Ok I am fixing to buy a new rod 9ft 4wt. I need a new reel to go with it of course. I would like to keep the price low and had been looking a cabelas reels. I was just wondering what everyone thought about them and if you guys and girls had a better suggestion. I normally fish for bass, panfish, and some trout.
Thanks in advance
Jason
If you can find one left somewhere, the Ross Rhythm size 1.5 works wonders on a 9’ 4wt. Ross has discontinued the Rhythm and a lot of places have them on closeout pricing.
Here’s the one I have on a Winston B2t in 9’ 4wt. It is really a sweet combination.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=catfeatflyfsh&id=0023201319732a&navCount=3&podId=0023201&parentId=cat21430&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=8IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21430&hasJS=true
I have a Cabelas Prestige Plus reel on my 7wt rod (9’ 7wt Redington RS3). The cabelas reel has never failed me and works just fine It’s not as nice or well finished as the Ross, but it works.
Cabelas has the LSR on sale for $59.00 it lists for $145.00 nice reel and at a great price.
I have been fishing 2 Orvis Battenkill 3/4 reels on my 3 and 4wt rods for 14 years without any problems whatsoever. I have caught some nice fish with them too, including some 25" rainbows and brown on 6x that weighed in at 10lbs, so the drag is good. Not the newer bar stock but the older model. They are light and durable and nicely priced at about $80. I also have been using Ross Cimmaron reels for just as long. They are twice as much, but available at a discount now from many sources since they are being discontinued this year.
For a really good price on sale is the cabelas prestige reel at $14.00
53 people rated it 4.5 out of 5. At 1/2 price it is a steal.
I was going to buy 6 extra spools for mine to carry all the different types of sink rates I have in my sinking lines, but at this price I just bought 6 reels.
The Mitchel 300xe spinning reel is on sale too at $25.00 a very good deal also if you are into spinning. 
Jason -
If you are still looking at options - take a look at the Orvis BBS series. They are a high quality reel at a very competitive price. More than the quoted sale price for the Ross, but if that reel doesn’t suit you or it’s not available in the size you want, it would be hard to do better than the BBS for the money.
John
jason,
i have to agree with john on the bbs. series from orvis. the ross reels are a very great deal too. i also have a vosseler r/c that i love on my orvis superfine 4 weight.
Bass Pro Hobbs Creek size 1. $40 disc drag, cast aluminum. I own several.
my cousin owns a hobbs creek and swears by it! i think any of the above and you will be good to go. remember…you can always buy more!!!
Another vote for the Orvis BBS series. Last year I picked up a 4wt 8’ and wanted a good reel. Many here suggested the Orvis BBS II. I find it to be a solid reel for the $. It also is lightweight and balances well with the rod.
I love click and pawl drag systems and if you can fit it in your budget, I highly recommend the Abel TR or Creek series. Best c/p reels I ever used.
Let’s use know what you pickup.
Yet another suggestion for the Orvis BBS. I’ve got the BBS III on my 5 weights and a BBS II on my 3 weight - I’d probably go with the BBS II for your 4 weight. Great reels, never had a problem with mine.
Out of the;
Battenkill Barstock
Battenkill Disc
Cabela’s Prestige
Ross Rythm
If I had to pay for it myself I’d pick the Battenkill Disc. It’s an excellent reliable reel with a classic look to it. If they were all free, I’d pick the Battenkill Barstock. Super smooth reel with a great drag. I caught a bunch of cutthroat on one yesterday and I never give a thought to reliability.
You might also want to look at the Okuma SLV series. I picked one up for my 8/9 weight and love it.
http://www.okumafishingteam.com/reels/fly/slv.html
Let us know what you decide. OK?
I have a mint lightly used Orvis BBSIII if you are interested ($75) as I just picked up a Ross Rhythm on Clearance. As much as I like the BBSIII reel it is not up to par with the Rythm but there again it shouldn’t based on price. The other real good deal right now is the Ross Cimarron is being closed out. The BBSIII reel is probably all the reel I would ever need as it performs flawlessly and is quite light and highly recommended on every fly fish forum but oh boy do I like my new Rythm!!!
Tom
For inexpensive reels the Okuma and Pflueger Trions get my vote. I have a couple of the Orvis Battenkills Bar Stocks. Ross makes a Flywater that is a nice reel with a proven drag system for a very reasonable price. The Lamson Konic is a grand product at that price point.
I read where another poster called this time of year, “silly season” as far as sales go. Old models are going out and new ones coming in. Believe me the fish will never know if the reel you are using was last year’s model. Make the most of your money and a closeout product. I’ll send you a PM without posting a sale on line since the quanity of close out stuff is limited.
Rick
I love the Orvis BBS and Mid-arbor reels. Great drags good quality. Make sure they say Made in England on the back. Orvis has had some trouble with the reels made in China.
There are a ton of good reels out there though. If you will be using your 4wt for small fish (less than 2 lbs) a nice click-pawl reel is lighter and cheaper. If you can stay away from Cast aluminum as it is a more brittle material by nature a good drop on a rock or road can break a spool or housing and ruin a day on the water. Machined aluminum may bend after a drop, but you can bend it back and keep fishing.
IF you do go with a close out (good idea) make sure to get an extra spool or 2 at the same time. It will be harder to find them when you want them a year or two later.
I’m interested in this statement. Both of my BBS reels are “Made in England” - in fact the second one I bought as NOS after the “switch” because I’d prefer the British make. I had not heard that there had been any problems with the Chinese manufacture. What problems were encountered?
From second hand info, some china made reels had problems with drags sticking or burning out on hot fish. From what I understand, most of the problems where on the OLD style large-arbor battenkill reels. I’m not sure if these problem were on all china made reels or just the large arbors, but to be safe I always made sure my reels came from england. I’ve never had, or heard of a problem with the drags on the english made BBS and Mid-Arbor Battenkill reels and I’ve used my Mid-Arbors on salmon and steelhead in the great lakes for 5 seasons. I also know a few guides that use the original battenkill, BBS, and mid-arbor battenkill reels made in england for great lakes salmon that have never had problems. If I had a choice, I’d use english made reels just for my own piece of mind.
On a 4wt, this shouldn’t matter. For me, I would always spend a little more now, than have problems or heartbreak later.
I’m another fan of the BBS series of reels. Form all the other posts and posters it would appear I’m in good company. All of my reel frames are the older “Made in England” style. I have purchased several extra spool for my BBS II since they went to China and while I had one spool that I returned (only for cosmetic reason), I have to say the Chinese spools have fit and functioned flawlessly on the English reel bodies.
I really like the balance and small size of the BBS II particularly on my 3 and 5 wt rods. I’d have to think it would also be an excellent choice for a 4 wt.
The good news is there are lots of good choices out there, many less expensive than the Orvis BBS series. I just happen to be a big fan of these reel. If you get one I’d hope you’d become a big fan too.
Good luck, it’s nice to have choices!
Just picked up a batenkill 3/4, english made, with a spare spool on ebay for $60. I also have a G Loomis venture 3 that I picked up a while ago. Both are very solid reels for a 3/4 wt.