New Anyone Tried The New MR2LA Islander Reel

[Tinboat]

I am in the market to purchase a mooching reel

Has anyone had a chance to field test the new Islander MR2LA yet ?

http://www.islander.com/reels/mr2la


Thanks

 

[SpringVelocity]

I see a free spool lever... but this kills them. That was poor design choice:

Right Hand Only - Because of the free-spool design, the MR2LA cannot be configured for left hand retrieve.

 

[Hookin'up]

I'd swap my mr3's for these mr2la's, I much more prefer my mr2's over my mr3's

 

[Sr SQ]

I see a free spool lever... but this kills them. That was poor design choice:

Right Hand Only - Because of the free-spool design, the MR2LA cannot be configured for left hand retrieve.

Yeah I agree, I dont get the idea behind that feature?
I have had a couple reels with the free spool leaver and when a guest accidentally engages the free spool while playing a fish and you end up with a eagles nest of #30 mono the reel goes overboard.
IMO its an absolutely worthless feature that just adds an element of risk, even when mooching I dont want free spool.

 

[Fish Assassin]

I love free spool switches. I use them every time I set lines. I don't like using reels without them.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I think they combined the best of both worlds, the smaller size of the MR2 and the free-spool with the larger arbour size of the MR3, I still think MR3 is king,I would like to know where I can pick up some of the islander paddles though.

 

[NootkaSounder]

I got mine from islander $15 a paddle so $30 a reel.

I'm not a big free spool fan.. I like being able to set my drag and let it pay out without back lashing. With my loomis rods they just bend over and pay out perfectly tell I'm at the right depth, tighten the drag a half turn and one crank.

that's why you buy an islander, beautiful drag, smoothness, sound and quality craftsmanship.

 

[Kildonan]

I'm also a fan of the freespool. I use my Longstone for jigging sometimes and the freespool feature is nice.

 

[sly_karma]

Nice thing about freespool is no adjusting drag every time you drop. Stays at the same set point all the time.

 

[Canso]

Nice thing about freespool is no adjusting drag every time you drop. Stays at the same set point all the time.

freespool is nice. But most people stack riggers and you would need a third hand.

I want to know about line creep. Did they fix that.

 

[mhbradley]

freespool is nice. But most people stack riggers and you would need a third hand.

I want to know about line creep. Did they fix that.

I have a feeling that if they knew how to fix it, it would have been fixed by now.

Hopefully I am wrong..

 

[BearCove]

Free spool for me, the amount of times my gear goes up and down in a day it's a no brainer. I have 2 MR3's that will be going up for sale soon for this reason.

 

[Tiki35]

Will be interested to know if these new reels suffer from the same line creep that the MR3's do.

 

[Whole in the Water]

In my experience if you lube your reels as per the Islander instructions and wipe off any excess oil on the cork and it should be good. My several buddies who have MR3's never had a creep issue when we wipe off the excess lube on the cork. I agree about the free spool - it is sorely missed on the MR3. Just wondering if the arbor is large enough on the new MR2?

 

[Fish Assassin]

Large arbor but still the same small spool as the old MR2. They improved the MR2 but still not what I want in a Islander. I'd rather of seen them put the free spool on the MR3 and improve the drag.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

Ironic that the high-end reel manufacturers number one goal with their drag systems is to minimize drag start-up inertia, basically to minimize the differential in the amount of pull it takes to start the reel turning versus the amount of force to keep it spinning. A "smooth drag" is what you pay big buck for in a fly reel or mooching reel. The trade-off for low start-up inertia would be line creep, but the flip side is that any reel who's drag doesn't have creep is going to be far more "catchy" - with a larger start-up differential compared to the drag setting once the drag is spinning, and typically more jerky as well. Not sure if it's even within the laws of physics to have both a butter smooth drag and no line creep but, I'm no engineer or physicist, so maybe it is possible?

Ukee

 

[sly_karma]

A spare downrigger clip attached to the line at the first rod eyelet will add enough additional drag to prevent line creep. Usually pops off when you reel down to set the hook.

 

[Fish Assassin]

A spare downrigger clip attached to the line at the first rod eyelet will add enough additional drag to prevent line creep. Usually pops off when you reel down to set the hook.

Just what I'd want to do with a $600 reel..... I sold mine

 

[scott craven]

A spare downrigger clip attached to the line at the first rod eyelet will add enough additional drag to prevent line creep. Usually pops off when you reel down to set the hook.

Guides were doing the same thing at Renfrew.
Seems to me there must be a way to stop the creep and not compromise the smooth drag ?

 

[Aces]

A spare downrigger clip attached to the line at the first rod eyelet will add enough additional drag to prevent line creep. Usually pops off when you reel down to set the hook.

I do the same thing when i fish deeper than about 90 ft as i like the drags fairly loose