Fly reels

[Terry Beeson]

Yep... very good posts... all... just keep 'em coming. To me, this is very interesting reading. Seems we just don't talk reels enough. It's "all about the rod."

I have a variety. I have two Okumas purchased to go with rods I bought online at a good price, but didn't have the budget at the time to get more reel. They're fine, but would hate to get in a big fish with one of them.

I have two Shakespeares - one worn to a frazzle, one picked up at an auction (you're right, CC...) but don't fish it.

One Dogwood Canyon that is a good little reel for the bucks.

One White River (my first "real" fly rod/reel combo) that is a large arbor. I agree... overkill... I dropped it in a parking lot one time and chipped the spool. I will now do my best to stay away from cast aluminum (pot metal) reels...

One of my favorites is a Reddington that I won in a raffle.

Next favorite is my Pfleugar Medalist. I haven't played with it much yet, but it is a SWEET LOOKING reel on that fiberglass rod...

[WebFreeman]

I think CC made the point of balance. I haven't fly fished as much as you guys, but I think balance is important whether it's a fly rig, spinning or casting set up. Seems like it's easier on the arm and fly casting is such a timing/rhythm thing that good balance only helps.

[Danoinark]

I am a Luddite and Old Fogy, a traditionalist and respector of old tackle and I shamelessly admit it. CC

And I am an up and coming Luddite and Old Fogy and everything else CC said

Dano

[armyflyfisher]

Like others have said already, I think that today's high dollar reels are a good case of over-engineering. Granted, I haven't been fishing quite as long as most on here, but I have NEVER played a fish on the reel (not to say that I won't ever). Sure, if you're fishing in Alaska, salt water or any other place where the chances of catching something that might need to be stopped by a disc drag are great, then those reels make perfect sense. But for the fishing I'm doing in the Ozarks (and soon Central Texas), I think that my BPS Hobbs Creek, Cabela's Prestige Plus (actually nicer IMO than the Bass Pro reel) and a Martin Mohawk fit the bill and do everything I need them to do.

Rather than drag design and arbor size, I find myself being more concerned with "balance." When stripping line in, concentrating on getting that Little Piney Rainbow or small mouth, or that pond bass to take my offering, I like to relax my grip on the rod and balance it with just a couple of fingers. I've felt outfits where the reel was obviously too heavy for the rod and the balance just felt all wrong for me and I couldn't get comfortable with it.

Like CC I find it interesting how we all are clamoring for light weight rods, yet the weights of the reels keeps on climbing.

I am beginning to lean to fiberglass as a rod material of choice. With this retro direction in rods, I find myself also going retro with reels. I'm eyeing a Phillipson Swamp Fox 8' 6/7wt glass rod as we speak. I think a vintage American made Medalist would look (and work) great on it.

David

[gonefishin]

I am not too hung up on name brands. I want a reel that is solid, light weight with a good silent drag system.

[Gavin]

Bare minimum, I want a reel with enough drag to prevent it from overspooling if I hook a big powerful fish (more likely a car moving 25mph on my backcast). We are very fortunate to have a lot of choices. When I first started fly fishing almost everybody fished with a Plueger Medalist and those who could afford better fished an Orvis or a Hardy. The few fly reels available with good drag systems were incredibly expensive.

These day's you can choose from a ton of quality disc drag reels and the prices are pretty reasonable. Most of the $100 fly reels sold today are a lot better than the most expensive stuff you could buy 25 years ago. Accourdingly, I cant really see a reason not to use a modern disc drag fly reel. Cheers.

[trout fanatic]

I only have 4 reels, one is a 30 year old montgomery wards reel that I use infrequently for pond fishing. For my 4 weight, a pfluegar medalist 1492, no bells or whistles just plods along (kinda like me). I also bought one of the medalist pros when it first came out, and so far like it quite a bit but it hasn't stood the test of time yet. Finally, a Trion in 7/8 weight for steelhead fishing-a very smooth reel with reliable (so far) drag. Don't know how I wound up with so many pfluegars, I guess I must like them

[Steve Smith]

I guess I better get my two cents in here. I’m as clumsy as a drunken bull moose and hard on equipment, so I have to stick with iron clad fly armored equipment. For me, it is the durability that makes a difference. Like many, I started out with no frill free spoolers that with a jerk could unwind a 100 feet of fly line in 6 seconds. It took me a while to figure out I had broke the clicker. When I got to the point that I was truly addicted, I decided to upgrade. I tried Loomis, BPS CV2, standard bar stock Battenkill, and the bar stock Battenkill wide arbor. All four have great drags and have served me well. However, the two bar stock Battenkill models have survived all my normal escapades without even a scratch. I haven’t been that lucky with the Loomis or the CV2. For me personally, if I had to replace a reel, the replacement would be a Battenkill and most likely the wide arbor.

[Greg]

CC thanks for the tip regarding the medalists. I'll watch for that. Yes I've also caught the glass rod bug. I recently acquired one old Fenwick glass rod. And I want more.

Greg

[Terry Beeson]

Hey... I just discovered I have another reel. Looks like it could be a Pfleugar knock off... Ryobi FinTek made in Hong Kong. Anyone know anything about it? It's got to be a real cheapo I think. It belonged to my late father-in-law whose spin and cast rigs were VERY nice, but he was not much of a fly fisherman.