The BBS series has the same drag as the recently discontinued Battenkill Disc series which was in production for the last couple of decades. I have caught bonito, barracuda, bonefish, carp, and trout as big as ten pounds with these drags. Maintenance is minimal. The drag will handle anything you will fish for with a three wt.Originally Posted by markgraumlich
This is a BBS2 on a 7'9" Orvis Silver Label 2 wt. for the carp and 7'9" 3 wt. Trout Bum for the bow. The drags were well tested in all cases and many others. No failures, and as you can see I don't baby them. Great reels for the money in my book. I agree with the folks about the 1 being a little small for a 3.
Charlie
Alot of positive reviews here and no doubt warranted. However, I have a different experience. I have a BBS III that I fished exclusively for a few years. I made sure the reel was cleaned and serviced appropriately. I did have drag failure while nymphing on a PA freestoner. Latched into a nice sized trout that started ripping line, then the drag went out and the fish was history. So was the reel - sent it back to Orvis for repair. Of course they repaired it and it's back in action - but I'll never forget that reel failure. It's a back up reel now.
I never did see that fish.
BBSIII - made in England.
Cheers,
Mike.
~Lost Time is Never Found Again~
Another positive vote here for the Orvis BBS. I have a BBSII on my four weight. I think the BBSI would be better suited on a 2wt or smaller. For the 3wt I would recommend the BBSII. All and all a very good reel for the money just like the original battenkill.
Sometimes stuff fails. Even on reels that cost five or six times or more than the BBS does. I have four of the Battenkill Disc reels that have seen a lot of action in fresh and saltwater over the last 17 years without a problem. I have had two other $400+ reels need to go back to the factory for repairs after much less time on the water. Both reels had exceptional reputations. You just never know.
Agreed. You will not get an argument from me there.
~Lost Time is Never Found Again~
Like several others I suggest going with the BBSII rather than the I. I use several II-III for 3-5 weight rods, usually shorter rods where the Battenkill Mid-Arbor (now 1% different and called the Access) doesn't balance as well. If you went with the I, you could realistically only use half a DT line with maybe 20 yards of backing.
In regards to failures, the reel I had fail the most ever was a Ross Rhythm, and that was also one of the most expensive reels I've ever owned.
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