First Ever Multiplier Mooching Reel

[adanac]

It all comes down to personal preference...
I have fished them all and there really is not a perfect mooching reel, they all have their purposes..


I own and fish sets of the following reels..
MR2s
Mr3's
LX 4.5 and 4.0s custom ordered with double handles
Also have a set of #5 & #6 fly reels which are bad butt in their own way, huge pickup and capacity but still that old school classic look.

Each of these reels sets are picked to be top performers in their own niche.. I love the LX series for mooching but you will kill them fishing heavy on the downrigger.

my all time favorite reel is a simple MR2 with a free spool. would be nice if they made one in a slightly larger diameter. For heavy abuse and work the MR2 is my go to.

My issue with the drag on the front is that sometimes you need to adjust the drag when that big spring is pulling line. I can be tough especially if you have big hands to get in between the spinning handles to give that drag a bump.

When I was guiding it was nice to have a reel with the drag on the back to make a quick drag adjustment on a reel in a novices hands. I Guided with MR2 reels for a long while as well got my fingers wacked a few times reaching in there to back the drag off on a real hot fish.

I really dislike the drag knob on the MR3's and TR3's to big and bulky.....the lever drag on the back of this 2:1 moochers looks pretty slick.

I have used most of the offshore aluminum moochers and they are all OK at best...TFO, Amundson, tyee or any of the others are worth their $300+ price point.

If I wanted a multiplier moocher it would not be in the package you are providing. It would be a standard spool which could be palmed and a center dual handle....look at the islander Anti reverse MR2 reels for the layout. That would likely fit our BC form a little better.

Your reel builder makes some cool stuff, the spey reels are killer, congrats on thing outside the box but you need a little more refinement to work on the west coast..

ditto on the MR2, i have 2 original MR2 and 4 MR3, by far fish the MR2 most often

 

[Aces]

and yes Aces, I am not sure why people in BC have a hard time with conventional reels when the rest of the world seems to make them work. I certainly don't want to deal with a single action reel on that 100# yellowfin ha. Its all what you are used to I guess.....

Those tyee Albies on the MR3’s were enough of a challenge for me

 

[Stoisy]

Oh, don’t get me wrong, of course conventional reels work. Use them for halibut all the time... I just think the feel of reeling a mooching reel is far nicer than the conventionals. Sure, guys may have been fishing conventional since the 60s, but they’ve been fishing fly reels since 1650... Plus, you don’t get the screaming reel experience with conventional. Sure there might be a clicker, but then it just dumps out, no sense of the true line speed... Snooze-fest - close your eyes and reel. At least with the multiplier mooching style you need to pay attention to the fish... ; )

 

[Rum Buddies]

of course it's ontario... If you can't feel the reel spin in your hand, whats the point of making it look like a mooching real.

Junk... Give me a peetz any day of this.

 

[Fixit]

This isn’t new. My friend has an admunson cheetah fly reel that is the same geared up retrieve

 

[SteelyDan]

Im pretty sure that Okuma has a centerpin reel thats been around awhile that has both a disk drag and 2 to 1 ratio

 

[searun]

I'm not sure I get the whole multiplier on moocher thing. Seems like it defeats the whole center pin experience and why they are so popular here on the West Coast. Also not overly confident that a product designed and tested in the Great Lakes will stand up to the fishing conditions here. We don't use planer boards here for a reason. Big currents, tough conditions and salt water are vastly different. Islander introduced a multiplier MR-2 - not a big seller. I fished one once.....once was enough.

 

[Rockfish]

I'm not sure I get the whole multiplier on moocher thing. Seems like it defeats the whole center pin experience and why they are so popular here on the West Coast. Also not overly confident that a product designed and tested in the Great Lakes will stand up to the fishing conditions here. We don't use planer boards here for a reason. Big currents, tough conditions and salt water are vastly different. Islander introduced a multiplier MR-2 - not a big seller. I fished one once.....once was enough.

I was not aware that Islander ever made a Multiplier MR2. I know they made the ARMR2 moocher but understood the innovation in that reel was the anti-reverse feature. Essentially you did not have to let go of the handle when the fish made a run, so no knuckle dusting. I did not think the reel was also a multiplier but I may well be wrong. If Islander made a multiplier moocher that made it into production, I would be interested in learning more about it.

Islander MR2 Anti Reverse Mooching Reel

Fishing reel parts and service and upgrades. We repair rods, reels, trolling motors, depth sounders, downriggers and Coleman Outdoor products. Worldwide shipping

www.mikesreelrepair.com

I don't know if the ARMR2 is still in production and had the impression it was not a huge seller, tho it may have filled a nitch for habitual reel clampers, younger children, those with certain handicaps, those with a lot of years on them and Americans who forgot to bring up their level-winds.

 

[hippaisland]

I was not aware that Islander ever made a Multiplier MR2. I know they made the ARMR2 moocher but understood the innovation in that reel was the anti-reverse feature. Essentially you did not have to let go of the handle when the fish made a run, so no knuckle dusting. I did not think the reel was also a multiplier but I may well be wrong. If Islander made a multiplier moocher that made it into production, I would be interested in learning more about it.

Islander MR2 Anti Reverse Mooching Reel

Fishing reel parts and service and upgrades. We repair rods, reels, trolling motors, depth sounders, downriggers and Coleman Outdoor products. Worldwide shipping

www.mikesreelrepair.com

I don't know if the ARMR2 is still in production and had the impression it was not a huge seller, tho it may have filled a nitch for habitual reel clampers, younger children, those with certain handicaps, those with a lot of years on them and Americans who forgot to bring up their level-winds.

Quite sure your correct. Was simply an anti reverse. I bury my lines in clips and rods down hard so any sort of level wind/anti reverse always bugged me. Too difficult to get a good set in my opinion and takes the fun out of it.

 

[sly_karma]

I switch to level wind setup when fishing 200 ft or deeper. I love the feel of the Islanders, but down that deep there's a better tool.

 

[Rockfish]

I switch to level wind setup when fishing 200 ft or deeper. I love the feel of the Islanders, but down that deep there's a better tool.

I do know that lots of people, including us have brought up some very nice Halibut from 300 plus feet down on the old largest size Peetz single action wood and brass moochers over the years. Of course that is not the same as a big salmon. The Hali don't run or turn back on you as fast and are less likely to get slack without a multiplier and are usually on a barbed hook.

 

[sly_karma]

Happened to me a few years back at Winter Harbour. On the hook waiting for hali action and I decided I'd jig to pass the time. There was only salmon gear left, I used a Technium with a Trophy XL QR moocher and got a 45 lb fish on it. Rod tip was in the water for the entire fight.