Trouble with Reels

[spencerhicks]

Hey everyone, just playing around on the drafting board during the cold months here and I'm wondering what problems you guys have found with reels you've owned, or what you would like to see in a reel. I've tied enough flies for my spring fishing so I'm just exploring different things now.
Thanks

 

[Rip Tide]

I'm not going to hotlink, but you may want the checkout the reelsmithingforum (dot com)

Here's a picture of the reel my fishing partner made that was included in the book The Reelsmith's Primer
It's a nice accompaniment to his homemade cane rods.... he made the case too.

 

[Ard]

Hi,

I don;t hear about or have a lot of trouble with the reels I own. What I have seen more of than anything are the cages of reels getting scuffed up. Having a really deep anodizing process or making the reels in Spitfire finish like the one Paul has pictured above seem to be the two best ways to keep reels looking good.

As for drag or spring & pawl systems I would say that the less articulated the mechanism the better the service they seem to give. If you were to manufacture a reel that could be corrupted by sand and water etc you will have problems because many people (I'm not one of them) often submerge their reels or lay them in the sandy soil at the shore while dealing with a fish. For this reason a sealed drag system seems a wise choice for todays fishermen.

Ard

 

[Rip Tide]

The reel in the picture is actually made from a brass door kick plate from the homestore