Fly reels

[Don]

I am one who prioritizes the reel over all other pieces of equipment. I always fish with the fly line out of my hand because when I hook a lunker, I would rather have an excellent reel and drag system control the drag as opposed to my hand or fingers on the flyline. I would rather fish a $300 reel on my $20 Scientific Anglers rod than fish a cheap reel with a rough drag on let's say a Sage Z axis. I also believe lifetime warranty is a must.

My 4 wt is the model before last of Ross Cimmarrons. Tough reel, smooth drag, has caught lots of fish. I like sealed and composite type of drags compared to cork drags for durability reasons.

My 5wt is a Galvan Torque. It may be a little too much for local trout fishing but I love that darn thing. Superb drag system, light and strong, and not tinney.

My 6wt is a no name brand asian made reel. It is extremely smooth. I haven't even used it yet. It holds my sink tip line and I usually do not fish anything over a 5 wt.

I keep an older model Cabela reel and a lower end Okuma around for emergency backups. Drag sysyems on those are not the best.

Don

[Crippled Caddis]

Armyflyfisher wrote:

<my latest quest is an American made Medalist. Solid, dependable, American made click pawl reel>

The Medalist is far more than just a 'click-pawl' reel!

<Check out this article on "balance.">

Joe does make a great point with:

<Your fly rod, reel and strung line, for best feel and performance, should achieve fulcrum balance at about the point where the index finger of your casting hand grips the cork. If you set the outfit up like this it will feel almost weightless in use, regardless of the actual weight of the gear.>

But he missed the boat with:

<remove the line and backing and wind on 30 feet of 28 pound test lead core trolling line around the spool>

The Medalists were designed so that you could add lead shot to the hollow center of the spool to achieve balance.

[armyflyfisher]

Deep Diver 75 wrote:......"If you plan on being a serious flyfisherman and spending quite a bit of time on the water spend the money now and get a quality large arbor reel, you'll be glad you did later."

I'm sorry, it feels like I'm ripping a scab off a healing skinned knee wound, but I feel like I have to respond to this comment.

I wasn't aware that the size of the arbor had anything to do with the "seriousness" of the person holding the rod. I know several "serious" fly fisherman that catch fish well over 10 pounds on such classic reels as Beadeuxs, Landexes, JW Youngs and Heddons not to mention old US made Medalists and Martins. They fish this equipment because of the intrinsic worth of the experience to themselves - NOT because they are any more or less serious about this SPORT that's supposed to be about having fun and enjoying the time we get to spend outdoors.

I think that's the beauty of fly fishing these days - all of us have the ability to fish with equipment that we value - regardless of what the next guy down-stream thinks.

David

[MrDucky]

I know this is a older thread , But i have a Orvis battenkill mid arbor 2 reel , Its seems to work great and will possibly be the only reel i ever own

Greg from this forum has givin me 2 rods he custom built . they are both awesome

My wife Tami uses a Cabelas brand reel and a custom rod built by Greg aswell

We both started with a Shakespear Combo (walmart)

[trout fanatic]

For the past couple of months I too, have been in the market for a new reel. I have waffled back and forth between various makes and models and finally pulled the trigger this morning and ordered a Orvis mid-arbor 3. It will pull dual duties as the main reel for my TFO 5 wt and as a back up during steelhead season back home (where it will adorn my Clearwater classic 6 wt). Never enjoyed shoppin till I started fly fishin.lol

[catman]

I got a Orvis mid-arbor III about a week ago, you will love it...