Nautilus CCF 8 review

Posted by John Duncan - Telluride Angler on 8th Feb 2011

Nautilus CCF 8 reel: I bought a Nautilus CCF 8 for bonefishing in 2008 and have since fished it for three weeks on the flats of the Bahamas and Belize. It has performed flawlessly. The drag couldn’t be any smoother and has a comfortable, wide adjustment range. I have noticed no change in the tensioning or smoothness over the three years, often a creeping problem as corrosion slowly develops on the hidden parts of saltwater reels. While not as light as some of my other saltwater reels, the CCF 8 balances just fine on my Scott Heliply 8’8” rod, so it will definitely balance on any 9’ rod. The CCF8 does not have an especially large arbor by modern standards, so retrieve rate was noticeably slower than on my old Bauer reels. If this is important to the angler, he or she should upgrade to the Nautilus NV, which has a narrower, taller spool and larger spool arbor. Especially considering the $425 price tag, I would certainly recommend the Nautilus CCF 8.