Economical Premium Reel Advice

[rawtrout]

I know the title sounds like a contradiction, but here it goes:
I just came back from a great day in the catskills where I had fish hammering my dries all day (thanks to a wonderful guide, since the day before on my own I had a few short strikes on a nymph and not much else).
Anyway, those fish included two photo-worthy "trophy" type fish (one brown and one rainbow). This is a big river with strong wild fish only so it was quite a battle.
I had what I thought was a good set-up, a sage vantage rod (an example of what I call "Economical Premium") and a ross flycast reel.
Long story short, the big brown fought like crazy (longest fish fight of my life ending with me falling out of the drift boat , losing my cigar but keeping the fish!). Any, this fish took my boat downstream about 60 yards and went pretty close to my backing and the reel was a disaster, the drag was jerky and the spool was wobbely. The big 'bow was only a little worse. Hence, it is time to pony up for a good reel, large arbor, 4 or 5 weight that will not break the brank (i.e. no insance ross or hatch reals that cost more than my first car.
Thanks as always for your advice.

 

[williamhj]

The three I'd suggest looking at are the Lamson Konic II, the Allen Trout II, or the Orvis Access (it's a mid-arbor). I have the first two - Konic for my 5wt and Allen for my 6wt. I have other Orvis reels and am happy with them, but haven't personally tried the Access.

ps Orvis and Allen are forum sponsors so if you like their products that's a good way to go. If you buy Orvis use this link that will credit the forum for getting you to their site. Justin from Allen Fly Fishing is active on the site and their webpage is pretty user friendly.

 

[MoscaPescador]

There are good trout reels at various price points. What are you willing to spend?

 

[littledavid123]

Orvis Battenkill with disc drag $100.00 - $150.00, just a perfect reel and underpriced in my opinion. Use the disc drag or palm with your hands, or set the drag light and palm if needed. I have more expensive reels, hardy, abel and others but this reel takes a real beating and continues to perform for me.

Dave

 

[mikel]

Orvis Battenkill with disc drag $100.00 - $150.00, just a perfect reel and underpriced in my opinion. Use the disc drag or palm with your hands, or set the drag light and palm if needed. I have more expensive reels, hardy, abel and others but this reel takes a real beating and continues to perform for me.

Dave

I have both BBSII and BBSIII and for the $$$ they're dandy. For a little less there's the popular Okuma reels, the SLV (large arbor) and even less expensive, the Sierra. As Mosca said...there are several depending on the price you're shooting for.

Good luck

 

[moucheur2003]

BBS is a nice reel but it's not a large arbor. On the other hand, you don't really need a large arbor for trout. I like standard arbor reels for trout because they are lighter and balance better in the lower line weights.

The Konic and Access reels are both nice, but I would call them mid-arbor rather than large-arbor. I haven't ever used an Allen bout a lot of people in this forum recommend them.

If you consider an Okuma, be aware that they have larger than standard reel feet that don't fit all reel seats.

 

[runningfish]

I have Allen reel Kraken 3 and Orvis Access IV which have smooth drag. You can also get the Lamson Guru at backcountry.com which are on sale right now. I just bought the 3.5 Guru for $178 last night. Go and check it out, they still have smaller sizes available.

 

[woodrivertroutbum]

I am a huge fan of Lamson as well although I don't like the colors of the new Konic. I also have a black Guru that will be here tomorrow from backcountry. I have dropped another Guru (3.5) on a jetty and it fell 6-8 feet and landed right on the edge of the spool on a rock. I thought for sure the spool wasn't going to turn after that do to the low clearance between the spool and reel. Never had an issue! It got a couple small gouges and scrapes but kept its shape and didn't dent at all.

I have some more expensive reels but if I buy a new setup that I need a reel for, I usually go with a Lamson and then MIGHT "upgrade" to another reel down the road. I usually just stick with the Lamsons.

 

[rawtrout]

How much am I willing to spend? That is a good question, I would stick with sub-200 is possible but I would be willing to spend enough that this doesn't happen again. My guide told me (and it sounds right) that with rods, you keep on by more and different types (if you want) but a good reel with a bunch of spools can last forever.

 

[Ard]

The guys have already offered many reel choices and I won't confuse the issue with more but...........

I'll bet when you fell outta the boat the guide about had a heart attack. It musta been exciting for both of you! Did you take a picture of the fish?

Ard

 

[rawtrout]

The guys have already offered many reel choices and I won't confuse the issue with more but...........

I'll bet when you fell outta the boat the guide about had a heart attack. It musta been exciting for both of you! Did you take a picture of the fish?

Ard

Waiting for the pics from the guide (he's a professional photographer too so he took the pics).
My guides exact words were "Oh man you lost your cigar" Thankfully it was cold, windy and raining so a little water down the waders wasn't too bad
The advice here was stellar,
I think I may hit the lamson guru that's on sale, but they skip from a 4wt model to a 6wt model, this may be a stupid question but which do i get
for a 5wt.

 

[williamhj]

I personally have the smaller on my 5wt but I might get the 6wt if I were to do it again. Just add a bit more backing. Really probably doesn't matter much either way.

 

[woodrivertroutbum]

The guru 1.5 is for 3-4wt and the guru 2 is for 5-6wt rods. I personally use the guru 2 (5-6wt) for my rods that are 4, 5 or 6wt. They are very light reels.

Edit* The guru 4 I ordered is for 10-11wt rods but will be used for 8, 9 and 10 wt rods for me.

 

[dean_mt]

I'm waiting for Sweet&Salt to show up here and lay waste to all you Lamson Konic fans! (He has a big issue with the width of the spool, if you haven't heard).

FWIW I do not own one, but am looking at the Hardy line-up of Ultralites. Just beautiful lines on a contemporary style reel. From the Click Check starting at $169 to the DD at $225, to me you can't get much better. And if you're interested in the idea of one reel and multiple spools, which is an excellent plan I think, you'd have to consider the Ultralite CLS which uses cassettes rather than spools. The reel starts at $260 but the cassettes are $13! One new spool for any of the other less expensive reels and you've already done over the CLS and a couple spare cassettes.

I'm not sure if these reels are still made in England or not. It's hard to believe they are for the prices. Either way, they are still highly reviewed.

I bought a used Ross CLA from someone here on the forum, but I just can't stand the color, so I'll probably sell it and get a new reel for my new 5wt. These Hardy's will be hard to pass up!

 

[littledavid123]

Rivertrout, I have a question of curiosity, there is no wrong answer. Wondering if you were already looking at the Lamson and the recommendation from a member helped confirm your decision, or perhaps the fact it is a good reel and is also on sale?

We have many new and not so new members ask this very question about reels or rods and have since become intrigued about what guides the decision making process.

Dave

 

[itchmesir]

Drag on the SLVs is pretty much buttery smooth imho... unless you get sand in them... but a simple rinse in the stream fixes that quickly... I've fought a couple trout on the reel with my SLV and it performed flawlessly... get yourself this reel at $50~ and save the other $100 for some primo line

 

[bmbailes]

Best reel for the money...by far!!....Allen reels!

 

[rawtrout]

Rivertrout, I have a question of curiosity, there is no wrong answer. Wondering if you were already looking at the Lamson and the recommendation from a member helped confirm your decision, or perhaps the fact it is a good reel and is also on sale?

We have many new and not so new members ask this very question about reels or rods and have since become intrigued about what guides the decision making process.

Dave

Lamson is one of the brands that was mentioned to me by guides and a name I've heard repeatedly in the past. The overwhelming support for them today seems to be pushing me in that direction.

 

[caseywise]

check out the allen trout II reels-
very nice reel for the coin
Trout II Reel Series - Allen Fly Fishing Store

 

[rawtrout]

check out the allen trout II reels-
very nice reel for the coin
Trout II Reel Series - Allen Fly Fishing Store

A few people mentioned them to me, they look nice but I haven't heard of them before outside of mentions on internet forums. For the price I am nervous especially since I can pick up a "name brand" lower-end model for the same price (Like a Konic or Access reel)....