Gear Review: Hatch Outdoors Finatic Reels

Gear Review: Hatch Outdoors Finatic Reels

Hatch Outdoors of Vista California: chances are you have already heard of them by now. These reels seem to be everywhere these days. These reels started gaining massive steam in the industry with their presence in each one of the Confluence films. Since then their reputation continues to grow as a producer of one of the best machined reels on the planet. Let’s face it, I might not be telling you anything new when it comes to Hatch reels, but here is why I find them to be a cut above the rest.

Hatch Outdoors Finatic Reels

  • USA Made & Excellent Customer Service: These reels are produced in USA and they have the customer service to back up their excellent product. I have experienced their warranty first hand a couple of times, and I must say, Andrew and company are some of the best in the biz when it comes to repairs and replacements.
  • These reels are bombproof: My first experience with the Finatic reels was on the flats of South Andros tangling with Bonefish. Anyone who has had experience battling a bonefish or two knows that these fish cause a lot of stress and torque on a reel. If a reel isn’t machined correctly this can cause a lot of problems during a fight which could lead to a lost fish or even worse, a broken reel. Hatch Finatic series fly reels have been meticulously machined out of extremely high grade aluminum. One of the coolest features of this reel that makes it a cut above the rest in terms of durability is the fact that the Finatic reels are machined out of one piece of aluminum. This means that the reel foot is machined straight into the frame, unlike 90% of the reels in the industry who use screws to attach the reel foot which could be viewed as a weakness of most reels in high pressure angling situations.

 

  • Mid or Large Arbor Spools: Hatch knows that anglers are extremely indecisive when choosing reels and spools. So, Hatch being awesome decided to design a mid or large arbor spool configuration for a majority of their reels. Mid arbor is for those anglers who are looking for a bunch of backing capacity, or the large arbor option for anglers who are looking to pick up more line with each revolution during a fight.

 

  • A variety of different sizes: The Finatic series is comprised of nine reels that are designed to pair with 0 – 16 weight rods. The 4 plus is the ideal reel for 5 weight trout rods. I would consider the 7 plus to be the most widely used in the whole series; I have used this reel for a variety of fish in both fresh and saltwater. Thus far, my 7 plus has seen Bonefish, Carp, Bass, & Tiger Musky. With any luck, I will be introducing that reel to a few Tarpon in the near future.

 

  • Looks: The Finatic series reels look as awesome as they perform! Hatch keeps it simple when only offering two base anodizing colors (silver & black). They offer standard color accents of blue, red, black & green. Keep an eye out in the near future for the Hatch Outdoors custom color program. For a small fee, anglers will be able to create extremely unique color combinations for their Hatch reels.