For what its worth, I've never heard of or seen an Islander blow up. Fished them and around them for a long time. What kind of problems have you seen Summerrun?



I've had the Indigo Blue MR3 for three years and it has, with maintenance on the drag surface only, performed flawlessly. I break it down 2-3 times a year and gently clean off the drag surface and apply new cork lube, that's it. That maintenance alone keeps the lowest possible setting on the drag near freespool...light enough to let line pay out to the point where you can backlash if you aren't paying attention.


I prefer the MR3 over the MR2 because, other then the crank, the center drag knob is the only thing you operate on the reel.
Spooled with 30# mainline, the large arbor diameter and full spool allows me to retrieve line about as fast as my buddies sporting 5:1 Avets.

If you get one, always keep it in the case while transporting or under way in the boat, etc. You can scrape the finish off quite easily if it's dancing on the floor. They are expensive, but it'll likely be the last salmon reel you'll ever have to buy.