What is your preference for a fly reel…for trout, bass and panfish?
Standard arbor, Mid arbor, or Large arbor?
The standard arbor takes too much backing in my opinion. The mid arbor I have holds just about all the backing you need and the line. The large arbors do the same but stay large arbor…but are wider. I “think” I would prefer the large arbor…but the mid arbor is pretty sweet. 100’ backing and fly line fills it right up.
Do you have any trouble with large arbors…like when taking in line keeping it even across that wide arbor?
What’s good? I already don’t like standard arbor…but what is the best?
I guess it depends on what you want. I, too, prefer not to use standard arbor, but only for aesthetic reasons. I’ve never been into my backing, so that isn’t an issue for me. I don’t fish salt, or huge fish, so drag isn’t a primary issue. The large arbors often tend to be wider, and I don’t like them as much if they are too wide.
I personally lean toward mid-arbors because I like how they look, and the skinnier large arbors for the same reason. The exception that I have to this is my 2 weight. I have a plastic standard reel on it, because it weighs less than any other reel I found.
That’s one of those “it depends” questions. For my lighter rods, 3 - 5 wt (and smaller), I have no objections and even a preference for standard arbor reels like the Battenkill Bar Stock. Sometimes on a 5 wt I’ll use a mid-arbor, especially with a line like the Rio Nymph line. On a 7 wt and above, when I know I’m targeting big fish where I might need to get into the backing, I’ll use a large arbor reel.
Can’t say that I see much of a need for large arbor reels on light rods but that’s the only absolute I tend to have when it comes to making reel choices.
There’s lots of GOOD reels in all configurations out there on the market. I hesitate to suggest one over another as being better or “best”. I like Orvis reels. I’m a big fan of the Bar Stock Series and the old Battenkill Large Arbors. But there are lots of good choices depending on your buget, personal likes and dislikes, etc.
Be prepared, I’m sure you’ll bet plenty of opinions on this subject.
Thanks for your help Ol’ Blue. I have a Battenkill LA II. I haven’t fished it yet…but it balances and seems perfect on my Sage 3wt. It will look good being brass or gold color. However I am not into the looks. I am a utilitairian sorta person. As long as it is a good fishing pole I don’t care what it looks like at all. Someone once told me he wouldn’t use a certain reel (I forget now)…but he wouldn’t use it on that there rod I had because it wouldn’t look good! But it was a perfect reel for that rod. I don’t care how they look.
But…I haven’t fished enough to know which arbor I really like. I have gotten into backing one time on the San Juan. But I have a std arbor Ross reel I got for bluegill. It holds 165 yards of backing and 30 more yards of line. It just bothers me. I don’t need almost 500’ of line to fish for bluegill. I think I want large arbors just to reel up line faster. Not necessairly for playing the fish at hand…although it would certainly help. I just want to reel up line faster and get the fly back out there. I have plenty of std and LA’s. Not too many Mid arbors. I will have to use them and find out.
Just wondered what you more experienced fly fishermen preferred.
I don’t pay any attention to arbors. What is important to me is the diameter and width of the reel (and backing capacity for saltwater).
The diameter and width of the reel determine speed of line pick up and the consistency of drag pressure as line comes off the reel. Contrary to some advertising, the arbor is irrelevant to the speed of line recovery.
I don’t find it difficult to wind line on evenly on wider reels. I have fished conventional saltwater reels without level wind mechanisms for decades. Winding line on evenly on a fly reel is easy compared to those reels, and with a little practice is second nature.
I like reels that pick up line quicker. So most of my panfish and trout reels are 3.25 to 3.5 inches in diameter
But I did say most, not all. I have a couple of reels that are less than 3 inches in diameter (Battenkill Disc 3/4 and Daiwa Lochmoor 100s) that I use on my 7ft 3wts.
For me, I think the ideal panfish reel is about 3.25 to 3.5 inches in diameter and holds a flyline. Not need for backing for panfish. Such a reel would be a large arbor, because if it wasn’t I would need to fill it with backing I don’t need. For trout, I’d want to be able to ad about 50 yards of backing.
What do I use most of the time. Ross Cimmaron 2, Ross Worldwide Flywater 2, Redington RS-2 5/6, and an Echo 4-6
The diameter and width of the reel determine speed of line pick up. Contrary to some advertising, the arbor is irrelevant to the speed of line recovery
I don’t quite understand this. Aren’t these two sentences contradictory? Or am I not understanding definition of “speed of line pickup” and “speed of line recovery.”
I prefer Large Arbors, the ones with the light designs. The LA reels help reduce line coils and, therefore, tangles, to me the biggest hassle of fishing.
I’m using the gel backing, though I’ve heard it can cut my fingers.
Backing is a non-issue for me, as even when I steelhead fished 100+ days per year, I might see it once a year.
However, I do like larger arbor reels since the line coils are not as tight. That is about the only thing I can think of that makes them any better or worse in my opinion.
I chose wide arbor reels a few years back as way to reduce line coils. I later found out that lines that tend to get “coily”, do so regardless of arbor size. I have a few Ross Evolutions with lines on them that drive me nuts. I also have a few Hardy Lightweights that are fine with different brand lines on them.
As a result, I choose my reels based on stupid stuff like price, weight and looks and leave the arbor worries to guys that see their backing or target fish worthy of concern.
I have an Able Super 11. This is a large arbor reel. The Abel 4N reel spool (standard arbor reel) fits this reel ( and the Super 11 spool fits the 4N). The dimensions of the reel are the same. Amount of line retrieved for one revolution of the spool, assuming the same amount of line is pulled off the reel. is the same for each reel. The size of the arbor does not affect the amount of line you pick up per revolution of the spool.
The rate at which line is picked up or retrieve, or let out per revolution is determined only by the distance between the axis of rotation of the spool and the point at which the line comes off the spool.
Another way to look at is would be to look at two wheels of the same diameter. One has a thin axle and the other a fat axle. If each wheel rotates one time, they both travel the same distance.
Arbor size has nothing to do with the size of line coils either. Again, it is the diameter of the reel. With the Super 11 and 4N example above, the line coils are the same from both reels. The fly line doesn’t come in contact with the arbor.
For two reels of same diameter but different arbor sizes to have the same line/backing capacity, the one with the larger arbor must have a wider spool.
If you are fishing for things that run off a lot of backing, then the reel with the wider spool has an advantage. With the wider spool, the depth of the line on the spool decreases slower compared to a narrower spool, so you retain a higher line retrieval rate longer. Also amount of pressure required to pull line of the reel does not increase as fast. And the wider spool will hold more backing. Again the arbor does not come into play.
Back to the original question - for most freshwater I buy reels that I think are well made, good values (I always like a good deal) and though it has little or no bearing on suitability for the job, are aesthetically pleasing to me.
