Reel for St. croix 9' 9wt.

[pjv]

Hi all,

I'm new here, and have done some searching, but decided to post the question directly. I got ahold of a St. Croix Legend Elite 9' 9 wt. Other than that I have a little St. Croix 3 wt. for creek trout and panfish, and a L.L. Bean Quest 6 wt. that was my first and still gets used for smallmouth.

The impetus for the 9 wt. is muskie, although it may also get used for Lake Michigan salmon and/or carp. I'll certainly try it out, but I may over-line for larger muskie flies.

All that being said, I'd love some suggestions for a reel at or below the $200 mark that can handle the 9-10 wt line, and have a drag that could hold up to an occasional salmon run.

Thanks!

[Diver Dan]

Welcome to the forum.

Just out of curiousity, why do you think you need to overline for Musky flies? I toss Reynold's Pike flies a lot which are about as heavy as any fly you can imagine and don't need to overline for it.

Now for the reel part. If you are looking for cheap but good, you may want to look to the discount sources. Watch E Bay for deals. I got a brand spanking new Tibor a while back for half of retail. Just saw an Abel the same thing. Maybe look at Madison River fly shop's closeouts, Sierra Trading post.

[pjv]

Thanks Dan,

I'm not far enough into the process to think that I will or won't over-line. I'm just acknowledging that I may once I've had a chance to feel things out. Ive read recommendations for anywhere from 8 to 11 wt. lines for muskie flies. I also think that the legend elite is a pretty fast rod, so anything is possible.

Thanks for the tips on locating deals. I'll keep an eye out.

[caseywise]

good advice from dan. stp and mrfc are great places to get great gear on sale.
also check allen fly fishing, great gear,great price
Alpha II Reel - Closeout! - Allen Fly Fishing Store

casey

[pjv]

Here are some options I'm considering. Any input or experiences with specific reels or other suggestions would be appreciated.

1. G. loomis eastfork 9/10 listed here on this site ($145)
2. New Lamson Guru 3.5 ($175)
3. New Okuma Helios 8/9 ($155)
4. New SA System 2 LA ($79)

Also considering the okuma slv, or the Lamson konic, as die cast options, but I think I'd like to get into a machined reel.

Thanks for any input,

Pete

[pete a]

My own input is at this price point (less than $200) if your not using it heavily in saltwater then save the $$ and look at $100ish. Use the $100 difference on best line you can afford.

IMHO the $100-200 retail reel level is not worth the extra bucks over the budget reels. The really great reels start at $200+ (even here that's for the samller sizes in each reel model range).

Cabelas Prestige
Orvis Encounter
Okuma
USED Reels, the classifieds here have bargains popping up all the time.

All do a fine job for the tasks you discuss. None are all that corrosion resistant but in freshwater this isn't a huge issue. The fish you state all fight hard but don't burn out drags.

Pete A.

[pjv]

Thanks for the insight, Pete a.

It looks like cabelas has a sale on now for the prestige premier. If its a deal at $89, it may be a steal at $49. They also have the rls+ on sale.

That may make a whole lot of sense.

Other thoughts from the crowd?

Thanks,

Pete