orvis mach 6

[porkslice]

Whats the skinny on the orvis mach 6. I am planing to buy a new big game
reel and it seems that this reel is the best in this price range.

[Ray]

Orvis has yet to produce (sell) a larger size reel, or SW reel for that matter, that has impressed me. Just my 0.02

[Soundking]

If you want to fish for big game, you probably will have to look at a better reel. For example: an abel or a tibor is what you want. If you will be targeting bluefin or marlin then go with the highest quality you can get. Same goes for shallow water tarpon. Deeper water Tarpon and sailfish, the Orvis should hold up the first few times, but if you plan of fishing long hours for very large and very powerful fish, the more you will appreciate the investment in a top tier reel. In recent trips to costa rica and guatemala and fishing for school tuna, I have put abels through the paces on some very big and very explosive gamefish and I have never had a problem. I know of guys who fish the Tibors as well and they have had similar results. Orvis tends to be overpriced and of relatively low quality in comparisson to the price. I would reccomend a top-tier reel for handling the big game species. Thats my dos.

[smolt]

Porkslice,

I would agree that if you are going for tarpon, or tuna, an Abel or Tibor would be the best choice, but not because the Mach is a poorly made reel. The fact is that few reels, other than the finest, willl stand up to those fish; and if one were taking a special trip -- translate expensive -- to avoid a trip ruined by equipment failure, one should take the best equipment one could afford.

I have a Mach V that I used last summer fishing for atlantic salmon. For that purpose, I preferred it to my Abel BG2. The Mach performed flawlessly and I am looking forward to using it again this summer -- and catching bigger fish. I know atlantics aren't tarpon or tuna, but my point is that, used in the appropriate situation, the Mach is an excellent reel at an very fair price-point.

My $0.02

[Mark Dougherty]

Have you looked at Ross Big Game Reels ?