[ffffg]

i know ive been beatting you guys to death about this and youve all been great answering all my dumb questions.. but did you know youv already saved me over 500 dollars from makeing mistakes and buying equipment that I dont need. keep up th good work.!!!! each person has his/her own needs and some of us dont need expensive equipment, but i want good equipment.. so on to the evolution series.. i can get a 3 or 3 1/2. the three seems to hold plenty of backing even 35 lb dacron for an alaska trip.the brochure says 175 pounds 20 lb test with number 6 when im going to use number 7 weight. the 3 1/2 holds 200 yards withnumber 7 line.. and is an 1/8 inch larger and weighs 1/4 ounce more... i guess the bottom line is can i put a number three on a #8 or #9 pole and take it to alaska? for a backup i can take the old workhorse a number 10 scientific angler from the early 70s.. its a paul drag but iv used it for quite a few steel head in seattle area and it works fine.. so back to the three and three 1/2.. the weight is hardly any differeence, and alaska would be a one week deal in a lifetime.. i really cant see why i should get the larger of the two unless you guys have some reason why i should get the 3 1/2..... ok enough rambling.. dave.

[BigCliff]

The reason is weight. That 3.5 may not even be heavy enough to balance your 8 or 9wt rod, but I can say for sure the #3 won't be. Having less total weight might seem like it would make it easier to use, but putting a light reel on a heavy rod will move the balance point forward and therefore greatly increase the "swing weight". I realize that it doesn't seem like a reduction in total weight would cause an increase in swing weight, but this is exactly what would happen.

So I would go with the 3.5 model if you're going to put it on a 8 or 9 weight rod. I would also put 20 lb backing on there if you're getting the Evo 3.5. The better suggestion would be to get a Ross Canyon Big Game #4. That reel has a drag that is more ideal for hard pulling big fish and also has more room for backing. I think its also the best sounding reel out there, but that's just me.

[cuttbow]

Hi
I think the Evo would be a great choice in 3.5 if you have a rod to match it just check the weight of the rod and the weight of the reel. they should be similar and on a side note the Evo and the canyon big game have the same drag system so with a light rod like sage xp or slt use the evo, or a heavy rod like ... use the canyon big game

[BigCliff]

Just to clarify, the Evolution has a similar drag system to the Canyon big game, but not the same. I think Ross's engineers realized they had a great system in the Canyon drag and figured out how to scale it down into something that would work in a smaller reel. There is no way the canyon drag system would fit in a 5wt reel. It has much more surface area and would dissipate heat better for long runs and big fish.

[cuttbow]

Cliff
I think we might be confusing the gentleman here, so as a person who owns all three reels we are talking about (evolution,canyon,and canyon big game,)perhaps I should clarify my statement further. You are correct about the size of the drag plate between the Big Game and the Evo but the system is the same. The big game has the same drag system as the original canyon reel but beefed up to take sailfish,tarpon, and marlin and the Evo has the same system as the original canyon reel but in a lighter stronger package designed for the light high modulus graphite rods on the market today.All three reels are IMHO the top of the line and a person cannot go wrong with any of these

[BigCliff]

Point taken, and I apologize. I also must compliment your fine taste in reels.

[ffffg]

ive gotten the ross evolution 3.5 and it is very nice.. exceptional in fact.. it is silent and i wasnt too excited about that until i noticed that other fishermen didnt even know i had a fish on... so when ive cought several fish they dont run over and get into my act as much.. so i guess its a pluss.. the drag adjustment is very exact with its mini clicks to adjust it...im setting it very light now for when i first start fighting the spawners.. ive noticed that i dont loose as many if i let them have all the line they want at first.. these are big fish and they dont take the leach well for some reason.. the longer they are on the better they get hooked.. the evolution alows me to set a light but dependable drag.. dave