Fly Reel for Pike

[beermilk]

thinking i am gonna try flying some pike this year what kinda reel should i be looking at.


i currently have a 9 wt fenwick rod. think that is enough. most of the fish i would likely catching are gonna be under 10 pounds.

looking for a reel thats not to expensive under $100 will get better gear if i have success and like it :)

any advice would be appreciated

[tacklerunner]

Read through the recent thread below. While usually the rod and the line are more important than the reel on smaller rods, for pike the reel becomes more important and needs a good drag system.

If you can up you're budget a bit you will probably be a lot happier and won't have to buy another one. You don't have to spend over $500 or anything but an extra hundred would really help you. Check out the link to Snowbee reels in the thread.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=84745&highlight=snowbee

[chubbdarter]

there is also the theory that because your using a large diameter reel ....a mechanical drag isnt that important. Case in point sure a Islander reel is nice but many huge salmon and koot trout are caught on inexpensive single action reels. Alot of fisherman would rather trust their ability to palm drag a reel over any mechanical system.....just a thought.

I even remove the winding knob on my winter trout fly reels so i can just apply pressure to the outside face of the spool with my bulky gloves.

[grinr]

I think you'd be crazy to spend more than $100 bucks on a pike reel.A Pfleuger Medalist RC is plenty of reel for any pike that swims for half that much.

[chubbdarter]

on a seniors citizen walk thru WSS they had a large fly reel on the counter that was on sale for 29 bucks with a spare spool....it was decent. Sorry cant remember the normal retail price.

[npauls]

Hey Darter,

It is the echo and they have it in a 4/5 and a 7/8 and they are regular $59.99. I picked up the 4/5 for my new reddington 4wt and it is actually a really nice reel. I am hoping to come across some spare cash so I can go pick up the 7/8 for my pike rod.

[chubbdarter]

Hey Darter,

It is the echo and they have it in a 4/5 and a 7/8 and they are regular $59.99. I picked up the 4/5 for my new reddington 4wt and it is actually a really nice reel. I am hoping to come across some spare cash so I can go pick up the 7/8 for my pike rod.

ya thats the name!!!!

[Vessey]

I use a Okuma Sierra and it works good. I think it was 50 and 35 for an extra spool.

[s_erickson]

I have an okuma SLV 7/8. People told me it wouldnt do very good on big fish because it wasn't top of the line. I laughed. I still laugh. I've been salt water fly fishing with it, into salmon and trout, and never had a problem and its never missed a beat. The drag is still smooth and i would have no fear of getting into a 30 pound spring with it. Spools are relatively cheap for it too. I even just recently bought the 4/5 to go with the 4wt okuma rod i picked up (i hate sales, i just cant walk away). Dont let the salesmen tell you it will break if you drop it on rocks or stuff either, because i've slid down some rock hills and yes, my rod fell and landed on some big rocks. No damage was done at all.

[beermilk]

thanks for all the replies everone :)

[Daceminnow]

Hey Darter,

It is the echo and they have it in a 4/5 and a 7/8 and they are regular $59.99. I picked up the 4/5 for my new reddington 4wt and it is actually a really nice reel. I am hoping to come across some spare cash so I can go pick up the 7/8 for my pike rod.

same one i picked up for the boy to go with his first stix. looks pretty decent to me as well, and a heck of a lot nicer than the one i learned with.

[Dust1n]

270 white river butkinda pricy...id go with a hobbs creek reel for only 40 bucks

[Erik]

Amundson TXS in the 7-9 would do you for around $100 and it looks pretty too!

Also check out the Sage 1680

[npauls]

I wouldn't use another amundson reel if someone gave me one. I have a trend and guitarplayingfish has the model just below that and both models have had drag failure with no way of fixing it other then sending it in and amundson replacing the whole drag system. Once I can get my hand on some cash to pick up a new 8wt and 5wt reel I will be throwing the amundson trend that I have into the junk bin.

[gl2]

i would go down and get a greys grxi +, for a 120 bucks you get a decent reel with 3 spare interchangable spools that all fit into a nice little bag.