[Frank Whiton]

Hi to all,

Interesting subject. I would hate to think that as a fly fisher I would be catching 12" trout for the rest of my life. I can understand a beginner who doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a reel. But, if I am buying a setup for trout I want to be able to catch all trout and not just the 12 inches. Surely sometime in my fishing career I will want to fish out West, Alaska, Canada or even South America. These places have big Trout and Steelhead. If I buy my equipment wisely I will be fishing with a tried and true rod and reel that I have used for years. I will have learned how to fight a fish from the reel and don't have to think about how I will get the fish on the reel to fight. If I have to buy a heavier outfit for Salmon or Saltwater I will know how to operate the reel and not jam a finger with my first big fish.

Fly fishing is a life long journey and using top notch equipment brings a lot of joy to the event. We do a lot more fishing than we do catching and I for one enjoy using a better made and operating reel. Many times while fishing I have thought to my self with a little smile, "What a great little reel this is"

The best advice I can give to any one buying a reel is this. Buy the best you can afford and enjoy it for the rest of your life.

Frank

[GRN]

Originally Posted by Frank Whiton

Buy the best you can afford and enjoy it for the rest of your life.

Frank

Great advice IMO...

[FrankB2]

Hi Frank,
My favorite "reel for the rest of my life" fell over the side of my canoe last
Summer. It was attached to my rod and line, and I considered getting a
scuba diver, as the water was 20 feet deep in that spot . Bummer....

I'd love to have another life-long reel, but my adequate reels will do until
the need arises for something "better". I don't mind the small trout we have
in SE Pennsylvania, and a 15" trout can be handled without being put on
the reel. I like the large arbors to bring all that stripped line in quickly before
landing a fish. I actually use a combo of stripping line in, and reeling it up.
If I do manage to find and hook a 24" brown, I'll get 'em on the reel !

[GeorgeMcFly]

[quote=FrankB2;23896]Hi Frank,
My favorite "reel for the rest of my life" fell over the side of my canoe last
Summer. It was attached to my rod and line, and I considered getting a
scuba diver, as the water was 20 feet deep in that spot . Bummer....QUOTE]


call me scuba steve, but I would of dove in after it haha. 20 feet is kinda deep tho dang.. too bad you can't free dive. rofl. as for cheaper reels these guys are right. cheaper reels will get the job done on most smaller fish but even being my cheap ol self like always I recently just splurged got a orvis battenkill for steelhead fishing. just incase I hook into a monster I wanna be able to post it on here for all to see. who knows I might still have the same reel 20 or so yeard down the road...

[dgd]

Originally Posted by FlyRichardFly

Fly fishing is my passion. I just spent $175 for my SLA reel and $100 for my SharkSkin line!

I don't need it, a $40 reel probably has a better drag, and the $40 line is all you really need, but I will spend money on what makes me happy.

The SLA is super light and has a "sexy" look! The SharkSkin is the latest and greatest line from Mastery, even better than the GPX!! So that's what I'll use.

You have to enjoy every minute of your life. It doesn't get much better than fishing.

No offense, but I am going to laugh my ass off when you get a 10 pound steely with that sharkskin and your fingers are BLEEDING and have cuts for days. If you want to cast the line and show off, buy a sharkskin. If you want to catch fish, you better have gloves or your fingers are going to be seriously messed up.

[dgd]

[quote=GeorgeMcFly;23905]

Originally Posted by FrankB2

Hi Frank,
My favorite "reel for the rest of my life" fell over the side of my canoe last
Summer. It was attached to my rod and line, and I considered getting a
scuba diver, as the water was 20 feet deep in that spot . Bummer....QUOTE]


call me scuba steve, but I would of dove in after it haha. 20 feet is kinda deep tho dang.. too bad you can't free dive. rofl. as for cheaper reels these guys are right. cheaper reels will get the job done on most smaller fish but even being my cheap ol self like always I recently just splurged got a orvis battenkill for steelhead fishing. just incase I hook into a monster I wanna be able to post it on here for all to see. who knows I might still have the same reel 20 or so yeard down the road...

Hey Georgey, when are you going to stop your mad obsession with spending and save some money for casting lessons? With all you spend you could easily cast the 70 feet to actually catch a steelhead! Equipment wont make you a better caster or fisherman!!

[FlyRichardFly]

Originally Posted by dgd

No offense, but I am going to laugh my ass off when you get a 10 pound steely with that sharkskin and your fingers are BLEEDING and have cuts for days. If you want to cast the line and show off, buy a sharkskin. If you want to catch fish, you better have gloves or your fingers are going to be seriously messed up.

LOL! thanks for the tip. But I do like to show off! That's the only reason I spent the bucks for the Sharkskin!

Maybe I could get a nice set of gloves with "Orvis" in big letters so everyone could see.

All kidding aside........ maybe I was a little harsh in my previous post, sorry, but I just won't buy the cheap tackle anymore! If I think something is better, and it will make my fishing experience better, then I'll spend a couple more bucks to get it.

Frank hit the nail on the head. Buy the best that you can afford and keep it for a long time. I spent more money upgrading from my "cheap" to "not so cheap" tackle! I think I finally learned something.

Fishing is about to start this year, and this year I want to use fly gear that I really want........ no more cheapo shortcuts for this guy.

Sharkskin is the latest line from Scientific Anglers. They make the ultimate IMHO, the Mastery GPX, which is used by most and regarded as the best WF Floating there is today. The Skin is just another step up for SA. It doesn't cut my fingers at all! LOL It has a micro groove to make it float higher and have less memory. Better for mending, better for casting. $35 more than GPX, but I liked it and so I bought it.

I'll post some pix of all the trout I catch. If my hands are bleeding, I'll be sure to keep them out of the picture.

Fish on anyway,
Rick

[axle27]

As a newbie, I'm in the same boat...but for different reasons. I've got a St. Croix 9ft, 2pc, 5wt and I'm researching reels to mate with it.

The things I consider are:

1- Budget - no more than $80
2- Warranty
3- Material (composite plastic vs. die-cast vs. machined aluminum)
4- Type of drag
5- Possible versitility of the reel in applications other than the one I want to use it in (trout in small to mid sized streams, no larger than 10lbs, estimated)
6- Advise from here and other places. Advise here is subjective, but only in the sense of what a particular individual has used. Most here are not salesman trying to get me to buy something. That being said, fly fishing can be broad in usage. Add in one's experience and casting ability (of which I have none at this point) and it's all taken with a grain or two of salt.

Although I've not looked at every manufacturer for the criteria I've set forth above, I have come down to a few choices. Like everything else, these may change, but this is what I've narrowed it down to:

1- Fly Logic FLP 567
2- Okuma SLV 5/6
3- Anglers Roost Enterprises #102
4- Okuma Airframe
5- Stone Creek Expedition/Voyager
6- Hobbs Creek Large Arbor

I know that any one of these could do the job, initially. If I've missed something in the way of reels, let me know.

[mojo]

You can get a cheap reel for trout, yes. Myself I like click pawls. Rim control. I also like the newer disc drag reels (Lamson Litespeeds) when I am lazy. A cheap reel with a disc drag does not have the good inital start up as a better reel does. What I mean by that is if you hook a fish and it takes off quick, without a good drag you'll pop your tippet. Guys with more expensive reels will verify that. Spend your money on a good rod, good line and a cheap reel for now. Check out those 101's Mcnair's been pushing. For $50 you can't loose. Then if you love the sport, you'll make the right desicion on your next reel.

[dgd]

Originally Posted by FlyRichardFly

LOL! thanks for the tip. But I do like to show off! That's the only reason I spent the bucks for the Sharkskin!

Maybe I could get a nice set of gloves with "Orvis" in big letters so everyone could see.

All kidding aside........ maybe I was a little harsh in my previous post, sorry, but I just won't buy the cheap tackle anymore! If I think something is better, and it will make my fishing experience better, then I'll spend a couple more bucks to get it.
Rick

Hi Rick, I both violently oppose what you say and totally agree. If you are fishing for resident trout under 20 inches a $89 orvis barstock reel is more than enough. Heck, a okuma sierra is more than enough. I have caught 20 inch spring run steelhead on a 4 weight rod with a basically no drag on a size 20 dry. But that was a spring run fish in a slow moving hole. Just upstream in the winter a 6 or 7 pound winter run steelhead broke my 7 weight spey on the take!!

I guess I am somewhat vocal on people THINKING they need to spend $400 on a trout reel. The hook and the line, their are tons of reasons to get the best. As far as line, shooting out of your guides to increase cast distance, ride high on the water, easily mend, the sharkskin actually has them all. I know, I have several sharkskins. They beat the competition in every area. The only problem is when you go out and cat 5-10 fish in the 12-20 inch range, or god forbid you catch salmon , your hands are going to need serious medical attention.

But this poster raises a good point, buying a sharkskin will increase your casting distance much more for $100 than using a $700 rod instead of a $250 rod. And it mends better, roll casts better, stays on top of the water better (doesnt sink). It just f***s the sh** out of your fingers. I did a search on this after my post and found this from singlebarbed:
I get 5% more distance, and 35% less fingertip - not a fair trade : Singlebarbed