Hey fly guys

[Redfrog]

I'm not a fly fisherman but I have used a fly rod and caught fish over the years. Never really got addicted. I took a course, bought a couple rods I liked added reels and started fishing.
I understand the difference a good rod makes but I have never understood what the reel does other than store line.

A spinning reel or a baitcaster, I get. Smooth casts, good drags etc. but why buy a $300 fly reel instead of a $50 fly reel?

[chubbdarter]

I'm not a fly fisherman but I have used a fly rod and caught fish over the years. Never really got addicted. I took a course, bought a couple rods I liked added reels and started fishing.
I understand the difference a good rod makes but I have never understood what the reel does other than store line.

A spinning reel or a baitcaster, I get. Smooth casts, good drags etc. but why buy a $300 fly reel instead of a $50 fly reel?

why have a ugly wife when you can have a hot looking one

only makes a difference for truely big fish though

[Okotokian]

Better quality drag, and more durable/long lasting.

But for the most part you are right. I have a real purdy Battenkill on my 5wt. but I could have done with less. Not like I have been pulling in monsters that put any strain on the drag, this year anyway. Half the time when I set the hook I launch the poor minnow onto the bank!

[chubbdarter]

in alot of cases..expensive reels are less durable......similar to g-loomis and a ugly stick....expensive doesnt mean durable

some are machined from a billet to extreme gauges for wieght purposes. This makes for some bad results from even small impacts. Large arbour reels if even tweaked out of their close tolerance specs...roll like a wheel out of balance.

The reel im most impressed with is the Pflueger Trion...has a sexy machined look..good drag and has taken a few fat old man tumbles that i doubt my sage's would have survived. The Trion is a little more than a hundy if i remember right.

[Coulee]

This summer I have landed over 200 fish using a good Redington rod and a $27 Martin reel that I'm sure is over ten years old. A combination of rainbow trout, brook trout, Rocky Mountain whitefish, yellow perch and largemouth bass. Use a good rod and good line. The reel just holds the line you don't want laying at your feet. If I hook into a big fish, the hand holding my line is my drag. If you plan on fishing for big, West Coast steelhead every week, then get a $300.00 Islander. If you plan to fish Alberta, save your money.

[Dust1n]

cheap reels like the new caddis river and martins and those super fly ones break fast. the handle fell off of them. the metel bent and had a very rough drag system.
get an expensive reel and your drag system is wayy smoother,usaly large arbour to pick up more line, and with some more expensive reels you get warrenty on them unlike the $15 ones

[waynep]

This video should help you understand why you need a quality reel. They also have a video explaining why you need a new rod.
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7821831/a-new-fly-reel
Well worth watching

[FishingFrenzy]

Any fish i've caught on my flyrod didn't get reeled in.. i just stripped the line in. I find if you take your hand off the line long enough to grab your reel, the fish gets off.

Just my experience, if I had a big bully or a pike on, different story. But for the guy targeting rainbows and brookies and such... reel only holds line.


TO be fair i've only caught two, 9in brookies on my flyrod....:sHa_shakeshout:

[Dust1n]

Any fish i've caught on my flyrod didn't get reeled in.. i just stripped the line in. I find if you take your hand off the line long enough to grab your reel, the fish gets off.

Just my experience, if I had a big bully or a pike on, different story. But for the guy targeting rainbows and brookies and such... reel only holds line.


TO be fair i've only caught two, 9in brookies on my flyrod....:sHa_shakeshout:

yeah most of the fish iv caught are stirped it but i have had some big bows take into my backing lots and almost cleaned my backing out. iv had some nice browns take into my backing aswell. it depends on how stiff your rod is too if you using a 8wt rod on the big bows and browns i doubt theyll take your backing.

[npauls]

I will be going with a cheaper reel for the next one I buy. My 5/6 amundson was like $180 and the drag crapped out on it after about a dozen trips. I contacted them for a warranty set up and they wanted me to pay to ship it out, pay to ship it back to me after paying for it to be repaired. Needless to say I won't be buying anything amundson anymore. I was told by plenty of fly fishermen that these reels were a really good bang for your buck reel only to have it fail me early in its life. My buddy also has one that has the same drag system as mine and has the same if not worse issues. He has also had the problems since the first few months of owning it.

So I guess spending a ton of money on an expensive fly reel isn't always a good plan. I will probably go back to a clicker style reel instead of the smooth disc drag versions.

If anyone thinks they can fix the drag on my amundson let me know and maybe we can work out a deal. If you bought me a hobbs creek large arbour 5 wt. reel from bass pro I would trade you straight across.

[Dust1n]

I will be going with a cheaper reel for the next one I buy. My 5/6 amundson was like $180 and the drag crapped out on it after about a dozen trips. I contacted them for a warranty set up and they wanted me to pay to ship it out, pay to ship it back to me after paying for it to be repaired. Needless to say I won't be buying anything amundson anymore. I was told by plenty of fly fishermen that these reels were a really good bang for your buck reel only to have it fail me early in its life. My buddy also has one that has the same drag system as mine and has the same if not worse issues. He has also had the problems since the first few months of owning it.

So I guess spending a ton of money on an expensive fly reel isn't always a good plan. I will probably go back to a clicker style reel instead of the smooth disc drag versions.

If anyone thinks they can fix the drag on my amundson let me know and maybe we can work out a deal. If you bought me a hobbs creek large arbour 5 wt. reel from bass pro I would trade you straight across.

i got the 4wt large arbour hobbs creek and wouldnt trade it with an admunson keep with the hobbs creek. its landed me tons of fish(12 bow)and its been through sand,gritty water ect and yet to have a unsmooth drag system.the drag systems is awsome but i wished they had the color in silver.

[drifter]

why have a ugly wife when you can have a hot looking one

only makes a difference for truely big fish though

Thanks chub.
I needed a laugh.

[npauls]

i got the 4wt large arbour hobbs creek and wouldnt trade it with an admunson keep with the hobbs creek. its landed me tons of fish(12 bow)and its been through sand,gritty water ect and yet to have a unsmooth drag system.the drag systems is awsome but i wished they had the color in silver.

I have an amundson and want to trade for a hobbs creek. I like that it is a large arbour click style drag system.

The amundson has the disc drag system and is also a large arbour.

I did check it out on the wholesale website and it looks like the one I have has dropped to $140 now. My reel still works I just can't stand the drag system and would way rather have the clicker set up.

[Dust1n]

I have an amundson and want to trade for a hobbs creek. I like that it is a large arbour click style drag system.

The amundson has the disc drag system and is also a large arbour.

I did check it out on the wholesale website and it looks like the one I have has dropped to $140 now. My reel still works I just can't stand the drag system and would way rather have the clicker set up.

the hobbs creek is just a one wayy clicker with the clicker only working when drag is takin out

[npauls]

the hobbs creek is just a one wayy clicker with the clicker only working when drag is takin out

Ya I know. That is what I want. I have checked it out and for the money it will cost I am sure it will suit me just fine. Especially since I haven't used my 5wt for a year or so now because I hate the drag on that amundson trend reel. I am sure other people will love it but it just isn't for me.

[cmdalexander]

Your not cataching big enough fish!!! HAHA

But sriously there are several reasons that someone may choose to buy a premium reel over a sub 100.00.

First of all the drag system -it is hard to get a good durable drag in a sub 100.00 reel. This will come into play if you are targeting large browns (many of the rivers between Calgary and Rocky Mountain have lots of 22" + Browns and it would really suck to have your reel blow up on the fish of a life time.

Second if you are fishing a few times of week and walking in on creeks like Fallen Timber, Prairie etc. then the weight between a high quality alloy/aluminum and a cheaper steel reel can make a difference. There is a difference to your wrist when casting for 8 or 10 hours a day,

Finally and probably most important a lot of guys want a collect piece, no different then when we buy a Sako instead of a Marlin. The reel will hold its value or even appreciate over time instead of becoming a paper weight.

[BGSH]

i think im gonna go with the sage 2000, it looks very nice, big on looks lol, or a small g-loomis venture :)

[chubbdarter]

i think im gonna go with the sage 2000, it looks very nice, big on looks lol, or a small g-loomis venture :)


with a 500 buck budget.....you might want to rethink that.....but good luck with what ever you choose

[wildcat111]

i'm a fly fishing nut, the difference in a cheap real compared to expensive one is night and day, the drag systems are much better, there less likely to get tangled on the reel, and they just make landing the big one easier. you don't have to get carried away theres lots of real nice reals starting at around 100.00 and don't forget about the boxing day sales at the fishing hole, usually 300.00 reals go for half price. once you give her a go with a good real you will understand.

[BGSH]

with a 500 buck budget.....you might want to rethink that.....but good luck with what ever you choose

well with a month left in fly fishing season, im thinking a bit less then 500$ for now, better to look for a great deal over the winter and spend the big bucks :)

[KegRiver]

I'm not a fly fisherman but I have used a fly rod and caught fish over the years. Never really got addicted. I took a course, bought a couple rods I liked added reels and started fishing.
I understand the difference a good rod makes but I have never understood what the reel does other than store line.

A spinning reel or a baitcaster, I get. Smooth casts, good drags etc. but why buy a $300 fly reel instead of a $50 fly reel?

As I'm sure you know, 99.9% of the so called premium stuff is really just cheep junk with a fancy finish.
That is, if it was made in North America, or for a North American company.

If it was made in Europe, then it might well be a superior product.

So the answer to your question is, buy the $50.00 reel if you want quality, buy the $300.00 reel if you want to impress people and don't intend to use it much.

[Doc]

Most inexpensive reels are die cast aluminum. How tough is die cast? When I managed the north side fishin' hole, I dropped an Okuma SLV from about three feet onto a carpeted floor. It warped so bad I could barely crank the reel. You could drop an islander from 10ft onto the same surface and not even notice it's been done. And if there is a problem with it, the warranty will cover it. Bar stock aluminum is much more durable. So if you're planning on a lot of walking and wading, especially on rivers like the Bow where you tend to take a bath once in a while and there's a good chance of banging your reel around, spend the money and go with bar stock and a good warranty. If your rod just goes from your vehicle to the boat then save some money and go cheap as you really don't need a great drag system on your reel. Your drag should be your palm against the exposed rim. All I use my drag for is to set my reel so when I'm pulling line off, it doesn't over spool and cause a rats nest. I do use my drag when fishing for Pike out at Wab though as I've almost been spooled there.

Cheers,
Doc

[Doc]

well with a month left in fly fishing season, im thinking a bit less then 500$ for now, better to look for a great deal over the winter and spend the big bucks :)

A month? Dude you have the two best fly fishing months left, Sept & Oct. Depending on the weather, you might even get a week or two in Nov (for sure if the Wab power plant was still operating). Plus you can fish the Bow all year round as long as you plan around the chinooks. Now's the time to get the new set-up, the memories will get you through the winter.

[BGSH]

Thats true, Doc, thankyou, yea i am going to go with something good to last the sage 2000 looks to be great for trout lakes and streams around Alberta, by the way was out at the lake yesterday(you know which one) and just from the dock lost a beauty but was using not the best fly rod setup in the world, its my friends first fly rod, wanted to give it a shot, anyways yea, there still around there, there was a few risers, saw a doe with a fawn as well

[Swede]

One thing about real cheap reels. After you use them a few times the spool will get sloppy. when your reeling in your line it can get sucked in behind the spool, its pretty hard on the line. Good line costs more than a cheap reel.

[johnk]

Thats true, Doc, thankyou, yea i am going to go with something good to last the sage 2000 looks to be great for trout lakes and streams around Alberta, by the way was out at the lake yesterday(you know which one) and just from the dock lost a beauty but was using not the best fly rod setup in the world, its my friends first fly rod, wanted to give it a shot, anyways yea, there still around there, there was a few risers, saw a doe with a fawn as well

Not a big fan of the Sage 2000 line although I am a big Sage fan! When it comes to a good quality reel I am with Doc (Mike) when it comes to Islander. Nothing compares or comes close!

http://gallery.flybc.ca/albums/johnk/The_Gift_002.jpg

http://gallery.flybc.ca/albums/johnk/The_Gift_001.jpg

[chubbdarter]

No one will dispute Islander quality but recomending that reel to people on a budget will result in them.....NOT flyfishing or flyfishing with a 25 dollar rod and 12 dollar flyline to make the budget cap.
Im very fortunate to have fished with some great flyfisherman and NOT one of them needs a 1200 buck outfit to show the fish who's boss.

Im a firm believer of

Buy the best line
Buy the best rod that feels good in your hands
What money is left over is your reel .....until you can re budget.

Just FISH!!!!!!

[BGSH]

No one will dispute Islander quality but recomending that reel to people on a budget will result in them.....NOT flyfishing or flyfishing with a 25 dollar rod and 12 dollar flyline to make the budget cap.
Im very fortunate to have fished with some great flyfisherman and NOT one of them needs a 1200 buck outfit to show the fish who's boss.

Im a firm believer of

Buy the best line
Buy the best rod that feels good in your hands
What money is left over is your reel .....until you can re budget.

Just FISH!!!!!!

I will show you whos boss

[chubbdarter]

I will show you whos boss

I know you will, your a smart young fisherman.
Remember know one needs a 1200 g outfit but its okay to want and have one.....epecially for AB flyfishing

Good luck Shawn