[Sahagan]

Here in this part of the country, flyfishermen are about as rare as leprosy. But every now and again, the bug will bite some guy, and he'll pony up for some pretty decent (I guess) equipment....only to put it in the yard sale, or the flea market in a few months.

So, the other day, at a local flea market, I stumbled upon an ORVIS Fly Reel in a rather old looking box, and snapped it up for 15 bucks. Here are the details. The reel is a Madison Model 8. It was loaded with a tapered, floating line, and backed with some mighty fine looking mono. The reel showed no signs of use, although I've been working mighty hard to put some signs of use on it.

Did I get beat? Or did I get a good deal? Decent deal? Bad deal?

Thanks for the help.

Sahagan

[GeorgeMcFly]

i am new to fly fishing and i am no pro but 15 bux for a fly reel sounds worth it to me. what do you got to lose? 15 bux? that won't break your pockets.

[wtex50]

I would say you got a good deal....you might want to replace the backing and line though..... depending on how old it is...it would probably be a good idea.

[Colorado Cajun]

I'm not familiar with that model but if you are happy with it and it is in good condition, I'd say you got a good deal.

[BigCliff]

The reel is defintely a good buy, but definitely replace the line and the backing with something besides mono.

[Sahagan]

Hey Cliff;

"....but definitely replace the line and the backing with something besides mono."

Well, the line is good tapered fly line, and I'm impressed with it. Shucks, it casts well enough to be forward weighted.

But as for the backing, what is there but mono? I've compared this mono to some 20 pound I have on another kind of reel (well, actually its my son's....I don't use anything but fly fishing equipment), and what I have here is even greater in diameter.

And by the way, THANKS! to all who've answered this question....

Sahagan

[tbrillinger223]

Originally Posted by Sahagan

Hey Cliff;

"....but definitely replace the line and the backing with something besides mono."

Well, the line is good tapered fly line, and I'm impressed with it. Shucks, it casts well enough to be forward weighted.

But as for the backing, what is there but mono? I've compared this mono to some 20 pound I have on another kind of reel (well, actually its my son's....I don't use anything but fly fishing equipment), and what I have here is even greater in diameter.

And by the way, THANKS! to all who've answered this question....

Sahagan

sahagan,

the reason cliff suggested replacing the fly line and the mono with backing is because changes in tempurature and long periods of storage effects your fly line, and the backing (usualy either dacron or the newer gel spun dacron) helps keep your line from becoming a slinky to say the least.

if the line appears to be in good shape you might not need to replace it, but would definitely replace the mono with proper backing. it will give you much longer life out of your fly line and make it easier to cast after long periods of storage.

as for the reel, like George McFly said $15.00 wont break the wallet.

hope this helps

[Sahagan]

Well then, I'll replace the backing, although the fly line itself was so clean, that I've plenty of doubt it was ever wet more than once or twice.

And, there's this pond....actually it's about 2 acres, and is only 4 years or so old. The owner feeds the fish daily, and since we're sort of kin, like second or third cousins, he recently started allowing me to fish it. There are no sunken trees, automobiles, stumps,woven wire fences or any other kind of 'structure' in the whole of the pond, since its more or less newly dug, so when you tie into a fish, the fish is all you've got to worry about.

So, there I am, pursuing my usual methods, that is, casting smaller poppers, looking to catch the inevitable set of bream; sunfish, shellcracker, bluegill, etc., when my popper is taken with a vengeance I've never before faced. Several minutes filled with deep and very strong runs (ten minutes before I ever saw the tippet), and swishing forays to the top, but never out of the water as a bass would do, and I beach a huge bluish colored catfish. The owner later confirmed the fish is a channel catfish hybrid of some sort.

My first catfish ever on a flyrod. I usually catch ten bream to one bass, and the bass seldom go over three pounds or so, and lots of them are smaller. This catfish outfought any bass I'd ever caught, and I thought "O boy, a fluke if ever I saw one" (excuse that whale of a pun there).

So I went back to fishing for bream. Now, after about 8 or 9 trips, I've yet to catch one. Apparently, the larger predatory fish are being fed sufficient, and are numerous enough, to keep the prey fish down to a minimum. But....I've yet to hit that pond without catching a catfish and sometimes two or three, the smallest one measuring 23 inches long, the largest better than 26 inches and probably going better than 4 pounds. I've also caught several 16 inch bass as well.

Anyhow, with these being the largest fish I've ever caught (almost each trip to the pond has yielded another 'record' for me), and more than one of them taking me into the backing, I'd say that so far it's been strong enough to do the trick. I don't anticipate, after 40 years of flyfishing, hanging anything much bigger than these catfish, which the line handles very well indeed.

But, having been a boy scout, and certainly sold on the 'be prepared' philosophy, I will be changing the backing. Shucks, I'm even thinking about trying out some bass sized poppers....

Thanks Folks!

Sahagan

[Jakeway]

The other thing about mono is that it should NEVER be used as backing. It has stretch, and when spooling it on the reel it will stretch when goin on and then retract. It keeps getting tighter and tighter as you put mor eline on. The pressure builds, and can actually warp the reel. Years ago my dad used to use old flyrods with just mono to fish for carp and suckers. The line, even though he didn't have a lot on the reel, did indeed warp at least one of the reels.

"Life's too short to drink cheap wine or use mono for flyline backing."

[Sahagan]

Thanks Jakeway;

So, what does one use in place of mono? And can it be bought without moving mountains?

Sahagan