Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places, but I can’t find any reels that are specifically made for super-lightweight 1-wt. and 0-wt. fly rods.
The reel that I put on my 1-wt. rod, it’s a good reel but feels unnaturally heavy in my hand because there isn’t enough rod mass out front for proper counterbalance.
It seems strange that these superlight rods would be getting built and marketed to the fishing public without there being a number of “matching” reels manufactured to fit them. But again, maybe there actually are some #0 and #1 reels and I’m just not finding them.
Could someone please recommend a solution or two that I can investigate?
You might want to look at the Bass Pro Shop White River Classic Ultralight. I don’t know if it is small as you want (it’s 2 1/2 inches and 2.2 oz.), but I bought one last year for a 6’ 2-weight and it works fine. It’s not powerful by any stretch, but I don’t suppose you need or want one for a 0 or 1 weight anyway.
Joe
I would think a Pfleuger 1492 or an LLBean Quest might work. If you get too small of a reel then you might have the problem with your ling taking a set because the spool is smaller. I had a Fin Nor lite on my 3wt and sold it because of that reason. Another reel that comes to mind is an Orvis BBSII.
I have two of the Forbes Magnesium and love them. One on my Sage SLT 1 wt and the other on my Dan Craft 7 ft 2 wt. Great little reel that only weighs 2.2oz yet holds all the line and backing that you could ever need on a small light rod.
