Matt Hayes Limited Edition Centrepin Reel

I bought this reel after reading an advert in a well know weekly angling magazine. The price seemed too good to be true. Perhaps it was.....

At first glance this reel looks very good and comes in a very nice wooden presentation box. It also has a velvet type drawstring bag for day to day use. Production of these reels is alegedly limited to 1000 and each has a serial number and certificate of authenticity, although the certificate is not numbered, just a standard copy.

It is nice and light to hold and is painted matt back. The spool and main body are machined in the traditional aerial style and the spool has the aerial type drag. On the back there is a clicker which will come in handy. A moveable line guard comes as standard.

After looking into the box I was very excited as it looked like I had a quality reel for a great price (£60). However my excitement was short lived as when I removed it from the box to give it a spin I was very disappointed. The spool did not spin freely and had a very noticeable wobble. Something was catching each time the spool revolved as I could hear it grinding. It will still probably do its job but I just know the noise and vibration will ldrive me mad!

I assumed that I had just been unlucky as surely such a famous angler would not endorse something of this quality. I decided to get another but unfortunately it also has the same quality issues. I don't think this is a coincidence so i will be returning mine for a full refund.

Also another thing to bear in mind is the very close similarity to the Marco Cortesi Mk2 reel, with the addition of the drag system. Clearly both come from the same stable which might give a few clues as to the poor build quality.

My advice is don't buy this reel, you may be disappointed. I certainly am!

Hi

I have also just taken delivery of one of these and I must have been a bit more lucky than you, Mine spins nice and smooth, the only issue out of the box was a bit too much end float, but this was soon adjusted with the supplied end flat adjustment screw, that's the little screw in the end where the drag adjustment is. Other than that I am more than happy, yes its probably made in the same factory that makes the Marco Cortesi and the Holland & Wilkinson as well and all three are sold by Dragon Carp as well.

If I could have afforded it I would have quite happily gone for one of the much more expensive reels from the likes of Youngs but I cannot so for me it fits the bill nicely. Have I been Lucky in getting a good one and have you been lucky in getting 2 bad ones, only time will tell. You probably do get what you pay for and I paid for a not very expensive made from low cost material reel and that's exactly what I got, I would have been a fool to have expected it to be anything other than it is.

Paul

I have one of these reels and mine's been fine, it has survived multiple carp catches with some fish up to mid doubles, it spins well and doesn't catch anywhere in it's rotation, I'd say you were unlucky... when mine arrived, the box had some damage on one corner, so I wrote to the supplier and they sent out a new box within a couple of days... can't fault it for the money:thumbs: