[Kentucky Boy]

well i got in to fly fishing last year and i need a new reel. i already have a realy nice rod its a cortland its my dads and he give it to me he also has a realy nice cortland rod and reel combo. ive fly fished before but it was with a crappy eagle claw combo. so now that i go a nice rod i figured i'd get me a nice reel. i'll be using it in the river mostly and some times on the lake. it'll be for smallies, large mouth, blue gills, and some trout. so i need to know a good fairly cheap fly reel right now i'm lookin at the G.Loomis Venture reel what do you guys think?

[Frank Whiton]

Originally Posted by Kentucky Boy

well i got in to fly fishing last year and i need a new reel. i already have a realy nice rod its a cortland its my dads and he give it to me he also has a realy nice cortland rod and reel combo. ive fly fished before but it was with a crappy eagle claw combo. so now that i go a nice rod i figured i'd get me a nice reel. i'll be using it in the river mostly and some times on the lake. it'll be for smallies, large mouth, blue gills, and some trout. so i need to know a good fairly cheap fly reel right now i'm lookin at the G.Loomis Venture reel what do you guys think?

Hi Kentucky Boy, the Venture is OK for the money. You are looking at a $100 reel and there might be a better choice. I would look at the Orvis Battenkill for $99. The Venture is a cast/machined reel and the Battenkill is machined from bar stock. To my mind the Battenkill is a better buy. If you wanted to spend another $20 you could get the Battenkill Mid Arbor for $119.---------Frank

[wtex50]

I'm with Frank on this one.... I have two Battenkills...the machined ones....and in my opinion it is the best $100 reel you can buy....

[Jakeway]

Battenkill is nice for the money. For what you want to fish for, though, I'd check out the Okuma SLV. It's lightweight, large arbor design (handy for bass reels) and has a very good drag. You can find them on line for under $50. I sold my Battenkill and bought two SLVs and still had money left over from the sale. I not only didn't regret it, I'm contemplating buying a third one. The one in the pic below is the second largest size; I use it for 6-8 weight lines. They make them in two smaller sizes as well.

[Kentucky Boy]

Originally Posted by Frank Whiton

Hi Kentucky Boy, the Venture is OK for the money. You are looking at a $100 reel and there might be a better choice. I would look at the Orvis Battenkill for $99. The Venture is a cast/machined reel and the Battenkill is machined from bar stock. To my mind the Battenkill is a better buy. If you wanted to spend another $20 you could get the Battenkill Mid Arbor for $119.---------Frank

well i'm a total rookie and dont realy know much about fly fishin so would you mind explainin what cast/machine and machined from bar stock mean.....and i got about 130 bucks to spend on a reel. Thanks.

[BigCliff]

To clarify, the original and cheapest Battenkill is simply cast from aluminum, with no machining involved. The "Battenkill Bar Stock" is the one that is machined from bar stock.------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A "cast and machined" reel is made from metal that is poured into a mold that is roughly the same shape as the final product, and then machining is used to create the final product. Reels made this way will have tighter tolerances (spaces between moving parts) than reels that are simply cast, but not as precise as reels that are machined from bar stock.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A "machined from bar stock" reel starts out as a cylinder of solid aluminum roughly the same diameter as the finished reel. The reel is created by cutting metal out to make it into the final shape. Reels made this way are higher quality because the metal that the reel is made from is more pure, and the process that makes the final product is more precise. Because cutting the reel from bar stock creates more waste, and because of the equipment and time involved in manufacturing reels this way, these reels cost more.

[Kentucky Boy]

Thanks cliff that helped clear things up. Well i've decided to get the battenkill bar stock. Iv'e read about a million reviews and not heard a bad thing about it. So i have one more question should i get reel II or III........II if for line weight 2-5, and III is for wieghts 4-7. is there that much difference in 5 and 6?

[Frank Whiton]

Originally Posted by Kentucky Boy

Thanks cliff that helped clear things up. Well i've decided to get the battenkill bar stock. Iv'e read about a million reviews and not heard a bad thing about it. So i have one more question should i get reel II or III........II if for line weight 2-5, and III is for wieghts 4-7. is there that much difference in 5 and 6?

Hi Kentucky Boy, have I got a deal for you. I just got my sale flier from Bass Pro Shop in Orlando. They are selling the Orvis Battenkill Mid Arbor fly reel for $89.88. That is a great deal. You should check with your closest Bass Pro Shop and see if they will sell you one for the same price. This is a Bar Stock reel with a Mid-Arbor. I think you will really like it for this price. Normal price is $119 to $129 according to what size you get. What weight rod do you have? That will determine what line to use and what size reel you need.-----Frank

[wtex50]

The difference between the II and the III is the III weighs a bit more and is a bit larger in diameter. Which one for you depends on what you are going to use it for, and the weight of the rod......You want a balanced outfit....the reel shoud not be significantly heavier that the rod..if it is the outfit is not balanced and you will get fatigued quicker when you fish. I like my outfits balance point to be no more than an inch in front of the grip. The other consideration is you can put more backing on a III...especially if you are using a 5 wt line. The III, IMHO, is a better all around choice for most fishing

[Jakeway]

I like to tend toward the larger size reels, especially if you'll be doing any bass fishing. If you hook into a 5 or 6 pound bass, you'll want to fight him "on the reel", meaning reeling in the line directly, rather than pulling it in with your free hand. (Stripping it in, pinching it against the rod with a finger of your rod hand, then stripping in som emore line. That works fine for smaller fish, and is actually quite fun.) When fighting a fish on the reel, if it makes a run towards you, you'll have to crank like mad with a small reel, since the spool turns only once per turn of the handle, and small reels don't pull in much line per turn. A size II Battenkill mid arbor, with the correct amount of backing behind the fly line, will do fine.Also, the smaller reels will make more coils in your line. Not an issue with a good quality line, but might be with a cheap line or in cold temps.Take the money you save on the reel deal mentioned above, and get a really nice line like the Cortland 555 Dyna Tip or others in that price range. Lots of good line reviews on this site.