Reel comparisons

Notices Things Wanted
1

Hi,
I’ve done some searching, but an looking for suggestions as to the best place(s) to get some reel comparisons. I’ll be looking for 3, 4 and maybe 9 weight line reels. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Mike

2

right here for a start. what do you want to compare? prices? drags? features? capacities? US vs Non US made?

rich

3

Thanks Rich. In order - drags, features, US vs non, capacities, price. Price is last because I figure I’ll get one and hopefully have it for the rest of my time!
Thanks for helping me order this Christmas list!!
Mike

4

You might check this thread out…not US made though…

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/showthread.php?39061-Allen-Reels&highlight=Allen+reels

5

Thanks I will check them over.
Mike

6

Ross Cimarron 1, Ross Cimarron 2, and Ross Evolution 3.5.
No comparison.

7

Lamson.
Velocity’s or Litespeed’s.
USA made in Idaho. Conical drag is the best I have ever used.
Large arbor, tough finish. Machined perfectly.
Worth their weight in gold.

8

I’ve been looking - is the Cimarron still made? Can’t seem to find it.
Mike

9

Mike-
No, Ross discontinued their Cims and Gunnisons a few years ago. Also replaced their Evolution with an Ev LT. You can still find them new or nearly so on EBay and other places. Since Ross announced it had been “acquired” by 3M, the prices have gone up, but you can still get a mint Cim for about $125. Here’s one place to look: http://www.tradenstuff.com/

The Gunnison actually has a bigger drag, but they run 2X in price and I didn’t figure you needed a really strong drag on a 3 or 4 weight. I have several of both, and actually like my Cims as well as I do my Gunnisons for trout and light saltwater.

Someone above mentioned Lamson, and I like their Velocities too (in 5-8 wts; don’t have any of their smaller reels). But you can’t immerse their bare spools in water to rinse them, and when their reels go bad (which is how I found out you couldn’t immerse their spool, BTW), it costs you $20 plus shipping to have Lamson fix them. Ross is 100% free, first owner or tenth, no questions, 3-day turnaround max.

10

In 3-4wts there is no need for a disc drag, although there seems to be far more options available than click and paw designs these days. After buying and selling 100’s of reels over the years, the features I find most important in a small trout reel are, spool diameter and and palming rim. Little 2-2.5 in diameter reels make me crazy. I feel like a rat running on it’s exercise wheel when reeling them in, thus if I had the option between an Abel TR1 or an Abel Creek 1 I far prefer the Creek. Most Hardy trout reels do not have a palming rim spool. I never understood the infatuation. In inexpensive small reels I like the old Orvis Madison II as much as any. Surface doesn’t chip easily and it has a large palming rim which is all you really need for most freshwater fishing. Regarding rod and reel balance, some suggest that you should look for the lightest reel possible that has the capacity needed for the line you are spooling on it. I agree. The SAGE large arbor reels are among the lightest small reels available. They are outstanding reels. Personally I have never been impressed with most Ross or Lamson reels, with the exception of the old LP and LP light series from the 90’s. My very first experience with the conical drag(way overkill for a 4wt rod) was a stuck spool. Most likely a fluke. Not a good first impression.

In 9wt reels there is much more to pay attention to, especially if you are fishing in the salt. PARTS!!! While Abel, Islander, Tibor all make absolutely beautiful reels, one must be very careful when removing spools etc due to all of the tiny little parts. For instance, lets say you are night fishing in the surf and the line gets tangled up to the point where you need to remove the spool, or you want to switch from your floating line spool to you intermediate line. With the aforementioned reels the very first thing you need to do is remove this tiny little, easy to drop screw. Thus if you are a clutz you are screwed. Also, these reels with many parts have many places for salt to gather and seize up the reel. They need to be torn down and rinsed carefully after each use, thus if you are not a regular maintenance type person stay away. Tibor designed a quick release option in recent years, but they cost huge. After fishing everything, my saltwater collection consists exclusively of older Orvis Odysseys. They have all of the pain in the butt tiny parts, but they are every bit as good as anything being built today and I got three of them for the price of one Tibor.

my 2 cents.

rich

11

I have the XL reel, and love it. I also have the Alpha, I won it. It is so sweet, I mean it is the best reel I have. I bought a line for it that was on clearance(Rio Bass), but have not tried the reel out yet. It is light, the drag is very nice. I still need to get some new furled leaders in that size. I think if you try the Alpha, you will be happy. I made a notation on the link, he is coming out with rods, and his fly lines are supposed to be good too, and they are very reasonably priced. I guess as people buy them, like them, the price will go up a bit, but I do hear good things about that. I think the reels are made in Korea, but I was very very impressed with the quality.