INNOVATIVE REELS
Micah Adams puts the new Innovator Inshore reel through its paces

Five years ago there was barely a machined alloy reel on the market for under $500 and now, there are several to choose from and some of these are fantastic reels. A self-confessed tackle junky with a passion for fly reels, I recently got my hands on one of the best value-for-money reels on the market. Australian brand ‘Innovator’ has designed and produced a range of ultra large arbor, multi-purpose fly reels that are available in 3 sizes—Freestone 345, Freestone 567 and the Inshore 789 models.

The attractive open-frame design in a choice of three anodized colours—blue, green and silver—places these amongst the ‘sexiest’ reels on the market. The fact that they retail at between $350 and $390 tells me that the new Innovator will be a popular choice indeed.

The Innovators are very light, weighing 135, 147 and 155 grams (for diameters 90, 97 and 104 mm respectively—all are 27 mm in width). Weight reduction has been achieved by serious porting in both the frame and spool and of course they are machine lathed from A6061-T6 aerospace grade bar stock aluminium. They feature two stainless steel ball bearings within the spool/spindle assembly and one omni-directional bearing which controls the direction of retrieve and is easily changed for right to left by simply pulling it out and turning it over. The spool is easily removed by simply unscrewing a cap on the front of the spindle with your fingers, then lifting the spool off—no tools required. The drag is a composite of both cork and Teflon—one plate of each material forms a compression drag that is very smooth.

The backing capacities on these reels are adequate in my opinion. The Inshore 789 that I tested is rated to take 140 metres of 20 lb Dacron and a WF8 floating line. I loaded the reel with around 300 metres of SA’s brilliant XTS 30 lb braid, which is more than enough, though you could add half that again if you were running any type of sinking line.

So, how well do the new Innovator fly reels perform? Well as a testing station, I recently put an Inshore 789 through its paces during two gruelling weeks of saltwater fly fishing in the Northern Territory on a variety of species. On one particular day at Melville Island the reel was used to catch some hefty barra, then taken offshore to tackle fingermark bream. When a school of 15 lb giant trevally came past I thought: what better way to test the reel than on a big GT on an 8-weight rod!

I cranked the drag up to its maximum capacity, which in my opinion was a little lean for a fish of such stamina and strength, however the drag remained smooth throughout and what I did like was the fact that the entire drag range was adjusted rapidly rather than with several turns of the drag knob.

Over the course of the day and indeed the two weeks, the same outfit was used to land several large queenfish, golden trevally, barra, giant herring and thread-fin salmon, most of which take lots of line in a hurry.

Overall I feel the reel is a definite winner and the best value for money on the market. The drag could be made a little stronger at its maximum although there is of course a palming rim. For the majority of saltwater fishing, the Innovator’s drag is perfectly fine, I just tried to land a solid GT in a short time and felt a little under gunned.

Trade enquiries to Mayfly Tackle 03 9899 0034. www.innovatorrods.com