Hello everyone.
I’m going to buy a Ross Evolution reel to go on a 5wt. 9ft Sage XP rod. According to the specs, I could go with the 1.5 (3-5 wt.) or the 2 (4-6 wt.). Is there any advantage of going with one over the other? The 2 only weighs 1/10th of an oz. more than the 1.5, so weight should be a non issue. Thanks in advance for the replies.
-agdchi
The 2 will hold more backing which may, or may not matter to you. The extra backing on the 2 will add a little more weight but again, that may or may not matter to you.
Joe
There would be no advantage in going with the smaller reel and only advantages with the larger one.
I’m a newbee here, but have you considered going with a Galvan OB? I have the OB3 for my 5wt XP and love it.
JD
Have the #2 Evolution on my 9’ 5wt XP. Works great! I seriously doubt that anyone could tell the difference in weight between the 1.5 and the 2 with it spooled up and mounted on the rod.
I have a size 2 evolution on my B2x with a cigar grip, a size 3.5 on my 8wt B2x with a full wells grip and a 3.0 on my TCR with a full wells grip. IMO backing capacity aside doesn’t matter on a 5 wt but the 1.5 would look to small.
you know agdchi…I have a couple reels that are the smaller size, more traditional reels that fit my 3wt rods and then a couple of (yeah, I’m a gadget junkie) the newer ultra-lightweight large arbor reels for the same rods.
I like the looks of the “traditional” sized smaller reels (smaller width spools etc) but I really prefer the line take-up and less coiling characteristics of those newer styles.
So really, it’s a personal choice. My prefs. for what it’s worth would be to go with less coiling afield! So that would translate into the larger of the two reels in your case.
Jeremy.
The #2 Ev is ideal for a 5 wt outfit. Even a 4, in my experience. The 1.5 is better suited to a 3 wt and the #3 to a 6-7 wt. The smaller reel would seem like it took forever to retrieve the slack once a fish took off.
Reels are like pickups - ALWAYS go with the highest capacity you can use comfortably. You never know when you’ll need it.
Idlerick