what is the real (not speculated) purpose of the clicker on a fly reel?
what does it do except make noise?
is it really needed?
is it there just because its always been there?
i have reels that go from no click at all, 1 way click and 2 way click.
I had always assumed that it was to provide “drag” on the spool so that it doesn’t freespool when you strip out line…
I have a pflueger reel that has lost it’s clicker thing( doesn’t click when the lines pulled off the reel), but it works fine.
possible, but my bauer lm2 has absolutely no clicker. it was bought that way not modified in any way. my lanson has a 1 way click also bought that way and no modification.
i’m still puzzled 
I think (and I may be wrong), it’s just some gimmick to make your reel sound like a “traditional” (click & pawl) fly reel. I disabled mine on the disc drag reel I own.
There is no real reason for the reel clicker other than to give the experience a sound to go with the run of a bigger fish, and announce to all your river company, that you have a big one on. I think it’s a thrill thing as I do have to admit that I love to hear the sound of a “screaming reel” when a steelhead or big brown takes you for a big run. It can also be like a dinner bell to anyone in earshot…so that part is something to really consider when you are fishing crowded water with a noisy reel. Up here, loogans will crowd and fill in your spot faster than flies on dung when they hear that thing.
So…my suggestion to anyone fishing with others in earshot…if you don’t want to give your success and fishing spots away…disable the clicker. On old "Clack"and pawl reels…you can soften the sound a bit, but I’m not sure you can stop it completely.
I also like the sound of a good click pawl reel complaining about a hard running fish but I think it may have its purpose in letting the angler know just how fast line is leaving his reel. With many hot steelhead (and I would assume other hot fish) it is necessary to point the rod at the fish while it does its best to flame on the line coming off the reel making it hard to judge just how fast the fish is taking line by the amount of pressure on the rod. The sound of the clicker is a good way to judge the speed at which the line is leaving.
Let’s the sleeping fisherman know when the fish takes his worm!
-CC
O.K. folks we have been spoiled by the modern disc type drag systems. The older technology was the spring and pawl system. Before the invention of the disc drag a simple spring bounced an metal triangle called a pawl along the gear teeth on the reel. It does serve a practical purpose other than sound as it supplies some drag tension and some control of back lash while stripping line.
I highly recommend this fine article on the subject:
http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/gear/matthews_brakejobs.aspx
Hope this helps.
A couple of my reels have a “poacher” switch. It allows you to turn off the clicker when you don’t want the game warden to know your catching fish.
REE
And you would know that How???:rolleyes:
Larry —sagefisher—
uh…er…ummmmm…The reel salesman told me. Yup, thats my story and I’m sticking to it.
The click serves no purpose for me…but it does for others. I have not had the pleasure of long runs and fly line ripping off the reel. Sooooo…those that have I think love to hear the sound. For me…I like fishing my favorite steam in total silence and hate the sound of the clicker. Fortunately I have terrible ears and so the ones that do not click very loud I do not hear anyway. But every new or used reel I get I immediately take apart and clean, re-lube with my favorite lubricants, and take the clicker out.
Just fyi from my side of the pond.
I can’t think of any purpose that the clicker plays on reels with a disc drag. But I for one, do enjoy the sound with a big fish.
Necessary or not, a reel without a clicker is like a battery powered watch…
…if you can’t hold your watch to the ear of small child and watch their face light up as they hear the ticking…it ain’t got soul!
I feel the same way about reels. All of my fly reels have clicks of sorts, including many that don’t need them because of modern drags. I still use my old Garcia 300 & 408 with a sweet click-in that is sadly missing from my modern spinning reels.
As fly reels go; I like the Hardy’s the best with their loud pawl clicks. I often use the clicker and some overt stripping to subtly announce my presence when an interloper hops in the pool above me without glancing 10 yards downstream. Clickers also work in reverse and alert me to other anglers in a stretch so I can return the favor. I have on occasion twisted the truth a bit when my stripping was interpreted as a huge catch by a fisherman hidden from view in an adjacent pool. Try THAT scam with a silent reel!! 
I imagine my “clicking” may annoy some of those silent drag types, but if I can get under your skin, just a wee little bit for something as innocuous as that…
…maybe that’s why I also smoke cigars when I fish! 
I have to admit I find clickers a bit annoying when I encounter one of those fly fishers who feel compelled to manage their slack coils by CONSTANTLY spooling and stripping line on a trout stream where a 30 foot cast is huge. I guess they read that in an article on bonefishing someplace and figured it made sense everywhere. :rolleyes:
For me a clicker is less about need and more about that soft sweet sound that makes me think fishin’. It’s one of those things I want to preserve for posterity; like the long lost smell of the liquid fly floatant that came in an hourglass bottle. It may be considered substance abuse, but whenever I whiff that stuff, I just flash back to those days of clickers and carcinogens, when flyfishing was a lot simpler because I didn’t wonder or worry about such things.
The sound of an outgoing clicker can provide some information to a guide/captain about how a fish is running. This may help them assist the angler during the battle.
I have reels with retrieve clicker, outgoing clicker, and both. It doesn’t matter too much to me.