fishing with budget rods is being discussed so how about budget reels??
i am using the composite okuma airframe (now theyre called “cascade”)reels that cost about $25-30 with great success. if youve never used one, you cant discount them as being garbage.
http://www.troutlet.com/Okuma-Cascade-Large-Arbor-Fly-Fishing-Reels-P199.aspx
so whats your budget fly reel??
ross cimarron-48.00-on e-bay-trouble is now i want a extra spool-so far cheapest i found was 77.00-let me know if anyone has one cheaper??ha!ha!
with ebay, craigslist and classified forums like the one here, you can find great deals on good used equipment if you keep your eyes open. i have snagged a new, unused lamson konic and a new unused orvis mid arbor reel from these classifieds for under $100 a reel. i believe it was $90 for the konic and $85 for the orvis and that included shipping. those are bargains to me.
I have Bass Pro Hobbs Creek reels on several rods. For the fishing i do they are more than adequate. If i went after bigger fish i would probably want one with a bit stouter drag. I bought a Battenkill Mid Arbor for steelhead if i ever make it to Erie.
Have the Okuma Sierra (4/5) … picked up at close out for $19! Super little reel! I’ll use it on everything from the E-glass rod to the bamboo.
Medalists are my go-to reel… I have 7 that I use… 20 bucks on sale
With the fish I target I don’t need a reel with any kind of drag system at all, just something to stop the reel from ‘free-wheeling’ when casting, so I get the least expensive I can find. That little triangle thingy rubbing on that gear works well. If by chance I ever do tie into a big one that wants to run I can just palm the reel and create my own drag.
For me the reel is truely a thing that just holds the line.
The only time this has bitten me was the time I tied into that 30" 20# rainbow in a WTS in Rhode Island…wait a minute this is April second. Never mind.
Hobbes Creek, and the Albright bugati and GP. Actually, my “big money” reel is the Pflueger Trion. Any of these reels are terrific, IMO.
My least expensive reel is a crystal river cahill that I have on my 2 weight. Light, functional and under $15 shipped.
Are they the same as the discontinued Cabela’s Cahill ?
I have one of those loaded with a 3wt line
I like it a lot.
I bought a Freedom Fry 300 fly reel on EBAY for a $1.50, and 6 bucks to ship it. made in China, imported by a company in Maryland. It’s a 6/7 weight. I am going to put it through its paces this summer on a little local ake and then maybe on the lower Youghiogheny or maybe some brown water fishing close to home… It may fall apart, but we’ll see.
are a Cabelas Prestige reel for $15(no longer available) and an Echo that I my wife found in the bargain cave at Cabelas for $17. I love the bargain cave.
They got $50 for those at one time.
I bought one and never really cared for it.
…liked it even less when they reduced the price to $15
I’m a fan of Okuma reels. I have a Sierra and an Integity and both are holding up very well mechanically. The finish marks up easily, but so are the feedback from the fish on that issue has been neutral. I have a Cortland Mosquito reel that I picked up for $15 that I use on my go-to 8wt. That puppy is like a truck…it ain’t purdy, it ain’t refined, but it handles the freight.
I use a SA System 1 reel. It has click & pawl drag, and it’s not much drag at all. Generally if I hook into a big fish, I just palm the reel to apply drag. I prefer doing it that way anyway. I’ve caught 8+ lb carp on a 3wt with that reel.
Martin Brook 3/4 , lightweight, smooth and durable…have caught some carp on it so I can’t claim the drag has never been used, it has.
In my opinion, the reel looks good too.
Well, I am relly new to the sport and I am still learning what is good and what isn’t. Not to mention too that I dont get to spend very much money on fishing stuff as my wife would probably “kill” me. But, I amke do with what I have. I am sure we have all had to do that at one time or another.
P.S. It really isn’t that great of a reel, it was just all I could afford that had a disc drag.
No, they are just a cheap plastic reel, but the one I got had a somewhat decent drag on it. Others I know had the same reels with less acceptable drags, but they still have a palming rim. I use it on the 2 weight because it balances very well with line and backing on it.
Crystal River is a branch of south bend IIRC. The cahill CR-0001 weighs only 2.7 oz. but has been discontinued for quite a while. It looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZKR44A/ref=asc_df_B000ZKR44A758451?smid=AT793HRWEW9XE&tag=msnshop-sports-mp-20&linkCode=asn
And it will serve it’s purpose for most of the fishing you will ever do. My wish for you, my friend, is to encounter the fish that the reel can’t handle…landed or not, it will be a good memory. 
Valhalla! I truly wish for that for us all. And just to make sure we are talking about the same real ol’ blue, my Prestige is aluni… alumy…metal. I think the Cahills are plastic though, my brother has one of those and he like it just fine. I dont really care for it but thats just my opinion.
Didn’t realize till just now that you weren’t talking about the Prestige reels. My apologies. 