[Rob Brownfield]

Afternoon all,
My favourite reel of all time is the SA System 2 Large Arbour reel, but sadly its been out of production for a while. The odd one comes up on ebay, but are often gone within minutes!


A potential replacement from Scientific Anglers is the Ampere Electron LA, but I cannot find a UK supplier for the reel.


Any suggestions?

[Hamish Young]

Any suggestions?

Yup. Expand your collection of Orvis reels  There you go, that's a good suggestion 

[Rob Brownfield]

Yup. Expand your collection of Orvis reels  There you go, that's a good suggestion 

Unfortunately, no thanks. ...unless I can find any of the older Machs.

[Derek Roxborough]

Not SA but SKB I have a large arbour SKB reel, which looks almost like your SA reel, I have used it for 3 years now with no problems, Derek Roxborough

[Rob Brownfield]

Not SA but SKB I have a large arbour SKB reel, which looks almost like your SA reel, I have used it for 3 years now with no problems, Derek Roxborough

Thanks for the recommendation.

The SA reel has a super silky smooth silent  drag with a very low start-up inertia. Its fantastic for light tippets and small flies.

The engineering that went into the reel was very high quality and its the drag and quality that I have struggled to match (except on £500 reels)

I also love the colour

[Derek Roxborough]

mine was 70 squid with 3 cassettes and a case , very smooth, and reliable, I wouldn't pay £500 for a gold reel,all it does is hold my line reliably  Derek Roxborough

[Rob Brownfield]

mine was 70 squid with 3 cassettes and a case , very smooth, and reliable, I wouldn't pay £500 for a gold reel,all it does is hold my line reliably  Derek Roxborough

Playing large river trout on small hooks and light tippets means I like a very smooth drag. ...and the SA reel cost me something like £130 new...I also would not pay £500 for a trout reel... 

[Liam Stephen]

Danielsson are as smooth as I've used Rob! 👍🏻

It's got no drag though.....

[Derek Roxborough]

my SKB has a super smooth drag as well , but I generally play the fish off hand,  Derek Roxborough

[Dave Robb]

I got the Orvis Mirage II reel at the turn of the year as it was in the sale plus with an added free spare spool.

I returned a Hydros SL to take advantage of the offer. 

I wish I had kept the Hydros SL.  For Orvis' apparent premier reel, there's something about the Mirage I really don't like.  The fly line keeps getting stuck within the reel.  It doesn't seem to stay in place, doesn't load onto the reel properly when winding in and is just a general pain in the back side.  Never had this issue in the past.

[Rob Brownfield]

I got the Orvis Mirage II reel at the turn of the year as it was in the sale plus with an added free spare spool.

I returned a Hydros SL to take advantage of the offer. 

I wish I had kept the Hydros SL.  For Orvis' apparent premier reel, there's something about the Mirage I really don't like.  The fly line keeps getting stuck within the reel.  It doesn't seem to stay in place, doesn't load onto the reel properly when winding in and is just a general pain in the back side.  Never had this issue in the past.

UI have the same issue! I ended up putting tape on the spool cage to try and reduce the gap....a tip I read on several sites where people were having the same issue.

[Dave Robb]

Excuse the ignorance, but tape on the centre prior to backing line being applied, or to the sides to make the reel narrower for the line to sit in?

[Rob Brownfield]

Excuse the ignorance, but tape on the centre prior to backing line being applied, or to the sides to make the reel narrower for the line to sit in?

On the edge of the frame to close the gap between frame and cage. I keep having the line slip between them.

[Rob Brownfield]

Danielsson are as smooth as I've used Rob! 👍🏻

It's got no drag though.....

Smooth you say? lol...I seem to recall it sounding like a metal bucket fill of pebbles

[Liam Stephen]

The midge are pesky but the bigger dry fly are work horses! 

[Mike Barrio]

Stop mucking about Rob    
Get yourself an LA34

[Rob Brownfield]

Stop mucking about Rob    
Get yourself an LA34

As you know, I recommended one of these to my boss...and yes, he loves it!! And so do I...

Its the weight though Mike. As I am after another one for my bugging rod, I want a very light reel as the outfit is often held at arms length.

Otherwise, I would have ordered one

[Mike Barrio]

I wouldn't have classed the  LA34 ( lines #3-5 ) heavy at 182 grams Rob ....... but we all have different ideas about our gear.

Can't help you out with anything lighter I'm afraid ...... and serves me right for spamming     

Cheers
Mike

[Rob Brownfield]

I wouldn't have classed the  LA34 ( lines #3-5 ) heavy at 182 grams Rob ....... but we all have different ideas about our gear.

Can't help you out with anything lighter I'm afraid ...... and serves me right for spamming     

Cheers
Mike

Not spamming at all!

I am after a very large arbour, but with a very low weight. The SA reel is much wider than your LA23 for about the same weight. Its because I am using a nylon line for nymphing and I found in the winter with the cold, the nylon tended to hold memory on a smaller reel.

My Battenkill LA's are starting to play up and your reels are high on the list of replacements...especially as my logo is on the side