Why don't we like the Marryat CMR?

0 Kudo

Author	Comment
Serendipity	Why don't we like the Marryat CMR?		Lead	[-]
Posts: 1295 01/15/2009 23:02	Tags : None Yes, the subject line is loaded, and it reflects my own sensibilities, but I think it's also safe to say that Marryat reels have not had much of a following here in the US. Why is that? I recently purchased a 3/4 CMR for my daughter on the auction site that cannot be named. It is a new reel and I paid $89! That's about $100 under the street price and almost $200 under MSR. Yes, it was a great buy, but the more important point is that the Swiss made Marryat CMR gets no respect. I must say it can't be faulted for the quality of its fit or its finish. This is a very high quality reel and it shares certain design features with the Orvis CFO. The design is simple and classic but for its polished aluminum handle. So, why isn't this reel a contemporary cane favorite? richard
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Catch 22		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 466 01/16/2009 01:38	I just checked them out on the auction site that cannot be named, and for me it's the aesthetics. I love the solid back plate, but the center cap on the handle side just throws the look out of whack for me. It's just too big. Not to mention the disc drag. I have little use for that on a reel for a 3/4 weight. In fact, I used a click pawl reel for (great lakes) steelhead this year for the first time on a 7 weight. IMHO, a disc is unneccessary even for that. The reel handled the steel with no problem. Jeff **Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!**
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
sevilla315		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 69 01/16/2009 05:23	My first reel was an MR (over the more costly ATH Orbigo). It's an OK reel (goes for about £120 here) but the machining is variable, the anodising not robust, and the spools prone to bending (I dropped one onto a rubberised floor from about 1m and it was bent out of shape).
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Dave M		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4 01/16/2009 07:04	Run, don't walk, away from those reels. Argueably...one of the prettiest reels ever made. I had two; an MR-8 and an MR-9. Both (!!) failed by going into bass reel free spool. LLBean used to match this reel with their rod outfits. When I retuurned both (arrahhhh!!) of mine the clerk told me that almost all of the Marryatts they sold came back for the same problem. The inferior caliper drag didn't work very well either. I returned them for Hardy LRH (the and an Abel Big Game #2...and never looked back. Sorry to be so negative......but the above is the gospel truth. Put your reel back on the auction site. Dave M
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bulldog1935		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6646 01/16/2009 08:59 Bulldog1935	I have a Marryat MR-7.5 that has literally caught 1000 fish. It made one trip to Arch for a $45 rebuild. my Marryat story: I love my Marryat. My Marryat MR7.5 has landed many, many trout and something like 500 or 600 white bass. I love the reel. The roller-bearing clutch is the part that people both love (me) and hate (my friend Billy). It's hard to get dirt into the roller, but it must be lubed with just the right viscosity oil (30-wt.) in order to work. Billy thinks he got dirt in his, but I think he let light oil from lubing the spindle get down inside the roller bearing. On the San Juan, it froze solid on him, and he had to take the spool off, ended up droping the spool in the river, and lining the fish by hand - a San Juan fish. That cold night, on top of a cliff, in a ritual warmed by scotch, he threw the Marryat as far into the dark as he could. His only trout reels since then are System 1 click-pawl. I still love my Marryat. the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bulldog1935		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6647 01/16/2009 09:13 Bulldog1935	and curiously one of the few reels where the Japanese-made reels are more highly prized than the Swiss-made reels. the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Wyfish		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 37 01/16/2009 09:18	LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT A couple of years ago (well maybe more like four or five) one of my fishing friends bought one. I remember fondling it and liking how it looked and felt. He was very jazzed about it--Swiss-made, light, attractive design and all. It came up in conversation last summer what had happened to his Swiss miss, as he was fishing with an English Princess. He sighed and said he had gotten rid of his Marryat girl because she was "too fragile". Beauty is fine for a fling but in the end, character counts. Wyfish
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bulldog1935		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6652 01/16/2009 09:46 Bulldog1935	The first one I saw was in the window of The Austin Angler in 1979. The fly shop was upstairs over a restaurant on what is (was?) left of Austin's main drag from 1900, (The fly shop is gone now) Opening the door you went straight up the stairs, but there was a shadowbox window display next to the door, teasing you about the delights waiting at the top of the stairs. The Marryat in the window is still the sexiest fly reel image in my brain. the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
LuckyStrikeV	Marryat!	#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 73 01/16/2009 13:01	When I first saw the MR series reels......... I had to have 1 (or2) Bought the MR9 first with some spare spools for fishing steelhead. Worked really well the first few outings. Then I hooked a fish. The drag worked flawlessly for the first 30 seconds and I marveled at my silky smooth reel and strong drag. My smile evaporated, when that lovely drag system let go and my Marryat went into total freespool!!! I landed the fish, but damn near had heart failure doing so. I never sent it back to the dealer (first mistake) and continued to use it(2nd error) thinking it was cold weather or some excess oil that caused the problem. The drag did work , but intermittently.... always seems to let go at the most critical moments! Long story short.......... a pretty reel that won't hold a good fish (for long) I think possibly they are fine in the small sizes for light trout fishing? I'll never buy another. And I couldn't tell you where that reel is right now..... Anybody want a used MR9...cheap???
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Rockthief		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 276 01/16/2009 14:36	have black and a bronze CMR, a MR8 and a Gerhke MR9a that was made before Marryat began using their own name on the reels. They all have years of use on them and are pretty as well.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Serendipity		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1297 01/16/2009 15:11	Interesting feedback, and it does make me wonder if I should put the 3/4 back on the auction block. OTOH, we are talking about a 3/4 reel for light trout fishing. If the drag tension were set similar to a Hardy Featherweight or Orvis CFO clicker, is there really reason to think it wouldn't work properly? Well, I'm at a loss about what to do. Fortunately, I don't have to decide immediately because it's about 9 degrees outside. Anyone ever tried ice fishing with a Marryat? richard
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bulldog1935		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6655 01/16/2009 15:15 Bulldog1935	Its just like I said - everybody either loves or hates these reels - no middle ground. the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Dave M		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 5 01/17/2009 09:42	Serendipity wrote: . If the drag tension were set similar to a Hardy Featherweight or Orvis CFO clicker, is there really reason to think it wouldn't work properly? richard Richard; Not to belabor a point here...because you already have my (negative) reply above....but to specifically answer this question: There's probably a huge difference. On the Hardy's or CFO unless you actually break the spring neither will go into "freespool" mode on you. This was exactly why the clerk at Beans reached into the case and pulled out the LRH when I returned the Marryat for freespooling. He said: "That will not happen with this one". Granted yours is only a 3/4 weight reel....but with my experience(s) with Marryats I'd never trust any of them. Others above have (obviously) vastly different experiences. A Buddy of mine still uses his MR 7.5 20 years after buying it.....and his performs flawlessly. I still cringe every time I see him using it.As always........Good luck with yours if you decide to have your daughter keep it. Dave M
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
Serendipity		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1298 01/17/2009 11:52	Hi Dave, It's precisely because I picked it up for my daughter that I might get rid of it. I don't want her fishing experience flawed by equipment failure. She will make enough mistakes on her own. richard
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bluejayee		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 609 01/19/2009 07:06	Hi Guys, I have an MR8 that I bought at a hock shop for $15 and it was on an old 8' Garcia Conolon with an agate strip guide. I use it on a home built guide 8014 with a wf6. Here is a bit of history I stumbled into while running parts to sub contractors. Sanco, a job shop for quality parts in Denver designed and built the first Marryats for Gerkhe. [sic?] I think the business went to Japan because of an anodizing color dispute. I think the engineer's name was Bill. Wow! I know he had a big smoked steelhead laying in the office one day and you could just grab a handfull. They did a lot of large diameter CNC parts for the company I worked for. They were really nice people there and a lot of them were serious fly fisherman. The family that owned it was named Santorno I believe, and there were several other family members who fly fished as well. Tony, the president/owner had a stack of reel parts in his office and enjoyed assembling them. They couldn't give me one because of my companies policy but they wanted to. Their QA guy was a jazzhead who volunteered at KUVO the Denver jazz station. I loved going there and dealing with them. Some one should check this bit of history out. I'm far away. I hope they are still around. Jay Edwards
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
BigTJ		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 671 01/20/2009 15:01	I worked in fly shops and guided in the 80's and saw much the same love-hate relationships with those reels. I saw enough hate and not enough love as I would have liked, compared to say a Ross Gunnison which I never saw a return on or failure in 12 years working in shops or guiding. My point? A decent reel for the money, if you find a deal then you are ahead of the game. Just don't put all your eggs in one basket and use it as your only reel on a trip of a lifetime to Alaska or Montana. As far as LRH's and CFO's failing, I've seen plenty of both, most recently the handle falling off my LRH about a year and a half ago. They don't stand up to being dropped on rocks and they aren't completely foolproof, I don't care what the guy at LLBean says. If somebody really wants a bulletproof reel with little chance for failure, get an older Ross Gunnison or Abel. I don't like disc drags but those two reels are almost impossible to break. Last Edited By: BigTJ 01/20/2009 15:06. Edited 2 times.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bulldog1935		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6678 01/20/2009 15:18 Bulldog1935	what he said - here is another reel that has landed 1000 fish, including AK rainbows and the bycatch of 12-lb. red salmon. and in spite of all that, it is the most un-lovable reel I've ever fished. the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
BigTJ		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 672 01/20/2009 19:33	Nice rainbow Bulldog. I love my gunnison partly because it's one of the first reels I ever owned and partly because I can't kill it. And it's getting old enough now (21 years) I can almost live with the way it looks on a cane rod. Speaking of Salmon I have landed kings in excess of 40 lbs in tidewater 200 yds from the bering sea with sea lice (not those fire trucks guys get 100 miles upstream) on my gunnisons try that on a CFO or LRH some time and report back to me Sorry for the hijack, but it does fit in w/respect to good reels for kids.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bulldog1935		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 6681 01/20/2009 21:28 Bulldog1935	fits in perfectly - the Marryat MR7.5 and Gunnison 1 are my two highest-mileage reels by far. the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
bluejayee		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 612 01/23/2009 14:20	Hi Guys, Here's one reason to not like 'em. If a person is careless [Guess who?] and the line is not coming out the front but instead gets behind the pillar.... Well, there's a sharp edge on the back of the pillar and when you [I] yanked off the first hand full of fly line, well, I bought a new fly line. A friend did this as well. He bought a CFO. Jay Edwards
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote
rollcast		#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 739 01/24/2009 17:49	My MR9 now (inexplicably, since I haven't used it for a while) has developed a free spool retrieve. Anyone know how to fix it? Or who can fix it?
Interact My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Invite Blocking Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Reply Quote

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Yuku free message boards

Why don't we like the Marryat CMR?

Why don't we like the Marryat CMR?

Quick Reply