Last winter/spring I spent some time fishing the Harch Finatic reels with the anticipation of carrying them in the shop. We were on the lookout for a US made, high quality reel for big game applications. I had guides and lodge owners that I know from around the tropics speak well of the reel. Obviously, things checked out as we have them in our shop.
Having said that, I took a Finatic 9Plus on my recent trip for two weeks to the Babine River to give it a good "stress test".
It hurt a little bit to leave my Vanquish reels (my usual Spey choice) in the room but I really wanted to see if the Hatch would hold up.
Late season Steelheading is as tough as anything I've seen on reels but 2012 turned out to be a real proving ground.
Temperatures ten to fifteen degrees colder than normal offered up as severe of an environment as I have run across.
Freezing temperatures and twenty pound Steehead...perfect!
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| Hatch Finatic 9Plus "in the drink" |
Before I go to far with my review, you should know I was trying very hard to find fault with this reel. The reels I use now have been so good it was hard for me to think another reel could come close.
As for fit and finish, the Hatch is stunning and perfect. The only thing I would say is for those of you who use mono or Slickshooter for running line you can get the line between spool and body of reel. Using .035 running line, I had no issues and Hatch is addressing this problem in a future design.
Drag, well after two weeks of use I can say the drag on these reels is top flight. A reel left out at minus fifteen celsius worked as well first thing in the morning as it did the afternoon before at zero. The best example of the drag continuity throughtout the range of adjustment came on a very big fish hooked last week. The big buck essentially left the county, removing the last of the running line and then disturbing amounts of backing. The fish was leaving so easily I thought my drag was set too light and proceeded to keep increasing the level of drag. At no time was there any grabbing or indication of the drag not being smooth. After the fish concluded kicking my ass, followed by far too much time required to reel in backing and some running line, I tried to pull off some line to check drag....I could hardly pull line off!
Smooth!...plain and simple!
Weight on the reel is very much average. Not terribly heavy, not ridiculously light, actually balances a 13' 6" 8 weight perfectly. As for finish, the Finatics are pretty tough. I left the cover off mine for two weeks (I never do that!) and after multiple rock leanings, boat tray slidings, and general nastiness I couldn't find a mark on the reel.
Last thing you should know is the reel never came inside for two weeks. It was left on the rack outside and frozen as cold as minus fifteen at night. The warmest the reel got in the last 6 days was minus six. While a bunch of other reels in camp were blowing up, seizing from the ice, and having to be taken in at night, this reel just kept working.
All in all, I'm very impressed with this piece of equipment! Thumbs up!
Hi, how is the hatch reel compared to the vanquish? can you give some pros and cons comparing the 2 reels. I have 3 vanquish reels and are quite happy with them, but i'm not sure if i would trust the sealed drag 100% and also have an issue with the clicker sounding different on all 3 reels.
ReplyDeleteHi Tim,
DeleteThe Hatch compares very favorably. They are a more traditional, robust design as opposed to the very space age machining on the Vanquish. Mine have been flawless in salt water and even in extreme cold conditions they just never quit. They are a little cheaper than the vanquish. I can tell you I have never had any issue with my Vanquish reels being watertight.