I recently picked up a sweet little 1 weight on sale. I am pretty excited about it, and it’s the lightest rod in my arsenal. I am however, having a tough time finding a decent little 1 weight reel to go with it. I am hoping for something under $100. So far I have only found Orvis CFO and BBSI, as well as the Sage Click II and 4000 series, but those are all over $100
Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
As for line. I am open to all ideas, although I am leaning towards Sage Quiet Taper II. I am more partial to a double taper line for this rod, but open to all schools of thought on the subject of ultralight fly fishing. I know Rio Makes a 1 weight line and I think Orvis has a couple 1 weight lines that are WF.
Don’t know how you parameterize decent, but the Orvis Battenkill Disc 3/4 is $79. I have used two for more than a dozen years without problems and caught some pretty big fish with them. I also have used a Daiwa Lochmoor S 100, a light click/pawl drag reel which is hard to find but can be found sometimes for around $30. You may be able to find a closeout Ross Cimarron #1 for under $100 too. Most of the really lightweight reels that I am aware of cost well over $100.
The Cortland Clear Creek 1wt line is pretty nice and an alternative to the Rio and Sage Lines.
Just my 2 cents worth. I would go with an Orvis Battankill Bar Stock I or a Temple Forks I. Both can be had for under $100 and both are very nice reels. John
You are not going to have line-stripping backing-taking blue water fish on your 1 wt. so you need something light and functional.
Basspro.com sells Hobbs Creek reels in a 3 wt. for $40. They call it a large arbor but its actually a mid arbor, but no reel manufacturer is willing to admit that.
It is mostly fiberglass so it is lighter than a lot of competitors in the 1-2 wt. range. It has a good drag and is virtually silent. I own three and have never had a problem with any of them.
Any floating line will work fine if you dress it with Umpqua Glide. Don’t spend a fortune on line you will only cast 30’. Also, with a 1wt you are not going to be heaving bass bugs, so a DT will work as well (maybe even better) than a WF.
another vote for the orvis bbs. i have a II on my 4wt. and love it. another option if you wanted a click/pawl is the bass pro classic ultralight i believe it is called. priced right at $99 and have heard a lot of good things about the reel.
As an update… I went with the Orvis BBSI. Due to a price descrepancy on their website, and the phenominal customer focus Orvis has, they honored the price.
so I will be receiving the Battenkill Barstock Reel I with an extra spool.
At this point… a second spool for a 1 weight kinda seems crazy. The options seems to be DT or WF… I guess I could try to go 1 up on weight on spool… or possibly 1 down…
does anyone else here have a 1 weight that they have 2 different types of lines on?
Great advice and thanks for helping me make my desicion.
