Importance of reel for small trout

[drnihili]

It always happens. I get on a forum and hear everyone talking about gear, and suddenly I "need" things I'd never even heard of ....

Anyway, my son and I are fishing for small trout, mainly in ponds and streams. I've always considered that for small fish, the reel is nothing more than a place to store line, so aside from questions of balance, it really didn't matter. Am I wrong? Is there any advantage to a $75 reel over a $20 reel in these situations?

 

[mcnerney]

You are absolutely correct!

Larry

 

[simmons_j_m]

It always happens. I get on a forum and hear everyone talking about gear, and suddenly I "need" things I'd never even heard of ....

Anyway, my son and I are fishing for small trout, mainly in ponds and streams. I've always considered that for small fish, the reel is nothing more than a place to store line, so aside from questions of balance, it really didn't matter. Am I wrong? Is there any advantage to a $75 reel over a $20 reel in these situations?

While I didn't spend much on my reel... I did research the drag systems for those times you might hook into the 6-10 # fish... I caught a nice little 13" bow a few weeks back and my five wt just pulled it right in... with those small fish, it holds the line, but I don't know how I could strip in a 10# fighter...

Justin

 

[drnihili]

Well, the biggest fish any of us have caught in the last few years has been a shade over 3 pounds. We might get onto some bigger water this year, but that remains to be seen. Perhaps I should wait... On the other hand, those Allen reels look awfully tempting ...

 

[ab fisher]

Well, the biggest fish any of us have caught in the last few years has been a shade over 3 pounds. We might get onto some bigger water this year, but that remains to be seen. Perhaps I should wait... On the other hand, those Allen reels look awfully tempting ...

i have an allen & co XL and was fishing sunday on some small 14" fish and was able to set the drag light enought that i caould use a small line and not have it break if they decided to run. my favorite reel is my allen adn co real and i fish with a vosseller and redington reels as well but the X L comes out on top

 

[Rip Tide]

For small fish, the reel is just a line holder.

The only consideration is when fishing small streams, you are continually reeling in when you move from one pool to the next.
You don't need a high end reel with a fancy drag, but you do need a reel that will endure the constant reeling, then stripping off of the line.
The very cheapest of reels won't last, but you don't need to break the bank either.

 

[luked]

Ill put my .02 in as im still new take that for what its worth....when i got my new setup i asked all kinds of questions on rods and so on but never really hit on a reel much......when i went to the shop to buy the rod i picked the guys brain a bit on reels and asked the same question exactly...here is what he told me and what i ended up going with.....yes its really jsut a line store station for smaller fish but what happens when you hook into a big fish you have to have a good drag system as well.....then think if your going to want other lines...such as a sinking line, intermediate or something like that...then you have to buy a spool for each of those lines.....now most of the spools are about half the cost of the reel....so if you got a $100 reel...spool is gonna run ya about $50...now thats for every other line......put 3 lines in and you got some $$ tied up in a reel........well heres what i went with a Greys XRi...its a cassette type reel has a good drag large arbor and comes with 3 extra cassettes as well as a nice padded case....all for $100 it works perfect...takes jsut a few minutes to go from my floating line to my sinking line...takes longer to string the rod up than swap the cassettes out...and it has a great drag system......just my .02 worth might be worth a look

 

[drnihili]

Hmmm, well my son's reel has a drag on it. Mine just clicks. Of course I do have a birthday coming up ....

 

[Walter1023]

Your initial post was right on target. In any freshwater flyfish scenario....the actual rod and fly line are the MOST important.....the reel always comes in 3rd IMHO. For small trout...its even more applicable. By the way....I started Flyfishing on a $25 Pleugler Medalist 5/6 weight reel....and I still have it. Check out the smaller versions which are still around $25.....an unbelievably excellent product that will withstand the test of time.

 

[arfishinbear]

Ill put my .02 in as im still new take that for what its worth....when i got my new setup i asked all kinds of questions on rods and so on but never really hit on a reel much......when i went to the shop to buy the rod i picked the guys brain a bit on reels and asked the same question exactly...here is what he told me and what i ended up going with.....yes its really jsut a line store station for smaller fish but what happens when you hook into a big fish you have to have a good drag system as well.....then think if your going to want other lines...such as a sinking line, intermediate or something like that...then you have to buy a spool for each of those lines.....now most of the spools are about half the cost of the reel....so if you got a $100 reel...spool is gonna run ya about $50...now thats for every other line......put 3 lines in and you got some $$ tied up in a reel........well heres what i went with a Greys XRi...its a cassette type reel has a good drag large arbor and comes with 3 extra cassettes as well as a nice padded case....all for $100 it works perfect...takes jsut a few minutes to go from my floating line to my sinking line...takes longer to string the rod up than swap the cassettes out...and it has a great drag system......just my .02 worth might be worth a look

We carry Grey's in the shop, I sold a friend one like you bought and he loves it, I bought a G-Tech (200) and really like it. Very good products for the money. I have also read good reviews on them. Grey's is actually part of Hardy's now. grey use to work for Hardy, went off on his own and started makeing gear, then Hardy bought him out as a sister company.
For very small fish a reel is just a reel, BUT you NEVER know when that fish of a life time can hit or where he can come from, and the better quality of gear the nicer it is to use, I tell folks all the time to scrimp on a reel if they HAVE to, buy a good rod and line, then add a better reel down the road.
Bear

 

[luked]

We carry Grey's in the shop, I sold a friend one like you bought and he loves it, I bought a G-Tech (200) and really like it. Very good products for the money. I have also read good reviews on them. Grey's is actually part of Hardy's now. grey use to work for Hardy, went off on his own and started makeing gear, then Hardy bought him out as a sister company.
For very small fish a reel is just a reel, BUT you NEVER know when that fish of a life time can hit or where he can come from, and the better quality of gear the nicer it is to use, I tell folks all the time to scrimp on a reel if they HAVE to, buy a good rod and line, then add a better reel down the road.
Bear

so far i love mine havent got to use it a ton bud got to use it this weekend for the first time and i really like it

 

[drnihili]

Digging through the bag of reels I found a St. Croix CLA456. It's no Allen, but at least it's got an adjustable drag. Also a Berkeley 510, Martin Caddis Creek, and Shakespeare Beaulite. I had been using the Martin and letting my wife have dibs on the Croix, so perhaps I can still use the b-day ploy for an allen. In the meantime, does anyone know where I might get a spare spool for the CLA456? A quick google search didn't turn up anything.

 

[mhclayton]

I have a drawer full of expensive reels, but I put an old Medalist 1492 on the Steffen Bros. fiberglass rod I just built. I "pimped" it with a new reel foot from One Pfoot and also added a counterbalance (no, it didn't really need that), but somehow, it just looks right on the fiberglass rod. I think that for many of us, we get into a mindset where it is hard to match a modestly priced reel with a new, high-tech expensive graphite rod. The only time I have relied on my drag fishing for trout was while fishing for big Rainbows on big water in Alaska.

 

[Ard]

Hi,

Fly reels are kinda like a lot of other things. Let's take cars, I drove a 1987 Ford Bronco for many, many years while my neighbors all bought Jeep Grand Cherokee's. My vehicle, known as "The Thunderbolt Grease Slapper" to my fishing buddy and I got us every where we had to go. So what is the point? Those people who owned the Jeeps no doubt experienced a sense of pride in ownership but so did I. Your personal sense of pride in ownership is qualitative and indeed personal. In life (you can include fishing in there) getting from point 'A' to point 'B' is the goal, how you do it is a matter of personal preference.

Speaking as the one time owner of "The Thunderbolt Grease Slapper", I do not look down on anyones preference in fly reels. However when it came to reels I always wanted that Grand Cherokee, loaded!

Ard

 

[drnihili]

I definitely understand the car analogy, though I'm driving an '89 Chevy pickup with numerous dents by choice. I hate having to worry about dinging up the vehicle while looking for a good spot to hunt/fish/hike/camp/explore. There are definitely some things I'm a Grand Cherokee sort of guy about. But being of limited funds, I try to focus that on cases where there's actually some real difference to go along with the pride of ownership. I'm not always successful of course, but I try.

 

[Ard]

Hi,

I just put an old thread back on the board called "Reel Love" the fly reel thread, you will find everything from old Chevy pickups to Ferrari's there. Take a look from the top down, lots of reels of all sorts that our members posted to the thread.

Ard

 

[diverdown]

I recently picked up the Allen & Co 5/6 XL reel. I have been using it exclusively and so far it has performed beautifully (I have it matched with an 8.6 Orvis Clearwater II Rod). I like the reel so much, that the Orvis BBS III reel that came with the rod is destined for ebay.

~S

 

[laminarman]

Oy. Here's my response, two parts, from a longtime fly fisherman and bird hunter. First answer is no, it doesn't matter, it's a line store. Likely any decent reel will have a drag good enough, and yes, a slightly better drag will help in that RARE instance you might need it.

The second answer is not so easy. And that is a matter of aesthetics. I bird hunt with a beat to hell Citori 20 gauge over under and it has killed a lot (a LOT) of birds. It's a meat gun. I also hunt on those special days with a Belgium made Browning Superposed, with engraving...and it's not any more deadly than the Japanese made Citori, but carrying it gives a sense of pleasure than can't be described. Just as landing a ten inch trout on a Pfleuger on a pedestrian rod will be a nice experience, it gets elevated to another level when it's the same trout on a bamboo rod and Hardy Cascapedia 2/3/4 reel. It's a matter of your tastes, aesthetics, pleasures and so forth. No you don't need to spend a lot of money, you need to catch fish with your son. But if you choose to spend $750 on a fly reel, I sure won't judge you