Islander Steelheader Centrepin Reel Review

For over 20 years Islander Reels has been manufacturing high quality fishing reels from their machine shop located in Victoria, British Columbia. Islander has worked hard to establish its reputation as one of the top reel manufacturers in Canada.

The flawlessly designed Islander Steelheader has been the favourite of many BC and Ontario anglers. There’s nothing quite like playing a big angry Steelhead on a centrepin reel. There is a certain connection between the angler and the fish that just can’t be replicated with a level wind reel.  This connection is felt not only when fighting the fish but also when casting and drifting your desired tackle to the fish.

The Steelheader spool utilizes a large arbour design for a quick line retrieval which  definitely comes in handy. The large line capacity is important for our fisheries as we commonly use 15lb-20lb main line. There are centrepin reels on the market that have very shallow spools that really don’t work well for BC fisheries as the line capacity is too limited.

The ABEC 3 bearings keep the Steelheader spinning smoothly and allow you to feed line even in slower moving water. You can order your reel with an ABEC 7 bearings upgrade directly from Islander.

The Steelheader is 4.5" in diameter and 1″ in width. It’s capable of holding up to 350 yards of 20lb test monofilament line although most people prefer to run 150 yards of monofilament and 75 yards of dacron backing. All of this CNC-machined goodness tips the scales at 8.5 oz and is perfectly matched with almost any centrepin rod on the market today.

The Islander Steelheader is available in gold, silver, black and blue. It’s hard not to admire the craftsmanship of the Steelheader, however, to truly appreciate this reel you have to actually fish it! If you’d like to purchase an Islander Steelheader or would like more info please give us a call at 604-931-5044, email us at searun2013@gmail.com or stop by the shop #110-1140 Austin Avenue, Coquitlam and see one in person!

Go here to learn more about centrepin fishing reels.