I like traditional style reels and use SA System II reels in the salt and for the most part, medalists in fresh water.
I have a number of reels some as old as the 1930s. Some from as recent as this past year. Almost all of them are click pawl reels. I fish for panfish all the way up to steelhead and salmon using click pawl reels. The reason I like them is they don’t break very often and if they do they are simple to fix. Some of the oldest reels I have are still working as well as they did when they were made over eighty years ago and they have been fished that entire time.
I have 2 old medalists(solid). An LL Bean(OK). A Scientic Angler(OK). One Ross Rhythym(Had a small problem with the mechanics in silty water but smooth). Three Teton Tiogas(No problems, nice reel). 1 Lamson Konic hands down my best reel. Used exclusively in the surf for fishing the beaches around here. Never had a problem with sand or saltwater dunkings. Great for any fish from 3" perch to 3 foot sharks. Smooth drag and mechanically sound. Only service I’ve done is once a year lube of the “O” ring and lube the bearings. My next purchase salt or fresh will be a Lamson. After that probably a Teton.
Beaver
I have several Orvis Battenkills, however, my best inland trout reel is a Lamson Litespeed 1.5. If I ever buy another reel it will be a Lamson. IMO the best drag for the money.
I have a number of different reels for Trout - Abel, Lamson, Bauer, Ross, Hardy, Galvin, SA and a few of these which are my favorites…
CL, pre-CL and Freestone…
Simple, smooth, pretty and rugged…
PT/TB 
The three I most often use are the Orvis CFO III (click/pawl), the Hardy Featherweight, and the Ross RR3.
As stated the reason I ask is the ob3 seems a bit large and heavy for my 4 weights that I seem to be using more this year over the heavier 5 weight.I let a Abel creek slip away from me that was on the sale boards,little to late.Do most of you try and match the reel to the rod for balance and just whatever you want to use that day.I believe I will try and find a reel in the 4 oz class silent retrieve for a 4-5 weight line.I really like the able super 3n but just under 600.00 with extra spool,whuuwe! You might see a ob-3 hit the sale boards shortly.
Thomas, you want some degree of balance. Pull about 5 or 6 feet of flyline thru the tip top and determine if the rod/reel feel comfortable in your hand. If it doesn’t, you’ll experience fatigue faster than you would otherwise.
Very nice collection of Pfluegers!!
I agree with your agree :D!
I am fortunate to have a large assortment of reels and most have many good points. Go to reels for trout are usually from the Hardy asstd. Love the way they talk to me when the drag is being taken out. When dusk is settling in and a nice brown decides to run and the drag chatters it just seems as if things are right with the world.
I’ve got a few favorites. Price wise these are definitely lower end but they work for me. They are all in the 4/5 weight range.
Shakespeare 1094 - came with a combo. Good basic and solid reel.
Okuma Tempest - excellent little reel that I bought a few years ago. Possibly my favorite reel. Very, very smooth movement.
Orvis Clearwater - very dependable reel that has taken a beating from granite, gravel, sand, water, and me. Holds up well.
Cabela’s Premier Prestige II - my newest reel. Bought it because it has an enclosed mechanism that won’t collect gravel, something the other reels tend to do. It’s empty until I buy some new line but it may end up in a tie with the Tempest for favorite reel.
I’m with planetrout, the Tibor Tailwater for rods 4-6 wt. It’s light, sturdy and has the best light drag setting of any reel I have used.
Ted
It was on the combo I bought. I’ve come to think of a fly rod reel as a place to roll up the line when I’m done fishing and little more. Had some nice ones. Can’t say they “performed” any better because the fishing I do does not require use of the reel as anything more than a spool to hold the line.
The Imperials are super reels. Do you own the one with the gunmetal finish and the circular lineguard?
Big Bad Wulff and I are pretty much on the same page. I have yet to find a reel that isn’t serviceable for the fishing I do, regardless of price, material, or design. And like him, I’ve “had some nice ones”. (And I believe I still do.)
I only own two reel designs anymore, though I do have different sizes/models of them: Hardy Perfects (including the Bougles) and Hatch Finatics.
For me those two represent the very best in traditional and modern reels. But the Perfects are truly the reels I love. Not because they perform any better. It’s purely an aesthetic and functional issue for me, as I love the looks of the Perfects and I’ve used them for so long that my hand instinctively knows where to go to put finger pressure on the spool. With any other reel design, I’m all screwed up, and have to “think” about what I’m doing should the need arise to add some drag. Being rather "heavy for their capacity/size, and coupled with my propensity to use the smallest reel I can, they also happen to balance really well with the rods I seem to fish more and more these days: Bamboo.
—David
My list includes: Pflueger Medalists, a P&K Retreev-it, Shakespeare 1822 Autos, Rim Flys, a Dam Finessa, A Waterworks P-1, a Cortland Vista, a couple Daiwa Lochmor with the standard arbor/click pawl, a Couple M series Bauers, an Abel Super 7, a couple SA System 2 and 1s, and likely a few more here and there I’ve forgotten or stored. Of these, I find I am more and more gravitating to click pawl or a modified click with drag such as the Medalists and SA System 2’s have. Of paramount importance is lightness to me and on all of my five weight and below outfits, you’ll find very light reels such as the Vista, the Lochmors, Rim Flys and the pricey P-1. I do like special purpose reels and for farm pond or pram fishing for bass the old Auto reels are hard to beat while the semi-auto P&K is in that realm also. When I get into Carp fishing mode, I opt for the SA Sys 2, the Dam, the Bauers, or the Abel as a bit of smooth drag does wonders. The same goes for big Bows, Steelhead and other freshwater critters that can put a run on you. Interesting thread and good comments all! As a side note, I’ve owned one or more reels from every manufacturer listed here plus a few more but have always traded, sold and bought far too often. I’m currently looking for another Heddon Daisy, Ocean City, or similar nice solid sided reel to put on a custom bamboo a friend made for us.
Ross Rhythm, because i can take it apart and get the sand/muck out with one hand, and keep the fish on the hook with the other hand.
for some reason, i drop my rod a lot when unhooking fish, and a lot of stuff gets into the reel. it’s hard to get it all out, and the last little grain of sand will show up at the worst of times!
I like traditional click-and-pawl reels for freshwater. An Orvis CFO III is my main trout reel but I also use Pflueger Medalists and a Martin MC56.
I like them because they are simple, reliable, and they look, feel, and sound like a fly reel is supposed to, to my way of thinking. No yuppified ferris wheels for me, thank you.
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