My sister-in-law, who is a saint by virtue of putting up with my brother (another fly angler) is a wizard at finding things for sale on the web. Well today I received a package with two brand new Redington reels. An AL 3/4 and a AS 3/4, both in bright gold.
I imediately went to the web and could not find much information about the AS or AL series as it seems like this line was discontinued. There are couple of black ones on EBAY but not much info.
The AS looks like a good 4-7 wt reel but the AL is HUGE. Not real tall but w i d e .
Can anybody shed some light on these reels or point me in a direction where I can find out specs and capacities?
As an aside, I have always been a Bargain Basement type of equipment buyer till my brother made me a 2/3 weight from a Loop blank and gifted me with it and a STH reel. He later gave me 6 ft 3/4 Cortland when I mentioned I did not have stream rod. My decades old Abu-Garcia 5 wt now pales in comparison to these rods. I guess I will have to buy some upscale rods to go with my new reels. I think I will start looking at the TFO rods that so many here on the BB admire.
Now I understand my daughters when they got new shoes and then had to have a new purse and a skirt and blouse to go with the new shoes…
Edited to add images:
Wise men still seek HIM…
[This message has been edited by Bluegill Budd (edited 25 August 2005).]
Those two reels mentioned are discontinued…and have been for a little time now. You can still find them on ebay and close-out listings. There are still many out there new in the box. Check out Ebay and see if anybody put Company info on the item description. Good Luck
I havent used that model reel, but anything I ever used thats made by Redington has been great quality, at a great price. I feel like dollar for dollar that they are the best company out there, folks who buy the high dollar stuff do it more for there ego than to catch fish.
I use an AS7/8 in the salt and it has held up well. I think it looks good and seems to have no problems. You can mix and match the gold or black spools on gold or black frames.
I have 2 AS and 2 AL reels that I have had for three or four seasons so far, and have not had problem one with either of them.
They would probably still be in production if Redington had been able to remain an independent company.
If you get the same kind of service from your reels that I have from mine, you’ll be a happy fisherman
Bob
There is a fine line between fly fishing, and standing in the water waving a stick.
I have the A/S 5/6 in black finish that I bought from an Orvis closeout sale a few years ago, right after Redington broke away from Orvis. It seems to be a very well made reel, and I have never had any problems with it. To me the drag is much smoother than the one on my Redington GD reel.
Larry Compton
The new Redington CD’s have been receiving great reviews…they do look nice and the price is right. Redington is now owned by Sage…that is why there has been a lot of changes in products the past year.
I’m still looking for some data on how much backing I will need. I found out that both are considered reels for 3 or 4 wt lines. I will probably use the larger of the two for a 5 wt as I often will use smaller reels than recomended. I have a reel meant for 3/4 on my 8 wt and it works wonderfully. I would not use it in the salt flats for bonefish but the bass and bluegill I normaly target have never taken me into the backing. I have never seen a wide reel like this before though my brother likes his AL 7/8 for salt water.
I will start another thread on the difference between the grades of TFO rods tomorrow so I can be ready for the spring trout releases at Casey Creek here in Western Kentucky, the black hole of fly fishing.
