I say that I have bought a new fly reel and the wife says I have bought another fly reel! : )
While at the TroutFest in Townsend in May, I stopped by one vendor’s display (www.rivertraditions.com) and visited with the owner who is a good friend of mine. I have dealt with him for several years and can highly recommend him and his products. I know that you cannot beat his prices and he is a strong believer in “giving back” to the fly fishing world. He is also a supporter of Arrowhead Ranch which I really appreciate.
He showed me a beautiful green fly reel rated 3/4wt and made me a deal I could not pass up. I put it on my 3wt while at Townsend and landed 9 fish and had a good time. The reel was so smooth and worked perfect. After getting home I decided to purchase another one rated 5/6wt that is gun metal gray and rather than have it engraved with my name, I asked David if he could engrave one of the scenes he engraves on his fly boxes on the reel and he said he would give it a try when he got home. Well, he done it and I really like it and received the reel today in the mail. I do not think you can go wrong at the $50 price and that is to my door!
Nice Warren, you can’t beat that price with a stick. A Hobbs Creek at BPS is about the same price and not nearly as attractive. What is really attractive is his price on flyboxes. His box with the threader is about half what I paid for a similar box several years ago. I would not be surprised if there are not some orders going from my house (or my kid’s houses) to there in the future.
Nice deal Warren. That reel bares a striking resemblance to the Pflueger Trion at about 40% of the cost. I’m curious what make the green reel is in one of your other stream side photos. Is it an Otto’s Teton?
At that price, just buy another reel! Those are great little reels. They look just like some that I carry. Nice looking with a butter smooth drag. Easy to switch hands on, too!
The green reel is the one I purchased from David at their booth at the TroutFest. It is rated 3/4wt and like all of his reels, there is no name on it plus he does not have spare spools for them. The green one is silky smooth just like the one I received today and I mean silky smooth.
No problem - They will find David very easy to deal with and a good person. David has a good heart and is sincere about “giving back” to the fly fishing world. He has donated a lot of his products to some very good causes.
I’m not Warrem but I can help answer your question. I have the 8-9-10 size and have used it hard on a 10’ 6", 12’, and 13’ switch/spey rods for the past 3 1/2 years without the first hint of any problems. This is fishing for steelhead in the winter/spring and king salmon in the fall. I would buy another one without hesitation.
I went out to his website and must say that his prices are very impressive. I am not in the market for a new fly reel but should I be I would consider buying one from him.
I have not used his reels long enough to answer how they handle wear and tear honestly, yet. Ask me this question in another year and I will be able to respond. I do know that David told me that he has sold many of these over the years and has not had any complaints. I do have several of his fly boxes and have been using them for over 2 years with no problems.
While at the TroutFest, I talked to him about his engraving machine, his business in general and his prices and he told me then that he really enjoyed doing what he is doing and “giving back” to the fly fishing world. He stated that he did not know how long he would be able to hold his prices where they are because the manufacturing company he deals with keeps “bumping” the costs up on him. That is one of the reasons I purchased the 5/6wt reel now. Most of the “name brand” reels that I have used and still own, are starting to get out of my price range and I was concerned with being able to replace them when they started giving me problems. If his reels continue to function for me, I may be purchasing more so that I will have them while the prices are where they are. I am not that hard on my reels but I do want them to be smooth operating and have a good drag and I really cannot find anything about his reels that I do not like. With the economy like it is, I know that he is going to have raise his prices in order to stay in business and he will stay in business because he realy loves what he is doing. His Dad, who goes with him to shows to help out, told me that David has the education and background to be working in another field and making more money, but, David just loves what he is doing now and his business is providing for him and his family.
For now, I am retired and on a limited income and really enjoy my fly fishing and I can afford David’s reels and I hope they continue to provide me with good service.
I have one of the black aluminum boxes and a couple of the double-sided plastic boxes and they are great fly boxes for the price. Those aluminum boxes are what I gave towards FAOL’s Secret Santa for the past 2 years.
I will probably be purchasing another reel before long because I know that shipping rates are going up and so is manufacturing and I just cannot see David being able to sell his products at the prices he has quoted on his Web Site especially when these prices include shipping. Everything I have purchased from him has been very good quality merchandise.
