Galvan Torque or Nautilus NV reels?

[watersmeet]

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with Galvan or Nautilus NV reels in salt water? I have Tibors and naturally they have been excellent. However, with some of the new lighter rods (Winston BIIx for example) it would be very nice to find some extremely light weight reels for them that will hold up to strong fish and salt water. I have one Galvan on a six weight but I've only used it in fresh water for trout so far. In the salt I have only used Tibor and Pate. The Nautilus reels were a big sensation here in the Pacific Northwest when they first came out but under the test of time they have lost A LOT of steam. What about Van Staal? Anybody have any good experiences with light reels?

[tbrillinger223]

you might also want to look at Hardy, Bauer, and Scierra, they have some good reviews. There is a company out of Idaho called FlyLogic that manufacturers a large variety of reels. You can look them up and see if they offer a reel that might be right for the rod you have, or are going to get. Hope this helps.

[low land fly werks]

you may also want to check out the ross line cimarron large arbor, or the new momentum. also check ebay for the discontinued canyon big game. i also like the albright tempest model for my 2-hander

[poononthefly]

I have had experience with the nautilus, they are nice reels, but if you want something that is going to last a lifetime, and if it doesnt, you send it back and get one that will last a lifetime, I would go with Abel, they have a new twin pawl system so if one goes out, you still have one left, meaning your not screwed when you have a 120 pound tarpon on and you hear a pop, have tested em out on over 150 lb bull sharks, 20-30 lb blackfin tuna, 100 lb blacktip sharks, dolphin, kingfish, tarpon, AJ's, occasional bridge snook, and the biggest test was when I tried it on a big jewfish down in flamingo, just to see what would fail first,strapped it to my 5 ft spinning/jigging rod, which is rated to from 50-100lb braid, spooled it with all powerpro 100 pound test, put on a 250 lb mono wind on leader, dropped down a 10 pound jack cravelle, hooked up, got it near the boat, thrashed once and the hook bent out, figures,I know :gr_bs: :gr_bs: :gr_bs: if you dont beleive me buy one yourself, Im sure youll be extremely happy, got mine from my uncle whos a captain down in islandmorada, he told me to test it out, push it to its limits, havent found its limits, but I did find out that its pretty much flawless, eventually gave it back to him, only to have one of his clients drop the whole setup in the water, reel, and $600 flyrod.

[rhett121]

I really like the info I've seen on the Nautilus NV series but good luck finding one. I like the Regular Nautilus reels as well, they feel very well made, very well sealed, and have the smoothest action of any reel I've tried but I like the extra size and weight savings of the NV series. Of course now it's just a race for me as to which one will arrive first, my new G.Loomis Crosscurrent GLX 10wt or the Nautilus NV ten-eleven. If the Crosscurrent comes first I'll be looking for a different reel (but it seems G.Loomis is having just as many problems with delivery as Nautilus).

[duckbill]

I've been using a Galvan Torque 8 on my 9 weight rod chasing tuna here in Australia. So far it has been faultless, landing longtails up to 30lbs in under 10 minutes without a glitch. Well built, light and good strong drag.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/duckbill71/tuna/IMG_5062Medium.jpg

[jake61198]

Dependable and lightweight describes the Waterworks Reels perfectly. I use them on my 6, 7, 8, and 12 wt. Winston BIIx's and couldn't imagine a more perfect match.

[poononthefly]

which waterorks do you use?

[jake61198]

I use the F3XLT for my 6wt, an F3x for my 7 and 8, and an F4 for my 12wt. On all of the smaller reels I have between 225 and 240 yards of 20 lb braid for backing and on the F4 I have 400 yards or 50 lb. braid.

[razorz]

I personally do not like the feel of the Van Staal C-Vex fly reels. I absolutely LOVE my Van Staal VSB100 spinning reel however.. but the fly reels leave something to be desired. Pick one up and spin it for yourself.

How about an Abel 5wt? Very light and very well built.

I think Nautilus is a great reel for the money, couldn't tell you about the NV series though.

[John A]

Here is my take on Galvan Reels.

http://jmaventures.zenfolio.com/p542115028/

Good luck and good fishing
Capt. John Alvarez

[Bender]

I have 4 Ross Canyon Big game (#4,#5 and two #6) and they never fail,they are lightweight,large arbor,quick change of the spool and a good drag,but if you want a "lifetime reel" with the best flawless and smooth drag on the market ,go with Abel!

[Bender]

Ehi Jhon A, good pictures and very nice web site,are you a photographer?

[razorz]

Nice job, what line wt were you using? 12?

[yankamolar]

I have 4 Ross Canyon Big game (#4,#5 and two #6) and they never fail,they are lightweight,large arbor,quick change of the spool and a good drag,but if you want a "lifetime reel" with the best flawless and smooth drag on the market ,go with Abel!

Howdy Bender,

thx for the rating on my permit pic.....i have about 6 ross canyons in the smaller sizes...they are nice reels and i use them alot on rainbows up here in alaska.......but i have to agree with you on abel reels....i have about 15 with extra spools and i would never part with them for saltwater flyfishing and larger freshwater fish.

yankamolar:thumb:

[Mat M]

Go the galvan. The T8 has performed well for me over the years.

Have had some serious issues with Nautilus on big fish. Rim warps under a high drag setting.

Mat

[rhett121]

The Nautilus NV reels are unbelievable! They're light, they're strong, they're perfectly sealed. I don't even stop to think about dunking mine in the salt. It is so smooth and quiet I just cant stop fondling it. There is a very soft tick as line is pulled out but the retrieve is perfectly silent (this is the way I like it). I wouldn't buy any other reel after using this baby.

Hanging of my new G.Loomis CrossCrrent GLX10wt is my Nautilus NV Ten/Eleven in titanium color. It's holding 400 yards of 65lb Sufix braid and an Airflo Cold Saltwater WF10I-1.5

I got it all from Scott at the Bears Den, great guy, great shop.
http://bearsden.com/

http://www.geocities.com/rhett1212/images/NautilusNVloaded.jpg

[Bender]

I'm owner of Ross ,Abel S.S. ,Tibor original and the new Q.Change,now i would like to buy a new reel for bonefish to replace my Ross Canyon #5 and i'm interested in the new Nautilus NV 8/9 but many persons told me that some times they had problems with this Company,the reel is beautiful ,it appears well made,with good components, very lightweight and easy change of the spool,but in my country there is no distribution and i never had it on my hands...so probably i'll go for Tibor or Abel,but i really would like to try this reel.
When you have some fish that runs well into the backing tell what do you think about its drag system and its smoothness.
Thanks and sorry for my english..i hope you understand what i mean.

[Mat M]

I have had experiences with both reels.

The Nautilus has proven to have problems when fighting big fish under a heavy drag. The rim warps when line is being pulled of under high drag setting. I have had backing slip through this gap when fighting a big kingfish in NZ and it caused a few moments of panic. This same problem has happened to other anglers I know while fighting big GT's. Personally I won't use them for this reason.

Galvans are a class reel that I have used for much of my bonefishing.

Mat

[Miami]

I have a couple of the nautilus NV reels and they work really well!! I came from fishing Tibors Reels, witch are really nice reels but HEAVY, so my next option was a Nautilus. (not a fan of abel) I been fishing the Nautilus for about 16 months, the drag is great, and has never fail on me. I am confident you will love your Nautilus. Don't worry about the reel its proven. The new CCF drags are very smoth, and strong.