I knew I was in the market for a new reel as soon as I hooked my first great lakes steelhead.
The fresh-from-the-lake male grabbed the black woolly bugger I'd swung in front of his nose and proceeded to take off across Elk Creek, turning, running, and leaping at will. Though I knew that managing to hook a steelhead was only half the battle, I didnt realize until that moment just how evenly these fish are matched with the anglers who fish for them. Time after time, the fish would come within feet of me, only to race off again, seemingly tireless. Each time he ran, the drag on my starter-kit rod would sing, each time sounding a bit more hoarse.
By the time I'd landed the fish, the lump at th end of my flyrod had been demoted from "reel" to "line holder". The spool spun with equal ease in either direction, and made the same unpleasant scraping noise in either direction as well.
Thus, my hunt for a new reel began, to end, a month or so later, with an Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor III snug in my reel seat.
The BMA3 is a middle-of-the-road type of reel. While it's not the best money can buy, it's a far better reel than you'll get with any starter kit, or entry-level set up. If properly maintained, theres no reason to doubt that this reel will last decades, if not outlast the original purchaser.
The Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor III
Orvis markets the BMA3 as "the ideal preparation if unexpected big fish are a possibility", and in that, I believe their marketers are correct. For me, the budget-minded angler, this translated into "a reel that will be suitable for both steelhead in the Lake Erie tribs and trout, bass, and panfish in local streams and lakes". It retails for anywhere from $119 to $139 off-the rack and for me, it was worth it, as opposed to getting two reels, one for trout and one for steelhead, both for more than half the price of the BMA3. In addition, the reel comes with Orvis' excellent customer service, meaning the reel is guaranteed against defects for life. In addition, Orvis offers to clean, service, and lubricate their reels for $10. If well-maintained, it really might not be necessary, but it's nice to know I have that option. For saltwater anglers, this might be an appreciated perk.
Both the spool and housing are machined from 6061 bar stock aluminum, a grade of aluminum which is preferable for its properties of machinability as well as corrosion resistance. The handle is made of plastic, though it seems rugged, and in my opinion, preferable to wood in this application. It is also oblong, with textured gripping surfaces, making it easy to reel even with wet or fish-slimed hands.
The spool itself is removable and interchangeable, enabling the angler to switch from line to line while out on the water, and the mechanism for doing so is simple to operate. Just slide the lever to the side and pull the spool free. To attach a new spool, simply press it into place over the center pin until it clicks and youre good to go. The spool fits perfectly into the rim of the housing, and, when assembled, has no wobble or play to it.
At the base of this pin, mounted to the side of the main housing, is the drag, featuring "glass composite drag surfaces" according to Orvis. I wont claim to know all the ins and outs of what exactly is involved in a "glass composite drag surface" or how it compares to the myriad other drag systems available. All I can do is tell you about my experience with it, and as far as that goes, it has been a smooth reliable drag, whether set light to protect a light tippet in local streams, or tightened down a bit to wear out an energetic steelhead in the Lake Erie tributaries.
The drag is adjusted by turning a circular knob with a triangular grip, found in the center of the housing, opposite the spool and pin.
View of the back of the Battenkill Mid-Arbor III showing drag adjustment knob
As you turn the drag adjustment knob (also made of machined 6061 Aluminum), the drag knob "clicks" into preset notches, incrementally increasing or decreasing the amount of "pull" it takes to strip line off the spool. This is probably where I am least impressed by this reel. While it is truly "infinitely adjustable", I find that when setting the drag in the ideal range that most fly anglers would prefer, the drag passes through this range rather quickly, going from "too loose" to "too tight" in a matter of 5-10 clicks. Its not a deal breaker, however, as its simple to find the setting you want and leave it there, but I'd hoped for a little more fine-tuning in this department.
Last but not least, the reel is touted as being "easily switched from right to left hand retreive". While it is certainly possible to accomplish this feat in under 5 minutes, I wouldnt recommend trying it on the water (not that you would), or even in tall grass...or without at least a screwdriver. No, it isnt brain surgery (converting it is as simple as inverting the one-way bearing found just inside the center of the spool), but you'll need to pop out the small keeper ring that holds the bearing securely in the spool. Without a screwdriver, dental tool, pair of fine-tip needle nose pliers, or similar implement of destruction, you may be out of luck. For me, this wasnt a big deal. Though I do reel my fly rod in the traditional manner (with my right hand), I had no problems making the conversion myself, the night I brought it home. Furthermore, when I purchased it (from the ever-helpful Jim at Ligonier Outfitters), Jim offered to make the conversion for me, right there at the store, free of charge. I declined, being familiar with the procedure and liking to do things like that myself; but anyone who purchases this reel from an Orvis dealer could certainly request that the salesperson take care of this minor task for you.
The BMA3, disassembled, showing the one-way bearing and keeper ring inside the spool
So that's the technical end, now on to the good stuff: how did it
fish?!I will say that for a short time, the new reel messed up my casting. I'd become accustomed to the lightweight plastic reel that had come with my kit, and the aluminum reel, light as it was, still added sufficient weight to the butt of the rod to throw off the balance. Soon, however, I learned to cast even better than before, with the new reel attached. So if you're getting a new reel, balance is something you
definitely need to consider, especially on lighter rods.
In its first round of field testing, the Mid Arbor, outfitted with a proper amount of backing and a new Orvis Generation 3 Wonderline in WF5F (reviewed in a future installment) on the spool performed admirably. Reeling and stripping smoothly, with the advertised feature of reeling line in quicker than a standard arbor and reducing line curl. Most trout around here dont require the angler to 'get them on the reel', but a few did surprise me, and I welcomed the chance to try it out. With my drag set light, to protect my tippet, the reel gave the fish line only on the strongest runs, and enabled me to quickly and confidently bring many trout to net.
A few months later, I finally got the chance to give the drag a real workout, when I once again went toe-to-fin with a few great lakes steelhead. Once again, the reel was top-notch, giving the fish only the line required to preserve my tippet. Even at that, several of the powerful fish took off as if there was no drag at all, but unlike other times, they were quite tired after only a few runs.
I finally managed to push the reel to its limits in late December this year, taking it out in the snow and ice while fishing the Laurel Hill creek in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Eventually, I took a bad step, and the reel took a quick dunking. Moments later, the water remaining in the reel froze in the single-digit temperatures. This rendered the drag more or less useless, and the ice that formed in the precisely machined rim of the spool prevented the reel from operating in either direction.
A bit worried, I popped off the spool and brushed the ice out with my fingers, then wiped the spool and housing with a clean, dry cloth. While there was still ice in it, the reel was back in action. A few hours later, I got back to the car. A 20 minute ride with the reel sitting disassembled on the passenger seat had it dry and operating at peak performance by the time I got to Indian Creek.
Well, that's my review of the Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor III fly reel. I'm not going to resort to any arbitraty stars or numeric scale to try to quantify what I've just written. I suppose, in summary, I'll say this:
The Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor is a true workhorse reel. It is rugged and versitaile, and offers superior performance for a fair price. If not abused, and given routine maintenance, it should last a long time.
