[brooklynangler]

What are you dudes using as reels on the Atlantis? I'm mainly going to be using heads.

I've got and would appreciate your input on:

Sci Anglers 1213
Lamson Velocity 3.5
Orvis BAttenkill LA VI (the big one they no longer make)

Grassyus-

J. Pittsburgh

 

[Philster]

Hey Brooklyn

The CND overhead salty rods appear to be true AFTMA ratings, so any reel that can handle an 11 wt line will be fine. I'm waiting on the 8/9, or preferably the 7 wt to come out. Actually I've been waiting since the idea was a gleam in Juro's eye :chuckle:

 

[Moose]

Depends....

What are you going to fish for? I am planning to chase stripers in the Pacific surf and delta waters, but I also intend to use it down in Baja for Dorado and Roosterfish. Because of this I got a Penn G4 which has a true Big Game drag and almost 500 yards of backing capacity. This, admittedly, is probably overkill for most of the striper chasers, but it should last forever and handle anything I want to chase with the rod.

 

[brooklynangler]

Cool---

Peter...

For what kind of loch ness monster were you angling for (with streamers, i'm sure) that you needed all the capacity of the 4.0?

Thanks all for the help-

Joe

 

[juro]

Any reel with a strong drag and capacity for 250 yds of 30# plus an 11/12wt line or better is suited to the task.

Beware of "sealed" drags that are not 100% sealed but closed enough to prevent proper maintenance. I've found (as have many others) that a reel should be either 100% sealed or wide open for maint.

I am currently setting my sights on a LOOP HD 9/13 for my Atlantis. I used one for half the season and loved it, but it was loaned to me and I had to >sniffle< return it.

 

[brooklynangler]

Weight---

I guess the more useful metric would be weight.

I used a reel of about 6-7oz on my single hand 9' 9wt that weighs about 4oz. Approx what advertised weight "balances" well with the atlantic?

If you're talking that Loop reel...that's a really heavy real: 11.5oz. vs an 8oz rod. I certainly drool for it, but wonder if it's a handicap because of it's weight.

This is all theoretical--- I'd be interested in practical experience

Best-

Joe

 

[juro]

Sure sounds like it would be butt heavy however I used it for months and it felt (and looked) great. Maybe because the handle gets tucked under the arm most of the time when retrieving unlike a big spey rod. The tip feels weightless when using a two-hand retrieve.

When casting, the weight balance would have to be measured with the load of 580-650 grain head flying overhead to see how the balance would feel during active casting. Anecdotally, I thought it felt great.

When the line is reeled onto the spool, the balance would probably feel funny with a heavier reel - but balance with the line reeled up really doesn't matter.

When I get my own I will continue testing

 

[JR SPEY]

The Loop Evotec HD 9thirteen has a listed weight of 10.1oz. It is the HD 11fourteen that has a listed weight of 11.5. Now 10.1oz isn't particularly heavy for even a 9' single-handed 11 weight rod, so I would presume it would be fine on an 11' double-handed rod. That Penn, however, might be a tad heavy for day long blind casting. If weight is really an issue, try the Loop Evotec LW 8twelve. It has almost the same capacity of the HD 9thirteen, has a larger diameter, and weighs about 7 oz. To me, that would actually be too light to balance that rod, but as has been noted on this forum many times, some people don't give a rip about balance---only a low total mass.

 

[brooklynangler]

oops

Yeah, I see I misquoted the weight...sorry.

Juro--

I hear what you're saying and I'll be glad to post my practical finding with my range of reels at 6, 8, and 10oz.

JR-- cheers!

Joe

 

[Greg Pavlov]

I use Lamson Litespeed 4.0's. I don't think the rod works
very well with anything lighter than 12 weight lines/shooting
heads.

 

[juro]

Greg -

I think I have posted this often before but for the sake of completeness...

The rod works very well with Hardy Salmon lines in 9/10 and 10/11 weights, and also rocks with the 8/9 Scandinavian head. Some two-handed lines as light as 8wt load it well.

When it comes to AFTMA single-hand ratings which are the way these rods have been largely compared there are several 11wt lines and heads that are fantastic on the rod, but most casters are not experienced enough to be able to generate the line speed to get full distance without loading it on the heavy side with the 12wt heads and lines.

There is also quite a variance in the grain weights of lines in the 11wt class and while some do others don't, etc. After rigorous field testing, the easiest line to get distance from are in fact 12wt lines and heads and thus I recommended them.

I would be willing to bet that as the caster becomes accustomed to the two-handed distance casting stroke they would be more favorable of a lighter load with more line speed as some factory 11wt lines will provide for the rod. This opinion is also consistent with those of experienced Atlantis users like Andrew Moy of Tightlines although he also recommends 12wt lines to start out.

For all intents and purposes, the best place to start is with AFTMA 12wt lines, to your point but I thought I would clarify for general information purposes.

Juro

BTW -

Hows the litespeed holding up? The drag has been problematic in saltwater.

 

[brooklynangler]

Drag?

Hundreds and hundreds of not so careful hours in the salt, slime, and sand on my 3.5 velocity with nary a problem. I do open it up once and a while and flush it with reel oil, though...but I think the design of the drag system would warrant this even if i wasn't so anal.

Joe

 

[Greg Pavlov]

Greg -

I think I have posted this often before but for the sake of completeness...r.

Juro, the "lighter" lines you list are mostly spey lines, no ? They certainly exceed 11 wt AFTMA.

I've gone back and reviewed a number of your own posts on lines for this rod and in most cases you talk about lines 12 weight (AFTMA !) and over, so please don't turn this into a "12 weights are for beginners" issue. Note that you spent quite a few posts talking about how well this rod casts with a big chunk of leadcore on the end.

 

[brooklynangler]

I also wonder...

If 12wts work great and load the rod and fish the big flies well, what's the use of 11wt? Bragging rights? Potentially longer casts (and geez, are they needed?) Less fatiguing?

Joe

 

[juro]

I use Lamson Litespeed 4.0's. I don't think the rod works
very well with anything lighter than 12 weight lines/shooting
heads.

Greg -

Please clarify this statement, perhaps I took it all wrong. It seems you are consistently confrontational, but maybe I just need to understand your remarks completely.

thanks,
Juro

 

[Greg Pavlov]

Greg -

Please clarify this statement, perhaps I took it all wrong. It seems you are consistently confrontational, but maybe I just need to understand your remarks completely

I'm not trying to be confrontational, I'm just disagreeing with you that an 11 wt line is a good one to use on the Atlantis. That seems to agree with what various people have said in past threads. In one you said "In summary, for overhand casting the comfortable range for the Atlantis 1111 ranges from 438 to almost 650 grains with the top end being over a longer length head and taper and the low end compacted into a short head. I am confident that this will extend into higher grain weights for 50-65 foot spey heads, etc." This seems to be consistent with other posts both by you and others. I'm not saying that you couldn't cast an 11 wt line with it - the day that I got mine I cast it with a 10 wt, `cause I grabbed the wrong line when I left the house - but from the overall body of evidence presented here, people consistently match it with lines heavier thn 11 wt AFTMA.

... and just to make sure there is no misunderstanding about it, I think that it's a great rod, and if the blank on the lighter version is anywhere near as well-designed as the Atlantis blank, I'll buy that one too. On the *other* hand, I sure as heck wouldn't mind being able to buy an Atlantis blank to be built up somewhat differently from the store-brought version (different in terms of layout, etc, not quality).

 

[juro]

Greg -

Thanks for the reply. All this lack of consistency with line ratings can get old in a hurry and cause misunderstandings like this.

For instance, even the AFTMA range for 12wt line = 380 grains with the acceptable range being 368-392 grains. In comparison a 5/6/7 wt Spey line would have this grain weight over 54 ft verses AFTMA 30 ft, but a 35ft 12wt Shooting head has almost 200 grains more than AFTMA 12 rating and I doubt that differnce is in the 5 ft difference in length.

So in the end, even AFTMA means nothing with respect to this conversation either. We just can't win. However the rod won't be rated a 15wt or whatever it should be until all the 8/9wt two-handers using the spey line ratings do same (the Atlantis and 8/9 spey rods handle the same lines).

By any other name, grains over feet or a system like Peter SC's is the way to go.

 

[brooklynangler]

Then...

Perhaps rod manufacturers can lean on the regulatory body to help out with all of this.


I think Snowbee has it right in marking their rod's loading weight (but I of course realize that this is subjective to a degree, too)

Thanks for the lively discussion-- I've learned a lot.

Cheers-

J.. Pittsburgh

 

[Greg Pavlov]

If 12wts work great and load the rod and fish the big flies well, what's the use of 11wt? Bragging rights? Potentially longer casts (and geez, are they needed?) Less fatiguing?

If you can use the lighter - and thus thinner - line effectively, you will cut through wind better and your line will be less prominent when splashing down, cutting through water, etc.

 

[flyfisha1]

brooklynangler - I matched my Atlantis with a Litespeed 4.0. There's a pretty substantial increase in weight from the 3.5 to the 4.0, and the room for line is quite nice. This reel was loaded with about 200-yds. of 30-lb. backing, 120' of Airflo braided shooting line, and 35' 12-wt. shooting heads; plenty of room on the spool.