Anyody have experience with these? I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive reel to use on an 8 weight for bonefish and steelhead. I principally fish for trout so this reel will not see a lot of use.
Echo Fly Reels
Anyody have experience with these? I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive reel to use on an 8 weight for bonefish and steelhead. I principally fish for trout so this reel will not see a lot of use.
Stay away. Some are made of Graphite and warp when in the sun. We've had them in our shop for a while now, and they dont sell because they warp. The OKUMA integrity is a great one so is the Albright General Practitioner. Your money would be better spent.
Cutty
i had mine warp and i didn't even have it in the sun (used this past winter only). fished it not even five times. it's been like two months and they haven't sent back the replacement spool. i got a Teton Tioga to replace it that feels solid.
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take him fishing
Thanks, sounds like I just saved myself some money. I had a Cortland graphite reel years ago and it wasn't very good. I wondered if the technology had improved any but it doesn't sound like it. The reels I use for trout fishing are Tiogas but for something I won't use that often it's hard to justify the expense. I think I'll buy a Cabela's Prestige Plus, only $39.99 and at least it's metal.
junk!
The man who coined the phrase "Money can't buy happiness", never bought himself a good fly rod!
Wow .. I've had a totally different experience with mine. It's been an excellent reel. That's the concensus of the others I know who use them. No problems, very durable. Maybe it's the weather here in Oregon.
Dean
I have 2 Okuma Intergity reels and they have an annoying tendency to free spool at any moment. When it does this, if you stop the reel from spinning, the drag will be back. Go figure!! I went with a Teton Tioga and I am very happy with it. I also replaced one with a Bass Pro Hobbs Creek which seems to work just fine, and it was a lot less than the Tioga. just my 2cents ...Rob
If you are going in the salt get a saltwater reel! The $39.95 reel will not survive in the environment. Use it once and throw it away for the corrosion issues you will see. The Okuma Integrity isn't the greatest either. Corrosion will be a problem and backing capacity is minimal. The Teton Tioga will survive the salt and do the job.
[This message has been edited by SW Ladyfish (edited 20 April 2005).]
I have a friend who has used an old Pflueger Medalist in the salt for years. Every time he uses it he removes the spool, pulls most of the line off and hoses it all down with fresh water. If that reel can withstand the salt, I'm sure the Cabela's reel will do just as well!
That Cabela's reel is an Okuma Sierra in disguise. Bass Pro used to disguise that one as their Hobbs Creek, but they have since changed. I've got one of the newer hobbs creek reels and have to admit it works amazingly well for the price. I would NEVER take it into the salt though. My view on bonefish reels is, if you're gonna pay $1200 to be there, go ahead and spend $200 on the reel. Check out the Ross Rythym or the Lamson Velocity.
On the graphite reels, I have also heard about warping problems. Webfoot may not have this problem since they only see the sun 10 days a year in Oregon. (just kidding, but I never saw it once in the two weeks I spent there.) The warping problem is often started by wrapping the line and backing on there too tight. Under normal conditions the reels can stand these pressures but when heated up, the plastics become more pliable. If you look at European fly tackle catalogs, you will notice there are as many graphite/composite reels as there are aluminum. I think this has to due with the fact that their climate matches that of Oregon more closely than that of SoCal, Texas, or Florida.
Knowing all this, I am still contemplating getting one of these reels myself, but I will spool it up myself, and will never leave it in my dark car with Texas plates.
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