06-21-2007, 06:18 AM
I have the original Battenkill Large arbor. I have used it only to practice casting. ...... I bought an 8 weight rod and the battenkill large arbor to fish for stripers in North Texas. Then I moved to colorado. So It has only been used to practise my casting at a pond. Caught a few Bluegill with that 8 weight.[cool]
The reel is indeed a larger arbor and picks up line quicker than a standard reel. But from a practical standpoint you can not put as much backing on it as you would a standard reel. A short backing will not be a problem if you are not chasing fish that typically run you way into your backing. The arbor is so large that when you put the recommended backing on the last couple feet of line rubs the reel housing when you have all the line on the reel. Then it binds a little when you try to pull the line back out. I ended up wacking off a bunch of the backing so that there was enough room for the line.
The reel seems plenty sturdy enough.[cool]
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The reel is indeed a larger arbor and picks up line quicker than a standard reel. But from a practical standpoint you can not put as much backing on it as you would a standard reel. A short backing will not be a problem if you are not chasing fish that typically run you way into your backing. The arbor is so large that when you put the recommended backing on the last couple feet of line rubs the reel housing when you have all the line on the reel. Then it binds a little when you try to pull the line back out. I ended up wacking off a bunch of the backing so that there was enough room for the line.
The reel seems plenty sturdy enough.[cool]
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