I’ve been thinking about this subject for awhile, and it’s time to get the opinions of you smarty pants.
Being a traditional kind of guy. I lean towards the C&P reels. Besides the tradition of C&P it’s the cool sound they make, and simplicity. It seems for trout fishing. Especially small stream trout fishing, you only need enough drag set to keep the line from over running. Ok, that perfect for C&P reels, because that’s about all they can do anyway. Of course you can set any reel like that too. Which is what most people recommend.
Ok, that all good, but I have something else that bothers me. That cool noise the a C&P reel makes, is also making that sound to a trout. If you’re after a spooky brookie and you’re in stealth mode trying to sneak up. Is a reel clacking away a good thing? Wouldn’t a whisper quiet disc drag reel be better?
Well you have to get the line off the reel to catch the fish. Plus a lot of times you can stay in the same spot to catch another one if you were quiet about it.
That’s a thought, but going to a disc drag reel would be easier. Most of them you can take off the clicker, because it doesn’t have anything to do with the drag. That’s not an option on a C&P reel.
Besides, your way will still make noise when a fish is on.
I’m talking about being super sneaky. Small stream with brown trout. Not a good combo for someone who’s clumsy.
Fish won’t hear the sound of the clicker on your reel as long as it not ‘in’ the water with them.
The surface/air union is a pretty effective sound barrier. You’ll make a hundred fold more ‘audible to fish’ noise taking your most ‘silent’ step ever on the streambed.
That being said, YOU have to listen to it. I find all that unneeded racket annoying and rude. Just stripping the line off the reel to begin casting makes enough noise to disturb or attact the attention of every living creature within earshot. I’d rather see the animals around me, not spook them.
Besides, all that ‘drag noise’ crap is just ‘hey, look at me, I’m fighing a big fish and need to show off’. Seriously, if you are figtning the fish, don’t you know it’s there? Why is a sound that others can hear needed if not to show off?
If I can’t disable or silence that clicking sound, I don’t buy or get rid of the reel. I think it’s not only annoying, but inconsiderate to use around others.
I like the click and when I hear it coming from someplace other than my reel else I know a few things:[ul]*There’s another fisherman close by so I make sure I watch where I’m going so I don’t mess up his spot.
*There’s another fisherman close by so I need to find another place to fish because this creek is too crowded.[/ul]The day that little click bothers me in comparison to all the other BS I’ve encountered on a trout stream is the day I consider another pastime.
And by the way Gramps. with a name like Gramps I assume you’re old enough to remember the days of nothing but clickers. If they weren’t stealthy, how did all the old timers ever catch a fish? Despite what a lot of modern day geniuses think, the trout aren’t any smarter.
I have two vintage Garcia Mitchell spinning reels: a 408 and a 300 that click when you crank the handle to retrieve if you’re in need of an annoying spinning reel.
