Unlike complicated hundred-piece casting and spinning
reels, fly reels are pretty simple when you come right
down to it. And for that reason nearly anybody with
machining equipment and a decent design has tried
their hand at manufacturing fly reels. Although it
sounds impressive, machining is actually an inexpensive means
of churning out reels. The expensive is casting, unless you are able to
break down the cost of the casting over thousands and
thousands of reels. So getting into fly reel
manufacturing has been relatively easy and affordable
for quite a few enterprising individuals. So much
so that it seems we are being inundated with new fly
reels at every turn!
Well, there area lot of choices in fly reels if you
are willing to spend a small fortune. As the owner of
a fly shop for about a dozen years I had no trouble
finding good reels in the $200 and up range. The
problem was in offering my customers a choice in the
entry level range - reels selling for $50 to $100 or
so. I had the Scientific Angler's System 2L's at the $125
mark and they were certainly outstanding reels and a
great bargain at that price. They were also just
a tad out of range for some people. I also offered
the venerable Pflueger Medalist at about $30 and it
was a heck of a workhorse for the money. But I never
found a high quality reel with a true disc drag in that $50
to $100 spot. I wish I had. I could have sold
thousands of them.
Now the folks at G. Loomis have brought us a $100 reel
with disc drag, machined spool and frame and an
attractive design. The obvious question is whether
it's a really good reel or just another teaser that
relies on its price tag to pry its way into the
market. I picked up three of them, one in each size, last
year and have since spent quite a few days on the
water using them as hard as possible. My opinion, is
that not only is it a great reel for $100 - it's a
great reel period!
Pick one up and give the spool a spin and you'll
immediately notice how smooth everything turns.
Retrieve is silent while outgoing line is signaled
with a pleasant and low volume click. Run the large
easily grasped and finely detented drag knob up a bit
and try pulling some line. Darn smooth and with very
little start up inertia - as good or better than many
reels costing twice as much. The fit and finish is
very good, the quick release spool welcome and the
price is just too good to be true. How can they
manufacturer and sell a reel this nice for $100?
What we forget is that many manufacturers of casting
and spinning reels have been selling high quality
reels for $100 for quite some time. Unless we're
talking fly fishing, a hundred dollar bill can buy a
lot of reel. Now it appears that same money can be
used to buy a lot of fly reel too.
I have fished my new Loomis Adventure Series reels in
rain, wind, cold, heat, and dust. Even managed to get
some large fish on the reel and wore them down
quickly. The reels have performed flawlessly and
without incident. I can't imagine anything that they
haven't done or that a more expensive reel could have
done better. I've heard a very few reports that some owners have
had the plastic retainer on the spool roller bearing
crack and result in harsh drag operation. I've not
had this happen but will not say that it can't. The
good news is that if it does, the small part is
obtainable from G. Loomis and easily installed in
seconds.(Currently I have enough confidence in mine
that I have not bothered ordering the part "just in
case".)
The Adventure reels are available in 3 sizes - #3, #5
and #7. They are appropriately sized for rods in the
2, 3 and 4 weight genre, the 4, 5, and 6 weight range,
and the 7, 8 and 9 weight category respectively.
The entire reel and spool is anodized in an attractive bronze
color. Some might have wished to see these reels in a large arbor
version, but remember that once you load backing on a
small arbor reel, it takes up line just as fast as the
large arbor counterpart, provided the spool diameter
is the same. (It's the outside spool diameter on
fully loaded reels that determines line pick-up rate -
not the arbor size.)
So it is worth the money? Darn right they are. If I
was still in the fly shop business this is the reel I
would have front and center in my display case. It
not only fills the bill for those anglers who can't
afford to spend hundreds of dollars on their next fly
reel, but also those who just want a great reel and
aren't offended by a low price. ~ Tom Kirkman
G·Loomis, Inc.
1359 Down River Drive
Woodland WA 98674
Phone 360-225-6516
Phone 800-662-8818
Fax 360-225-7169
Email: loomis@gloomis.com
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