Bruce,

I think it really matters where and how you fish. And maybe a little of it has to do with an individual angler's mindset about the sport itself.

Could the flash of a reel, or a fish seeing it 'move' spook a fish? Sure. Will it? No clue. I do know that if I'm fishing in one of the few slow, low, clear moving water areas, I'll be seeing the telltail sprint of spooked fish all day as I move about. It might be the flashy reel, or maybe the 6 foot tall 260 pound guy holding the rod it's attached to who's just stumbled over a log and landed on his rear end in the pool. Or kicked a rock loose, or took a splashy misstep, or didn't pay attention to where his rather large shadow fell before making a cast. But I'm still catching some fish, even with my dismal wading skills. Can't say I'd blame the spooked fish on the reel.

If 'stealth' is important to you. If you like that low duckwalking, belly crawling, slide the rod through the brush and gently lay the fly on the water type of angling, then you may want to think about a matt black or gray reel.

I have quite a few of them, since I'm cheap and the little $15 reels I like are all plain black graphite. But I'm still spooking fish under the conditions where the water is slow, low, or very clear. But I'm still catching fish, too. I may spook some, but not all of them. Again, can't blame the reel with any certainty.

Besides, I never felt like I had to catch all the fish in the water anyway. Spook some, catch some, miss some, lose some. All the same to me. I'd only be worried about something like reel color if I wasn't catching ANY fish, and I'd worked my way through all the other possible causes first. Or, more than likely, I'd just give it up as one of those days and go read a book. Can't catch fish all the time.

Now, on lakes and faster moving or off color water, I don't think it makes any difference at all. I've fallen into the water, stood up afterwards, and caught trout from almost under my feet in faster water. It's not uncommon for me to catch fish within a few feet of where I'm standing, flashing reel, bright yellow line, and, oh yeah, big fat guy blundering along in the river not withstanding. I just can't rationalize that with the concept that a brightly colored 3-4 inch disc moving through the casting arc several feet above the water would spook fish. I believe you could wear chartruese waders (don't have those, just a non waterproof jumpsuit in that shade-very stylish), chrome boots, carry a boom box playing Twisted Sister at top volume and have a revolving disco ball mounted on your hat and you'd still catch fish.

All that being said, I've always believed that angler confidence was the biggest factor in angler success. So, if you believe that it matters, then it does. Luckily, reels are available in a myriad of colors. You can buy the reel you have the most confidence in.

Good Luck!

Buddy