Reel Life
by JackOhman
From Fear of Fly Fishing
We really sincerely thank Jack Ohman for use permission.
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Two schools of thought dominate the selection of a reel. School A - the
disposable-income school - says that skimping on a reel is next to folly,
that a good reel is indispensable for wrestling in the lunkers and keeping
your line in decent repair.
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School B - the thrifty school - points out that a fly reel is a glorified line
storage compartment with no true utility, like a spinning reel. The line
just sits there until you strip it out, and then you usually end up stripping
the line back in when you're landing a fish. So what's the point? The
point is that a big fish will leave you standing there with a handful of
greasy screws, nut and springs as you bid adieu to your fish, line, leader,
and fly.
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When you are landing a fish, you will note that very little reeling in actually
done; the line is always wound up around your hand in coils - or incomprehensible
curlicues within the reel itself while a fish is pushing the outside of the drag
specifications. Little rivulets of sweat trickle down your brow as you attempt
to untangle the mess inside your reel and just as you're about to haul out
the knife and cut the snarl apart, the fish spares you the trouble.
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The appearance of a fly reel is thankfully different from the latest fad in
spinning-reel desing, which is to make the reel look like at 35mm Nikon
camera. On new spinning reels, you'll find all sorts of numerical charts
regarding line weights and spool capacities, switches and levers -
everything but a lens. Fly reels all basically look the same - like they
could double as kitchen-drain covers. ~ Jack Ohman
If you like Jack's fly fishing humor, be sure to look for his new book,
GET THE NET! published by Willow Creek.
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