If I don't want to pay the price for an Islander..... what would you buy?

Fish TMX5 most of the time now, definitely better than the 4 was. Have a sentimental wooden Peetz that sees action and also keep a Shimano for the kids, it too is reliable.
 
WOW! Thanks for all the feedback... I have seen the Admunsen.... looks interesting and seems to get support... I will take a much closer look. Thanks again all!
 
Don't like the 'to fine' drag adjustment on the Shimano 4000. 2000 was good. Don't hate my Trophy but find the drag has a sweet spot. Might try an Admundson.
 
I have 2 amundson tmx5, daiwa m one, shimano 2000gt, and a luhr jensen legacy mooching reel. The luhr jensen is the nicest, smooth drag great sounding clicker and nice foam handles. Amundson is a close second and they have amazing customer service.
 
Don't like the 'to fine' drag adjustment on the Shimano 4000. 2000 was good. Don't hate my Trophy but find the drag has a sweet spot. Might try an Admundson.

I had Trophy's and swapped out the springs for Islander springs and it made a huge difference. I'm saying that I do love my TMX5's.
 
8 years on my TMX-5s. They are very good. Don’t creep. Good local customer service if needed.
…they are just backups now as I upgraded to Peetz 😬
 
Last edited:
I have been running trophy reels for the past two years. I like them but I am not overly happy with the drag adjustments. They either seem to be on or off kind of hard to fine tune. I know other people have gone with an islander spring and maybe this makes a difference, I am going to order some and try. The trophy reel I have also is a cork drag, not sure if a carbon drag is better? I have always wondered what the difference between carbon and cork drag is and why one would be preferred over the other.
 
My TMX5s have been pretty much trouble free for around 9 or ten years now. Until this year. Haveing issues with them now. Might be rebuiladble. Not sure yet. Can't say enough good things about them really. They don't get washed on the regular and get beat up 12 months a year almost. I wish they were about an inch bigger in diameter. I was looking into the coast reels because of that. I think they are just a bit larger than the TMX5s and the islanders.
 
I have had Amundson Therons for years. Bought a pair when they came out. Used hard and only issues has been reel handles being a little stiff at the start of each year. A bit of reel oil and usage and they quit speaking. Love the handles. Never slippery. I prefer them over my Islander MR 2’s.
 
A TMX 5. I’ve owned them all and finally landed on islanders. Wish I just bought islanders from the beginning
I’ve had trophy’s, rapalas, Luhr Jensen, Diawa, shimano, sage and islanders. They all have their place depending on what you do. For strictly downrigging, you can’t beat Islander. I went through 4 reels from rapala/Luhr Jensen and they all failed my stress test. Sold em all and bought islander tr3s. Zero issues.
 
where are you getting good local
service? mine sucks and i’m tired of getting no where with the store i bought it from
I do it myself so I guess I’m good local service :)

But I did drop in at their industrial space in Delta?? Or somewhere like that a few years back and they checked them out while I was there and said all good and gave me some drag springs etc.

Did you try cleaning and oiling the centre shaft including the thread like I suggested a while back?
 
I do it myself so I guess I’m good local service :)

But I did drop in at their industrial space in Delta?? Or somewhere like that a few years back and they checked them out while I was there and said all good and gave me some drag springs etc.

Did you try cleaning and oiling the centre shaft including the thread like I suggested a while back?
yep. it works, just the drag is touchy. pretty much all i do is jig now so my islanders and tmx collect dust anyways. we trolled for hours yesterday with not a sniff then i stopped and jigged and picked up two springs and two coho in 20 minutes. it’s just more effective
 
yep. it works, just the drag is touchy. pretty much all i do is jig now so my islanders and tmx collect dust anyways. we trolled for hours yesterday with not a sniff then i stopped and jigged and picked up two springs and two coho in 20 minutes. it’s just more effective
talk to me, send it to Hardy Guy.. You wont be disappointed

Greg
 
Back
Top