I will be fishing for salmon in Alaska this fall. We will be fishing almost exclusively salt water. I am looking for reel recommendations – something that will do the job, handle the salt, and not break the bank. For those of you who fish east coast coastal srippers, etc. what would you all recommend.
$300 to 400 is OK but I don’t want to spend more than that if I can help it.
One fly shop suggested I think about more high end reels especially if I will be fishing bone fish, tarpon, etc – which I want to do someday but it isn’t in my immediate future.
To get a real good salty reel that is going to hold up and last you a life time it is going to take more money than you have budgeted. I see the cheaper stuff getting smoked around here in CT every year.
Good luck on the reel search and have a great trip.
Nautilus is the only way to go. Totally sealed cork/carbon drag and they are bullet proof. The CCF 8wt is about 400 bucks and a great reel for any amount of money. Also, the FW 7+ reel is a cool lightweight 8wt for under 300. The CCF is way “beefier” in terms of construction and drag.
Plenty of folks doing an awful lot of saltwater fly fishing without spending $400 on a reel. If you are able to spend that much, then by all means do it. However, don’t prevent yourself from fishing if you don’t have that kind of dinero to spend. Take care of your gear, keep it clean and lubricated, know how to be your own drag, and you’ll be just fine. I’ll probably never be able to afford a reel that costs that much, and I have not let anything prevent me from catching saltwater fish.
I’ve been using the SA System ll reels for close to 20 years and have 3
The last one I bought I found on sale for $109, two years ago
… a bit less than $400 and never been “smoked”