As with my fly rods, I try to find as much “bang for the buck” as possible. My reels are all Orvis Clearwaters or old Phluegers that I have had for years. Since I seldom play fish from the reel, drags are of little concern to me. For bigger fish, I usually palm the edge of the spool. Recently, I landed a 31 inch, freshwater striper which took me into the backing in a very convincing way. It was a great fight but I was never in fear that my reel was going to explode.
I also don’t mind if my stuff looks a little worn. I like my toys to have a well-used look. I’ve never been much Gucci of angler.
If I were fishing for jacks, blues or sharks on a regular basis, I would have to go up a price notch or two. 8T
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
I have mostly old Hardys that I have been using for 40 years. They still work great. But for saltwater I have two Billy Pate’s and Two Tibor’s. Anyone playing in the salt had best be prepaired to go through cheap reels if they are using the low priced one’s. It takes one time for a hot fish to burn your drag up before people get the idea that cheap is not always good. I am in no way a rich person but I saved to get my better reels and it was worth it.
I love to take people out and have them hook into a Jack and watch there eyes when the backing is going off there reels at about mach II. Then comes the freeze up and the break off. And I always give them that “I told you so look”
Same with the Pacific Steelhead aand Salmon They can get you into your backing faster than you can say “HEY”.
I have caught very large rainbow on some of the lakes in my state that have taken me way into my backing while using my Hardy Princes. Different strain’s of fish fight differently.
Some people do not need a good reel they never fish were they may need one. But let them go to the salt or to a state that has large fish in large rivers and you can bet your bun’s if they hook a good fish they will be wishing they had a good reel about the time the backing is going into the next run.
I will stick with better reels. About the time you think you don’t need a drag you will wish you had a good one. Ron
If you want to invest money into a high end reel or your going to be fishing the salt regularly by all means go ahead. It might be that you like silent operation, a nice wide range smooth drag, or better over run control.To a good degree it’s an ego thing as well truth be told, sorry if that rubs people the wrong way but if your honest you’ll recognize it and admit it yourselves.Hey it’s your money and you should buy whatever makes you happy. If it feels good do it!.Do you really need the huge bucks reel? Most likely not.If you took all the trouphy fish that have and are caught on click pawl reels or simple friction drag models like the Medalist and put them in a pile you’d have a pretty sizeable mountain. Are fish lost on that low end gear? Yes. Pleanty are lost on the big bucks rigs as well. For freshwater and particularly light tippits back off the drag
and use the rim.Because of uneven coils,varying tension when it was wound on the spool playing it to heavy on the drag and without manual sence of feel can loose a big fish however well made or expensive a rig you use.
Reels explode!!!lolol. You guys been reading to much fiction, from outdoor writers who like a turn of phrase that gets your attention.
A tin reel from acracker jack box might fall apart, but even low end to the highest end reels are made to take a fair amount of abuse over a long period of time. All that “melting the gears”, “reels freezing up”, burning drags, is horse pucky. I’ve been fishing for over 60 years with baitcasting, spinning, and fly fishing tackle, and I’ve caught a helacious amount of fish, both salt and freshwater, charter boat, my own boat. I’ve never had that come close to happening to me, and no one I know has had that happen to them. A reasonably priced reel should last a long time if it is taken care of and the person that is using it knows how to play a fish. Sure, any piece of fishing equipment, or machinery, a car for instance, will wear out eventually just from natural attrition.
SW Ladyfish: Sounds to me like those folks you were referring to were severely under equipped, and out gunned to handle the kind of fish they were fishing for; or didn’t know how to fish from the start. I wouldn’t go after a rhino with a .22 rifle either.
Like I said before, a worn out reel might break and that would be the fault of the angler for using it in the first place. In all my years I haven’t lost a fish to a piece of malfuntioning equipment, and neither have any of my friends. It’s a myth, perpetrated by, lets face it, fisherman…and we know they never lie.
Garic: First rule of thumb is to get a big fish on the reel and get that line out of the way. I’d listen to Ray if I was you. Sheesh!
Later, RW
“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-
In my experience: for trout of smaller size a reel is only there to take up line and rarely do you play them off the reel.
For large trout,bass or whatever the reel becomes more important and a decent drag of the disc type is a nice feature since you will play the fish off the reel more.
For big fish like salmon or saltwater species, the reel is the key to playing and landing theses type of fish. I smooth disc type drag and the capacity to hold a lot of backing is absolutley necessary. The reel in this case equals or surpasses the ability of the rod your using and plays a major role in landing that big fish.
RW et al, I will agree that 99% of fresh water fishing will never tax a reel however to say that cheap reels do not freeze or lockup ignores the reality of off shore fishing. Hook a speeding Bonefish or Barracuda and your out of balance, plastic geared, reel is quickly going to become a paperweight . Don’t tell me it doesn’t happen; I’ve been there and watched my buddy (he of the cheap it only has to hold line mentality)hand line a 40" barracuda back to the boat.
I don’t care about drag issues, that’s not an important point and not a reason to buy a better reel but I do care about quality construction and finish. In the long run quality pays for itself.
Buy the best you can afford always. If that’s a $75 reel fine. But if you can afford $200 go for it as it’s worth it.
Ray, please get off your high horse, if you think that I can’t fish then so be it, but please do not make comments on this board that you cannot possibly verify. I do not class my self as a top rate fisherman, but restassured I have caught my fair share of fish, whether it be on fly, bait or spinner. If someone cannot make his opinion without people like yourself criticising them without foundation then the world is coming to be a sad place, especially from someone that lives in a country that believes in “freedom of speech”.
RW, where does it state that it is the “first rule”? who’s rule book does this come from? I fish with guys that are exceptionally good fly fishermen, and they also play fish by hand, never seen a problem there either. Maybe trout are a super strain in the States???
Work is a means for people to afford their fishing.
[This message has been edited by Garic (edited 24 April 2005).]
Although I like to debate a subject, I don’t think this is worthy of any lengthy banter.
So I won’t comment after this, just in case you want the last word.
Clearly there are fish that just shouldn’t be fished for with a fly rod…if you want to go in that direction, like say, a 1,000 pound bluefin tuna. There is ridulous and then there is RIDICULOUS.
But to be more sensible…In my post I clearly intimated that folks should use the tackle and equipment that can reasonably handle the fish they are after, that they should be able to adeqately play and land that fish, and that the tackle should be in good shape and well taken care of.
Certainly no one would, or should push the limits of credulity and try and land a bonefish with a Hardy fly weight reel (a high end product),or a Pfleuger model 1492 (their smallest and a good low end product).
So let’s be reasonable right from the start.
I also said that I never saw a reel explode in 60 years of fishing…and that includes growing up and fishing the salt on the Jersey Shore. Maybe you have, but obviously
other factors would have to be plugged in to the equation, like the skill of the angler and the proper equipment. That’s all I have to say on the subject. When you undergun a guy with no experience things are gonna happen.
P.S. Most of that crap you’re talking about happens to guys like a junior executive on his first (didn’t really wanna go) fishing trip with his law firm buddies, and the closest he’s ever been to a live fish is the water hazard on the 5th hole of his country club.
RW
“We fish for pleasure; I for mine, you for yours.” -James Leisenring on fishing the wet fly-
Boo me! I have scads of high-end reels and have zero regrets in buying any of them. Some people like prints, some originals then there are others who have no appreciation of art.
Have good reels saved me fish? Sure have! Did you ever consider that the ‘must have been a big one’ that got off got free BECAUSE of a cheap, chattering reel with little drag consistency or extreme start-up inertia? I made a New Years resolution a few years ago NOT to lose the biggest fish of my life and accept it as fate. A poor drag, an unbalanced reel, a reel too heavy to cast all day without screaming for Advil are all a thing of the past for me. I appreciate quality materials and materials that take a beating and keep humming along. I also appreciate gear that holds or escalates in value even though it is used all the time. I also know that when the time comes to hand them down someone will also greatly appreciate them.
Reels machined of bar stock cost more because the raw material costs more, the scrap rate is higher and the tolerances are tighter. They have better finishes that not only protect them but also show flaws in the manufacturing process better which again relates back to the need for quality machining. Drags DO fail. On good reels that is rare. Drags DO fail or skip when wet. That too is rare on good reels.
I can understand not being able to afford good reels and when I was in that boat I spent the most on lines, then rods, then the right clothes (I HATE being uncomfortable in the wild, it can make for a miserable day!) then the reels.
If you see the good reels some of us use as status items so be it. That is YOUR problem.
Every reel I own was bought for good reasons TO ME, and those reason have absolutely nothing to do with you!
Grizzly Wulff and Ladyfisher stated the matter pretty well: reels are tools, buy the tool that is appropriate for the task. The corollary is that features cost money, and you will not find a bargain in fly reels that have the extended features.
Some people get a kick out of being gearheads and having the latest, greatest and most expensive on the water. Others, at the opposite end of the spectrum, get a hoot out of being tightwad minimalists, praising their cheap gear and denigrating more expensive gear and the people who pay such prices.
I, on the other hand, am a pragmatist who does not give a rip about others’ opinions of what I buy because I am not trying to look like a catalog angler. It’s only fishing, and I am in it for the fun (and the accomplishment). For relatively small fish in small streams, I have small, inexpensive reels. For bigger fish -from larger trout to various species of bass to steelhead-I have more expensive reels with greater finishing and drag. I’ve had my tail kicked on lesser equipment, and learned my lesson. I have also been on the boat with people who did not have the equipment up to the task, and 30-45 minutes of the guides time to land a fish that could be landed much more quickly with the right gear was a waste of my fishing time and the guide’s time. I’ve sen brand new cheap reels go to pot too. A little common sense and respect for the next guy’s time goes a long way toward making new fishing friends, a point that I always try to remember. Going with the right tool is exercising common sense.
Finally, one good reason to buy the right tool for the job that has not been mentioned here is to do it for the fish. Have enough respect for the quarry to work it and land it without taking it to the point of death.
Another thing: trying to bolster one’s argument with the number of years he or she has been fishing is, in many instances, hollow. My father has been a fishermen for 60 years too, if you listen to him, but since 99.9% of his fishing has been in warmwater in Georgia and in small farm ponds, his “years of experience” are of little moment. He knows far less about fishing than I do and prolly has not learned anything new about fishing in 50 years; it’s not because I’m a genius or born with something, it’s because I have spent a lot of time researching, learning, traveling, talking, and fishing on multiple continents for multiple species in various environments. How you spend your angling years and how many new things you learn are more important than the span of years spent fishing. I’ve spent more time fishing than my old man despite the fact that he has been at it for much longer, and have a lot more to show for it too.
If you old geezers are going to try to bolster every one of your arguments by “years spent fishing,” I want to see a curricula vitae so that I can determine whether you’ve been fishing off the same boatdaock for 60 years like my old man or whether you’ve fished for a large variety of species on multiple continents.
[This message has been edited by Rawthumb (edited 24 April 2005).]
On a whim I just visited the House of Hardy website wherein a good fantasy I spent $3315.00. If I could afford it I really would spend that much. There is a delightful allure to something that is so beautiful, so well made and of premium utility.
I believe I’m with RW, and Ray regarding the current “debate”. Although for the record I have never had a 13 pound anything on a line. A thirteen incher I’m qualified for. But a 13 pounder… I plead clueless. That said, I am fairly logical, and logic dictates that any fish that big is not one I want ripping line from my hands. I’d be getting him on the reel ASAP, regardless of what that reel was or how much it cost.
As for a direct answer to the original post, I think fcch covered it right out of the gate. I believe that there really isn’t a practical reason to purchase a reel, “after a certain $$…” But that doesn’t stop me from wanting (and someday purchasing) a Hardy Bougle Mk.V. I’m simply doing as Castwell suggests in his article, “Buy a fly reel with your heart not your head. Treat yourself, you’re worth it.” (www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst111297.html) When I buy the more expensive stuff I buy it simply because I want it. Not for any practical reason to do so. And I don’t believe for a minute that it’s because I want to impress others. In the almost 3 years I’ve been at this, the only other people to see my equipment are my wife and kids. My wife is anything but impressed (“You spent how much for that little thing?!”) and the kids don’t care. Nope it’s for me and me alone. Simply put, Pride of Ownership.
RW, Amazing, you’re recollection of the details of my trip and fishing partners is incredible, considering you weren’t there.
Actually the guy whose reel froze was about your age at the time with a resume similar to your own and with the same conviction that reels just hold line.
I think we both agree that cheap equipment even in the hands of a master, such as yourself, is still cheap equipment and more likely to fail when under pressure. Fishing for Bonefish or barracuda is not beyond the limits of both experienced and novice fisherman and both will need to use the appropriate equipment.
The subject of this post had to do with the possible advantages or disadvantages of expensive reels ( I suppose that would be equipment in the $150-$350 plus range) over using reels that cost $35 to perhaps $75.
Even you must agree that there are times when $35 reels are inappropriate and better equipment is recommended.
Oh one last thing, the story I related wasn’t CRAP, but the truth. Sorry it didn’t fit your slant on the issue. Must be tough when you know everything to learn something new.
Al here.
[This message has been edited by dryflie (edited 24 April 2005).]
As a point of reference for the tightwad minimalists among us, Left Kreh and the other oldtimers that first started flyfishing saltwater here in the US (or at least documented it) had to use Pfleuger Medalist and that caliber of reel, because that is what they had in the day. But it was not good enough as built, and they made significant modifications to get by with it.
Recently, I saw Lefty on the cover or a mag with a fish from saltwater. He was using a Tibor. Lefty has had positive things to say about new generation materials for use in drag material instead of cork (I believe that he may have been referrig to the Charlton drag).
I hope that Temple Fork Outfitters delivers a home run with its reels. I’d love to get a $200-400 quality reel for $150 (but I’m not holding my breath). My shop does not carry TFO products, so I need to venture out sometime soon to get my hands on one of them.
