Change Reel From RHR to LHR???

[ledhead1944]

I scored some additional fly rods, reels, a Renzetti vise, and a boxful of fly tying hackles, marribou, etc from a fella whose father-in-law passed away.

The lot had Orvis Battenkill Disc 5/6, 3/4, 8/9 in addition to the paired poles.

As I was soaking the line in soap and water, checking the condition of click and pawl of the reels, I realized the angler reeled right handed.

Infact, all the reels are a RHR with the exception of the Islander #2 reel. That is LHR. I started to think at this point...he did a lot of saltwater fishing in Florida. Bonefish red fish, Sea trout, etc. All are bigger fish, bigger rods, bigger reels, bigger flies, etc. It made sense to me to reel in those bigger fish with the dominant hand. He was right handed since I asked his son-in-law. He preferred LHR for saltwater fishing evidently.

Doing a search in the forum, I've seen several comments regarding LHR/RHR. It made sense to me that there are no "rules" and just do what your comfortable with.

My question is, do I need to take the Orvis reels to my local fly shop and respool the line and backing for LHR or can that laborious task be done by hand?

I'm right hand dominant and ive had years of spinning reels with LHR.

 

[tjsingle]

No you shouldn't need to take the reels to Orvis. There is a gold spanner wrench that comes with the reels that allows you access to the inner workings of the reel. You will need to remove the cover and flip the one way bearing. The Battenkill discs have the same drag as the Hydros, so this video still applies (Skip to 5:21.)

Orvis Disc Reel Manual: https://assets.orvis.com/is/content...ls/733045_3FT1_Battenkill_disc_booklet_v2.pdf

As for respooling it, yeah it would be easier to take it to the store to have them respool the correct orientation, but you can do it at home no issues.

 

[TerrellBFly]

If its freshwater, you can respool yourself. The battenkills are easy, just as tjsingle mentioned. If its salt, tension may be required for the backing to lay correctly without getting "weird" when a big fish pulls - and generally thats what you find in salt. Anything over 10wt salt, probably should be spooled with a machine to avoid issues. But then again, knowing me, I'd still probably try to do it by myself.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

A vote for:
- Disassembly and swapping the bearing orientation. My cheapos from White River and Aventik have a similar method to reverse the turn.
- Tape the tippet to a coffee can and wind the line and backing off the reel. After reversing the turn, you should be able to wind it off the can and onto the reel without retying the arbor knot. I have no experience with setting up big weight, saltwater rigs but your 8/9 should be okay if you have rarely seen the inner loops of your backing when you caught fish with it.

 

[ledhead1944]

If its freshwater, you can respool yourself. The battenkills are easy, just as tjsingle mentioned. If its salt, tension may be required for the backing to lay correctly without getting "weird" when a big fish pulls - and generally thats what you find in salt. Anything over 10wt salt, probably should be spooled with a machine to avoid issues. But then again, knowing me, I'd still probably try to do it by myself.

Thank you! Your comments are very helpful.

I got a leader wallet in the lot also. There's some big leaders in there. Going from my memory, 10wt, 12 wt, and a few others.

I knew that Islander was saltwater since there was sand in the case. Its gonna need cleaned. I can see salt in the line and in the reel. It does run smooth however. Any input on how to clean that would be helpful. All I've seen on how to do this, is someone on YouTube soaking the reel in hot soapy water and use car soap, not dishsoap. Let it soak for a few hours, take it out, dry it off then let the reel air dry.

It makes sense to get it respooled by a shop. I may have to do some thinking if I want to keep it LHR or switch it.

I'm pretty sure he had a saltwater fly rod. His son-in- law said there's quite a few rods. Some members of the family want the spinning reels and rods which is understandable. He said he would let me know what's left and he'd text me. His wife said a box of flies is somewhere and she just cant find it. They are moving into a different house so things are scattered.

I'm half tempted to just text him to check for a saltwater fly rod. I'm guessing they are bigger and stiffer than freshwater rods perhaps bigger than muskie/pike rods. Any idea what I can tell him to look for besidesthe obviousfly rod? Since I have that reel, I might as well get the matching rod. You never know if I'll do saltwater water fly fishing.

 

[TerrellBFly]

Thank you! Your comments are very helpful.

I got a leader wallet in the lot also. There's some big leaders in there. Going from my memory, 10wt, 12 wt, and a few others.

I knew that Islander was saltwater since there was sand in the case. Its gonna need cleaned. I can see salt in the line and in the reel. It does run smooth however. Any input on how to clean that would be helpful. All I've seen on how to do this, is someone on YouTube soaking the reel in hot soapy water and use car soap, not dishsoap. Let it soak for a few hours, take it out, dry it off then let the reel air dry.

It makes sense to get it respooled by a shop. I may have to do some thinking if I want to keep it LHR or switch it.

I'm pretty sure he had a saltwater fly rod. His son-in- law said there's quite a few rods. Some members of the family want the spinning reels and rods which is understandable. He said he would let me know what's left and he'd text me. His wife said a box of flies is somewhere and she just cant find it. They are moving into a different house so things are scattered.

I'm half tempted to just text him to check for a saltwater fly rod. I'm guessing they are bigger and stiffer than freshwater rods perhaps bigger than muskie/pike rods. Any idea what I can tell him to look for besidesthe obviousfly rod? Since I have that reel, I might as well get the matching rod. You never know if I'll do saltwater water fly fishing.

Islanders are very nice reels. I would contact them about cleaning and maintenance. They do sell a kit, that may be a good place to start. Your reel may have a cork drag, or ceramic... would be good to find the model and go from there as the different types have different needs for maintenance.

https://islander.com/collections/reels/products/reel-maintenance-kit

As far as looking for that salt water rod, usually, a rod is rated salt if it has components that are resistant to corrosion. They may not look any different than a normal fresh water rod, just have heavy duty components that are designed for salt vs fresh. Chances are if there is a reel that is 10wt +, then there was a rod to go with it! Each rod, most likely will have identification markings above the grip - regarding length and weight.

There may be others who would be able to give more detailed info.