD4000 and I love it. But you should know that this is a series of smooth quiet reels. If you like to hear a lot of noise while a big fish is unwinding line from your reel, then this is not the reel you want. But if you like a smooth, quiet reel, check one out. If I were to buy another reel tmw I would consider the Hardy CLS series (http://fly.hardyfishing.com/en-us/products/reels/performance-reels/ultralite-disc-drag/). They are also Ultralight, large arbor reels and come with 3 spools and ID pins so you know which line is on which extra spool (in case you can't tell In essence you get 3 reels in one without having to spend a hundred bucks for each extra spool. That is a really nice feature and I have heard good things about them, but never tried one. Quote
Vagabond Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Haha, nothing wrong with having an opinion Vaga it is specifically why I asked for favorite's and not best. I agree though, one can never go wrong with some good noise and style. Is there any other reasons you had for going away from current modern disc reels? Always interesting to hear opinions on these sort of things. No particular reason,other than that I cut my flyfishing teeth on the Miramichi 30sum odd years ago,and to me,the sound of a screaming Hardy being tortured by a fresh chrome Atlantic burning into the backing is THE sound of flyfishing.If "the quiet sport" were to have an unmistakable,recognizable sound associated to it,that....the sound of a Hardy,would be it IMHO?Hell,I even had a Hardy ringtone on my cell phone for the longest time,haha. I landed many a big salmon on my first Hardy,an old beat up yard sale St.John that looked like it tumbled down a river bottom for 3 years....so I figger there ain't a trout that swims gonna best me for lack of the latest,greatest,space age material/stop a freight train drag system?I can do the same damn thing with rod pressure and palming if need be. ....and again,pfffft,it's just a lil ol' trout for chrissakes. 1 Quote
Birdo Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 I recently bought the hardy ultralite 3000 cc, have had it out 3 times. Last time I was out had the plastic clicker break on me. Luckily it's replaceable and Curtis from fish tales is having a bunch mailed in and he's nice enough to give me some for spare! I totally agree with vaga on the noise being a blast! Just figured I'd give some info about the cc model. Quote
Vagabond Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 A Hardy with plastic guts!! Say it isn't so!! :0 Actually was gonna buy a Sage Click 3 a cpl years ago for my 3wt Sage....until I seen it in person and the lil' plastic clicker...for $300+....thx anyway.....found a like new Marquis 4 with spare spool for 1/2 that...steel guts n all. No offence intended to Sage Click owners,I'm sure it's a fine lil' reel and tons a fun,but at the end of the day,it's a $100 reel with a $200 label printed on it....my humble opinion only of course. Quote
ÜberFly Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Except for the tough as nails part. I know a couple of people that have Nautilus reels and have dropped them and the spools have bent fairly easily. Though I have no 1st had exp. with this! So are Nautilus reels. Quote
MikeL Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 I have a Hardy Ultralite DD reel for my 6 weight. I have owned this reel for a few years and think it is excellent. Very smooth drag and fairly quiet. I would purchase another one. Quote
Muffin Posted July 1, 2015 Author Posted July 1, 2015 Well everyone I appreciate all the discussion and comments as I currently have a hardy for my 4wt which I am very pleased with I went with the Nautilus FWX. I opted to try everything then if/when I get new gear or swap etc I will know which stuff I personally enjoy the most. I know I am pretty pumped for a 4:30 start tomorrow, on a river that shan't be named for fear of "hotspotting" (see other thread). I will say this much it is in Calgary, open year round and isn't the elbow. Thanks again though in all honesty, you guys brought up some great points and gave me lots of additional things to consider when looking at reels. As always, nice to be part of such an active and helpful community. Hopefully can contribute something in the Photo posts tomorrow as a thank you. Quote
fruinincalgary Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Would some consider this "hotspotting" for reels? What if the information was made public in this forum about where one might aquire one of the reels listed above. The whole fishing world may go to pot. Love my Hardy 4000 DD 3 Quote
RedBeard Posted July 1, 2015 Posted July 1, 2015 Hardy DD is an awesome reel.. print off the reel page from cabela's site with the price and take it to wholesale. They'll price match for a crazy deal on that reel. I am finding it hard to get spare spools for my DD5000 though.. Not sure what's up with the distribution, the Pure fishing purchase of Hardy and Greys was two years ago now. Quote
Swede Posted July 2, 2015 Posted July 2, 2015 Got two nautilus NV-G reels, great reels if you can afford that kind of money for your hobby. Quote
Muffin Posted July 2, 2015 Author Posted July 2, 2015 So as an update I got the Nautilus FWX home and put it on my rod and it just didn't feel right, especially given my enjoyment from the Hardy 4000DD. I ended up taking the Nautilus back and got myself a Hardy 6000 Ultralite, they didn't have the black version but the silver looks great as well. Life lesson when buying a new reel make sure to take your rod with you and connect it and see how it feels. Also Vaga, you made a great point about the drag system on lots of the reels. I have an 8wt with an Internal sealing Sage reel if I ever really get into some big stuff or go saltwater fishing. My 6wt will at most see a big bull trout. Anyways very interesting to see what is out there for reels, definitely a lot of great products from what I found in my search. By no means saying the Hardy is a better or worse then the Nautilus just what I preferred. One thing that was more noticeable than I would have thought was the weight/size difference. Nautilus is 3.8 oz(107g) and Hardy is 5.3 oz(150g). More a result of size then material. Quote
Muffin Posted July 2, 2015 Author Posted July 2, 2015 Got two nautilus NV-G reels, great reels if you can afford that kind of money for your hobby. Yep I did look at them and they looked great, just a bit more money then I was willing to spend at this point on my 6wt for landing trout. Perhaps when I win the lottery or am retired and can spend more days on the river. This darn job keeps getting in the way, thankfully it pays for the days I can go though. Quote
murray Posted July 2, 2015 Posted July 2, 2015 This darn job keeps getting in the way, thankfully it pays for the days I can go though. . Muffin,I used to think that too, until I retired. This darn retirement is getting in the way of fishing. When I was working, I would get out lots more than I do now. Too many people know I have some extra time. Murray 1 Quote
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