Would like to take a poll as to what brand of reel and model you use in freshwater and why?What features do you like or dislike and what size reel.
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Would like to take a poll as to what brand of reel and model you use in freshwater and why?What features do you like or dislike and what size reel.
I have too many, but the ones I use regularly are the Able Trout and Creek. The Creek is an updated version of the Trout. Theses are rock solid exceptional crafted click and pawl type reels that were built to last. They balance my 4 and 5 wt rods nicely. I have had other click and pawl reels, but none were as solid or given me flawless performance as these two have been.
Thomas,
Are we talking trout reels? Perhaps you should state the scope or your poll as fly reels can cover the whole spectrum of fish species swimming out there. While I might like to fish a full caged Hardy lightweight or Young Pridex, spring and pawl type reel for trout and panfish, I certainly would want a reel with a meatier drag for salt water species that love to run.
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I own and regularly use six Orvis Battenkill Bar Stock reels. They are lightweight, with a decent drag, and very dependable. They are a rather traditional reel, as I just haven't been able to see the advantage of mid or large arbor reels; plus I prefer a more traditional look. They are reasonably priced, which is important to me. If I needed reels for more specialized fishing (ie big game or salt water) this reel might not be my first choice, but for the type of fishing I do I think the features, quality and price make them one of the best reel values out there. They ae sized from the I which works very nicely on my 2 and 3 weight rods through the V for 9-11 weight rods; the IV's work well on my 7 and 8 weights. I have other reels also, but all my Winston rods wear Battenkill Bar Stock reels.
I own 3 Teton Tioga's. Well built, hard to find a fault in them anywhere & reasonably priced.
Love my Lamsons. Big bang for the buck.
Ross for most freshwater fishing. Tibor for salt.
For the same reasons, I prefer the Battenkill Disc. Price, traditional appearance, function & durability. Unfortunately they have discontinued them. If I needed another reel, I'd either step up in cost to the Battenkill Barstock, or step down in cost to the Hobbs Creek by Bass Pro Shops.
I really like my Heddon 125 Imperial's. I fish them on my cane rods all of the time. If I were to break out a plastic rod I would use a Bauer.
Ross, Galvin, Orvis Battenkill. Ross is usually is the go to reel. I like the Galvin because of the large drag "Knob". The Orvis is just a mediocre reel. My biggest overall gripe with most reels is that the drag knob is small and difficult to hang on to when my hands are cold. Not sure what direction Ross will be going now that they are owned by scientific anglers.
I did like galvan esp. the ob series until they quit making them I liked the silent retrieve and soft click drag.Don't know of any other reel with a silent retrieve maybe able super series.The galvan ob3 is a nice reel on a larger weight rod and longer but on myv7 1/2 foot models it is a tad large in width and weight.4.5 oz 1" wide.
Hi Thomas,
Almost all of my freshwater reels are Bauer M through MSL series reels and a couple of LM's, about ten of them. I've got a few odds and ends, Abel, Ross & Orvis for the sweetwater too.
Dave
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2 Older Ross Gunnisons (2 qnd 4) and a Ross Cimarron 1, a Battenkill Mark 4, an old Young Beaudex, a Pflueger Sal-Trout, Fenwick World Class, and a couple of Cabelas and an Albright GP for back-up or loaners.
No need for the latest new and shiny,
The good older reels take a lickin and keep on tickin
DuFf
I primarily use Ross Evolutions (original ones, not the LT). I like them because they are light and smooth. You can also take up slack line with them very quickly by hitting the side of the spool with your open hand. I also have several Orvis battenkill Barstock reels. I like them a lot too, but they've taken a back seat to the Ross's. There's not a thing wrong with the BBS reels. They look great and have a great drag system, too. I also have a few Orvis CFO reels that I use on my bamboo rods. I used them because of the classic look as well as the classic sound.
Pflueger 1494 American made with 7' 6" boo Payne 100 taper. i also use a Cortland Crown Rimfly reel English made. Wore out several of the plastic click pawl but able to order from Cortland. The reel doesn't seem to be made any more
+1 on Abel Creek - little gems.
The two I use most for trout are an old style, British made, click/pawl, Orvis CFO and a Ross Evolution. The CFO is simple, lightweight and functional. The one sided frame makes spool changes easy. The Evolution is modern, lightweight, large arbor and has a more powerful drag.
For Steelhead I use a Lamsons. The drag is smooth and seems able to stop a freight train.
I have fly reels from a variety of manufacturers. Mostly mid- to low- price point reels. Reels from Pflueger, Albright, Allen, Nautilus, Lamson, Wright & McGill, Echo, Scierra, Loop and Okuma. I have favorites, but I don't recall any of these reels ever failing me in any way...yet.
I own several of the second generation Lamson Velocity's in the "gunsmoke" finish. Best bang for the buck in a reel I've ever owned. Silky-smooth, tough as nails and have never let me down. I've banged`em on boulders small-stream brookie fishing to dropping them in mud in the smallmouth river and never a problem.
I like traditional style reels and use SA System II reels in the salt and for the most part, medalists in fresh water.
http://www.hikingnewengland.com/uplo..._38_533213.jpg
I have a number of reels some as old as the 1930s. Some from as recent as this past year. Almost all of them are click pawl reels. I fish for panfish all the way up to steelhead and salmon using click pawl reels. The reason I like them is they don't break very often and if they do they are simple to fix. Some of the oldest reels I have are still working as well as they did when they were made over eighty years ago and they have been fished that entire time.
I have 2 old medalists(solid). An LL Bean(OK). A Scientic Angler(OK). One Ross Rhythym(Had a small problem with the mechanics in silty water but smooth). Three Teton Tiogas(No problems, nice reel). 1 Lamson Konic hands down my best reel. Used exclusively in the surf for fishing the beaches around here. Never had a problem with sand or saltwater dunkings. Great for any fish from 3" perch to 3 foot sharks. Smooth drag and mechanically sound. Only service I've done is once a year lube of the "O" ring and lube the bearings. My next purchase salt or fresh will be a Lamson. After that probably a Teton.
Beaver
I have several Orvis Battenkills, however, my best inland trout reel is a Lamson Litespeed 1.5. If I ever buy another reel it will be a Lamson. IMO the best drag for the money.
I have a number of different reels for Trout - Abel, Lamson, Bauer, Ross, Hardy, Galvin, SA and a few of these which are my favorites...
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...aetis-2-_1.jpg
CL, pre-CL and Freestone...
Simple, smooth, pretty and rugged...
PT/TB ;)
The three I most often use are the Orvis CFO III (click/pawl), the Hardy Featherweight, and the Ross RR3.
Thomas, you want some degree of balance. Pull about 5 or 6 feet of flyline thru the tip top and determine if the rod/reel feel comfortable in your hand. If it doesn't, you'll experience fatigue faster than you would otherwise.
I am fortunate to have a large assortment of reels and most have many good points. Go to reels for trout are usually from the Hardy asstd. Love the way they talk to me when the drag is being taken out. When dusk is settling in and a nice brown decides to run and the drag chatters it just seems as if things are right with the world.
I've got a few favorites. Price wise these are definitely lower end but they work for me. They are all in the 4/5 weight range.
Shakespeare 1094 - came with a combo. Good basic and solid reel.
Okuma Tempest - excellent little reel that I bought a few years ago. Possibly my favorite reel. Very, very smooth movement.
Orvis Clearwater - very dependable reel that has taken a beating from granite, gravel, sand, water, and me. Holds up well.
Cabela's Premier Prestige II - my newest reel. Bought it because it has an enclosed mechanism that won't collect gravel, something the other reels tend to do. It's empty until I buy some new line but it may end up in a tie with the Tempest for favorite reel.
I'm with planetrout, the Tibor Tailwater for rods 4-6 wt. It's light, sturdy and has the best light drag setting of any reel I have used.
Ted
It was on the combo I bought. I've come to think of a fly rod reel as a place to roll up the line when I'm done fishing and little more. Had some nice ones. Can't say they "performed" any better because the fishing I do does not require use of the reel as anything more than a spool to hold the line.
Big Bad Wulff and I are pretty much on the same page. I have yet to find a reel that isn't serviceable for the fishing I do, regardless of price, material, or design. And like him, I've "had some nice ones". (And I believe I still do.)
I only own two reel designs anymore, though I do have different sizes/models of them: Hardy Perfects (including the Bougles) and Hatch Finatics.
For me those two represent the very best in traditional and modern reels. But the Perfects are truly the reels I love. Not because they perform any better. It's purely an aesthetic and functional issue for me, as I love the looks of the Perfects and I've used them for so long that my hand instinctively knows where to go to put finger pressure on the spool. With any other reel design, I'm all screwed up, and have to "think" about what I'm doing should the need arise to add some drag. Being rather "heavy for their capacity/size, and coupled with my propensity to use the smallest reel I can, they also happen to balance really well with the rods I seem to fish more and more these days: Bamboo.
---David
My list includes: Pflueger Medalists, a P&K Retreev-it, Shakespeare 1822 Autos, Rim Flys, a Dam Finessa, A Waterworks P-1, a Cortland Vista, a couple Daiwa Lochmor with the standard arbor/click pawl, a Couple M series Bauers, an Abel Super 7, a couple SA System 2 and 1s, and likely a few more here and there I've forgotten or stored. Of these, I find I am more and more gravitating to click pawl or a modified click with drag such as the Medalists and SA System 2's have. Of paramount importance is lightness to me and on all of my five weight and below outfits, you'll find very light reels such as the Vista, the Lochmors, Rim Flys and the pricey P-1. I do like special purpose reels and for farm pond or pram fishing for bass the old Auto reels are hard to beat while the semi-auto P&K is in that realm also. When I get into Carp fishing mode, I opt for the SA Sys 2, the Dam, the Bauers, or the Abel as a bit of smooth drag does wonders. The same goes for big Bows, Steelhead and other freshwater critters that can put a run on you. Interesting thread and good comments all! As a side note, I've owned one or more reels from every manufacturer listed here plus a few more but have always traded, sold and bought far too often. I'm currently looking for another Heddon Daisy, Ocean City, or similar nice solid sided reel to put on a custom bamboo a friend made for us.
Ross Rhythm, because i can take it apart and get the sand/muck out with one hand, and keep the fish on the hook with the other hand.
for some reason, i drop my rod a lot when unhooking fish, and a lot of stuff gets into the reel. it's hard to get it all out, and the last little grain of sand will show up at the worst of times!
I like traditional click-and-pawl reels for freshwater. An Orvis CFO III is my main trout reel but I also use Pflueger Medalists and a Martin MC56.
I like them because they are simple, reliable, and they look, feel, and sound like a fly reel is supposed to, to my way of thinking. No yuppified ferris wheels for me, thank you.
redington rs2 - one 5/6 wt, three 7/8 wt, and one 9/10 wt. I think they are about the best compromise between quality and price. You can pay "much more" but you won't get "much more" reel. Medium arbor and disc drag. Very durable. YMMV.