Reel Love; the Fly Reel Picture Thread

[Ard]

Every now and then you catch yourself looking lovingly at your fly reel don't you? Come on, it's OK to tell, part of the lore of fly fishing is the tackle. The love of fine tackle is what keeps magazines on the shelves and many a company in business.

I have been watching the favorite reel brand thread since it started and noticed some members posted photos of their favorites. So hey why not a thread where that is what you do?

Please just one brand reel per post and feel free to describe what it is that makes you love that particular reel or brand of reel. Yes it is OK to love your reel.

For my opener; A Hardy Viscount LA Disc 3.75" X 1" spool for lines 7/8. A smooth strong drag that has handled more AK. Salmon than any other reel I own and a large arbor to aid in fast retrieve when they come strait in.

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You're next............................

 

[Jackster]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

but coming out of the metalworking field, I loves my hardware and good engineering and design!

Charlton!

Ross 'R', the beast that started Ross on their road to reel glory:

Ross Vision:

Limited Edition Ross Evo:

Hardy made Orvis CFO 123... sweet!

Limited Edition Bauer LOHR:

Two I'll never own but think are cool:

 

[jpbfly]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

Here's one of my Cordel reels.It's the best automatic reel ever made,all the pros of an automatic without the cons.Mr Cordel made all the parts and built all his reels alone.Great job:thmbup:

 

[Rip Tide]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

I like Medalists
Got my first one around 45 years ago and they're still the reels I use the most to this day
Not fancy, just reliable

 

[MoscaPescador]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

I use a 5 weight rod most of the year. This reel by far is my favorite.

Abel Creek 2 Large Arbor

I also have one in pewter for my 4 weight ZXL.

MP

 

[Ard]

My Old Favorite

This is the first Hardy I ever owned, circa 1978 although I take great pride in not beating my reels up this one has traveled and fished more than any other I own. Before I became jaded or able to afford to own a bunch of reels this was my prize possession. I used it on a 7'9" Far & Fine 5wt. and with that outfit caught everything from Atlantic salmon to Pacific silver salmon and every kind of trout I could find in between the two.

The Featherweight;

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[jpbfly]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

Funny Ard ,I got the same reel and case it was a Pezon& Michel but made by Hardy they had only changed the name on the reel.I sold it for a few bucks years ago because I gave up using manual reels in moving waters...I was stupid for now it's a collector

 

[Ard]

The Martin MG-3

I inherited this and a nice 4wt rod from my old pal Charlie Spangler who passed away September 21 1992. He and I were friends.

Martin MG-3

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These are a nice little reel with the frame at 3" X 1", they make a fine light weight reel for a 3-4-5wt rig. Charlie was only 45 when he died, so don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today!

 

[Ard]

An Orvis Odyssey IV

I have two of these, a number three and a four. I'm going to try to pick up a number one or two for lighter rods. This one has two spools and I use it on two different rods. It is big and heavy with a drag that will slow down whatever you hook.

The frame measures 4" X 2" width and I think they weigh about 13oz. This one has 275 yards of 36lb saltwater micron behind the 9wt DT line.

Odyssey IV;

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[Rip Tide]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

I like fishing my vintage gear and these two old reels see some regular use
They wouldn't get a second look from most folks, but I think they're special because they originally belonged to my grandfather and they were both locally made

The black one is a Bristol 65, made by the Horton Mfg Co. of Bristol CT. Makers of the famous Bristol steel fly rods.

The aluminum reel has no markings but I've learned it was made by a machine shop in Bridgeport. When new it was etched and polished. It has a single spring and pawl.

 

[Ard]

Cortland LTD Graphite #60

Here's one that I don't see many of, I use this on a 6'3" 5wt that is my spring steelhead outfit. You read that right; the creek I catch the largest trout in is not big enough to be swinging a 9 or 13' rod around in so I have adapted to the conditions that prevail.

The reel was made in England, hum, suspicious, the drag is strong and has handled fish up to 26" that take off for the sea when hooked. They also offer an exposed rim if you need it.


LTD Graphite #60;

 

[Jackster]

Re: My Old Favorite

The Featherweight

Hardyreels... I see you have one screw holding the line guard, mine has two. Is there a good way to find the date mine was manufactured?

 

[Ard]

Re: My Old Favorite

Pw to you on this

 

[Ard]

Orvis CFO reels;

I have owned three of these and I believe that for a classic pawl drag reel they are state of the art at a reasonable cost.

My CFO IV trout reel;

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This is a 1987 double pawl drag reel that has been maintained to mint condition. I had learned my lesson about scuffing up reels by 87'.

---------- Post added at 01:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 PM ----------

I never wanted to be one of those guys who hollers "Fish ON, or Coming Down" every time I hook a salmon. I like to stand my ground and turn a fish bringing it to shore at every reasonable opportunity. Only in the case of the largest fish will I follow a running salmon more than five or ten yards along the beach. The secret to landing fish and not allowing them to run you down the river is a simple two prong attack. #1 use a heavy leader, (you're not casting to a stocked trout here) and #2 use reels with a smooth control range over a powerful drag. My Odyssey reels are good, really good but this is the 'Control Freak'.

The Cascapedia 8/9 Salmon Reel;

Of all the hardware I've used to hook and land a big fish, this reel is the best I've ever owned.

 

[Ard]

Lamson Velocity 3.5

This is the most modern looking and designed reel I own. I use it with a 9' 7wt. trout / light salmon rig. I like both the appearance and the performance of these reels.

Velocity 3.5;

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PS. I sold both the rod & reel after using them only a couple times. I'll leave the pic because it's a neat reel. I have 2 of the Hardy Viscount LA 7/8 reels and several other 7 weights so I sold this set and bought some other stuff

 

[webrx]

Re: Lamson Velocity 3.5

The first reel I ever purchased says shakespeare omni 44 on it, but it looks identical to a 1494 series medalist. I bought a fiberglass 6 weight rod, I have to look to remember the brand, but it was cheap. Funny, I put some rods up on the wall, and my first rod and reel went up yesterday. I had put the reel on an old bamboo I just cleaned up, but now want to swap it back to the original, since it was my first combo. I almost bought a new medalist Saturday to put up on the wall with these old rods, but decided to just find one in a garage sale since it is never going to be used. The old Omni (medalist) still works like new. Maybe I should pull it off the wall and use it again it has a little plastic knob on the back right side of the reel (left hand retrieve) to adjust drag, and this still works too.

D

 

[Ard]

Re: Lamson Velocity 3.5

Dave,

I no longer have my first, second, or third fly reels. First was a black skeletal type who's maker I don't remember. Second came a South Bend 1147 or 1200 finalist. These were the big burgundy ones that sorta looked like a Pflueger Medalist, circa 1967. The third was an Olympic that I lent to a fellow in the late seventies and never got it back. I have no idea what became of the first two. I keep thinking on buying copies on eBay but have pretty well left go of that Idea. I do still have my Ike Walton 6' 8" solid glass rod, no there's a regular stick for ya.

Ard

 

[FrankB2]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

Funny you should mention Olympic reels, Ard. Here's the first fly reel I owned,
bought 30+ years ago....

I used that reel until about 9 years ago, when a shop owner told me it was
"out-dated".

I still use it on occasion, but on cane rods. It's 100% in terms of condition,
and the chrome is perfect. I paid around $15 new.

---------- Post added at 12:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 PM ----------

After being told my Olympic was outdated (like the fish had been updated ), I began buying "better" reels. Of all that I owned, I like the
Ross Rhythm and Evolution best. Why? I can set the drag and it stays there;
they really are maintenance-free; I don't have to think about my reel while
fishing.

 

[webrx]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

Funny how many old reels look similar to Pflueger Reels - that olympic for example I wonder if they were just knock offs or if they were made by Pflueger for the company.

I was just looking around on the net (re my old shakespeare reel) and found out that in 1966 shakespeare bought Pflueger, not surprising that my old shakespeare omni 44 reel looks like a medalist now is it.

Funny what you can find out in a few minutes on the web

d

 

[FrankB2]

Re: Reel Love, the fly reel thread

My Olympic was made in Japan. I don't know when Pflueger stopped making
reels in Ohio, so......??? The Olympic has an overall diameter of 3.5", and a
spool diameter of 3". Weight is about 5oz.

P.S. I tried to post the Olympic and Ross reels in separate posts, but the
site made the second post an edit.