I have been a confirmed Orvis reel user for years, mainly their large arbor reels and a few mid arbor reels plus their original Battenkill with the disc drag.

But, last time I was down at Cabela's and wanted to buy a reel I 'discvered' the Cabela's WLZ reels. WLZ not the WLX. The WLZ is made by Lamson. It is a great looking large arbor reel and if you are fishing with a3 weight and tag into a big fish, you may need that Conical drag system. For you the model 1.5 would be great. I bought the 3.5, which is made for an 8 wt rod.

By the way, they are on sale right now.

Here is their notice about it.

Cabela's WLz Fly Reel, designed by Waterworks-Lamson, features the unique Conical Drag System that uses two precisely matched cones drawn together by spring tension to provide exceptional braking power. Conical Drag System is 100% sealed to keep out sand, grit and water. Polymer-alloy and teflon-metal cones don't require lubrication and never wear, so they require zero maintenance to continuously work at peak performance. Fully machined-aluminum reels are anodized to resist corrosion. Large-arbor design aids in fast line retrieval. Oversized drag knob for fine tuning of drag, even with cold fingers. Made in USA

Larry ---sagefisher---