Product Review by: Joe Montello SAO
ISLANDER STEELHEADER

CENTER PIN REEL

On Tuesday, April 22, I had the opportunity to fish the Islander Steelheader Float Reel. What an awesome reel.  I had heard alot about this reel and wanted to put it to the test myself.  When I opened the box and took it out of its neoprene cover and looked it over, it was flawless, not a mark on it.  The Dymondwood handles really looked nice against the gold finish of this reel.

I fished this reel on my St. Croix 13' float rod.  The reel came to me already spooled with backing and Siglon line. The water was low and very clear. Once I got all rigged up, the first thing I wanted to see was how nice this reel was to cast. I used the modified Wallis cast and experienced no problems!

It cast nice all day.  I experienced no hang ups on the knobs or any other part of the reel.  I also watched to see if any line would get caught between the frame and spool as I have had this happen on two other reels that I have fished, the Islander performed with no problems!

I ran a 3.5 gram Blackbird Float to see how this reel would handle start up on its own with slow flow and a smaller profile float. I got to the head of the pool where I found some flow  the spool start pulling line on it's own  the  ABEC 7 shielded stainless steel ball bearings made for effortless start up.

On my third cast… Fish On!!!  The generous palming rim on this reel made fighting Steelhead on this reel very smooth and the Dymondwood handles seemed larger than most handles which made it very comfortable to reel. The 4.5 inch spool made for quick line pick up when fish came right at me.

The reel seemed to balance out nicely with my 13' float rod and after 6 hours of fishing my arm was not tired at all.

In conclusion I would like to say that I feel the Islander reel would rate as follows:

Price....10

Features (ease of use)...10

Performance.....10

Design.....10

Construction/Quality.....10

Power.....10

Top Quality reel… a must have for any Center Pinner!

Joe Montello

Steelhead Alley Outfitters Pro Staff
Product Scores: ISLANDER Steelheader CP  Points* Rating*

Price: (can you afford it?) Price as tested: $385.00

10

A

Features: (ease of use)

10

A

Performance: (How does it feel)

10

A

Design: (Ergonomics, Looks)