question regarding reels...

[trout breath]

May sound like a silly question but I'm looking to get a new reel and loud, clicky reels rub me the wrong way. Can anyone provide any insight as to how the ross rhythm or lamson velocity fare as noisemakers?

much appreciated...

 

[philthy]

Hi Troutbreath,

I have a Lamson Velocity and it "clicks" a little in both directions. Not too bad, mind you, but I think it's quieter than my Ross Cimmaron LA. I like the Velocity so much, I have a #1 due any day for my latest 3 wt. Haven't looked at the Rhythm as I'm trying to cut back Both reels have served me well and I especially like the sound of the Lamson when a fish is on. Sweet music. My Lamson Lightspeed is quieter than both, but they'll put you in the poor house in a hurry. My suggestion is to check them out in person if you get the chance and see if they're tolerable. Both are great reels. Good luck!

Phil

 

[BigCliff]

I'm pretty sure i recall that the only noise made by both the Lamson Velocity and Lightspeed is by a little flexible plastic tab that contacts a serrated surface on the cap that seals off the internal drag. I'm pretty sure it can be removed (clipped), making the reel totally silent and not even slightly affecting the function of the reel.

I may be thinking of another reel, or maybe it just applies to the lightspeed, or maybe another one altogether.

But to begin with, I would say these two reels are gonna be some of the quietest out there. And if you think the lightspeed's are pricey, check out the Waterworks ULA's. They'z sooooooo pretty though.

 

[trout breath]

Phil/BigCliff

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated...

 

[ezamora]

check out the galvan OB series of reels. soft muffled click one way, silent the other... GREAT reel.

eric
fresno, ca.

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi trout breath,

I will second Eric's recommendation of the Galvan OB (Open Back). They are great reels and sound sweet with out going line. No in coming noise at all. These reels have one of the smoothest drags that I know about. It is my favorite trout reel. Feather Craft has an OB-3 for sale at $189.

Galvan OB Reel

 

[jdgrubbjr]

I have a Galvan OB-1 on a R.L. Winston WT 7' three-weight rod that I've had for about 5 years. Sweeeet! Excellent reels.

 

[OregonStreams]

May sound like a silly question but I'm looking to get a new reel and loud, clicky reels rub me the wrong way.

Trout Breath.. What is really funny is my son loves the sound of an older mechanical reel with a fish on a tear. I gave him my old lamson reel and I fished a new Ross Evolution and we hooked into a lot of 18-22 inch trout and he _preferred_ the mechanical sound of the old lamson.

 

[philthy]

The Velocity #1 was waiting on me when I got home from work and it's pretty sweet. 2.85"D, 1.0"W, and a dead even 4 oz. It's gonna look good on my SLT 3 wt, and sound awesome when I hopefully get hooked up with a biggun on the San Juan in a couple of weeks! I did notice in the paperwork that it shows the clicker parts. Hmmmm.....nah, don't think I'll go there! 139 bucks to boot...gotta love a good deal.

Phil

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi Phil,

Does you reel have the Hard Alox finish? If it does that is a heck of a deal. Let us know how it works for you. Are you going to let us in on where you got such a good deal.

Here is Lamson's discription of the Velocity reel.

Years ago, Lamson® was the first high-quality, fully machined reel at a great value. We are proud to introduce the Lamson Velocity Hard Alox,™ extending this tradition by incorporating leading-edge technology into a fully-machined reel that retails around $200. The Velocity is a large-arbor workhorse with a conventional frame. For 2007, porting on the spool has been changed to increase ventilation and reduce weight. Equipped with a fully machined one-piece spool and our sealed conical drag, Velocity Hard Alox extends the Lamson tradition of value to a reel which represents a winning combination of leading edge technology and maintenance-free performance at a modest price.

 

[philthy]

Hi Frank,

No, the ones I've gotten are last year's models, but the one I've had for about a year has been a real tank. Not even a smudge on it and it's not treated with kid gloves, either. I can imagine the hard alox is even better. Here's a link to some folks that still have the v2:

Fly Reels

It's 149.00 and they also have the Galvan OB-2 for 235.00 The v1 I got from a place in MA called Rodbuilder's Workshop and I just happened to stumble across it on Google (probably around page 10 as I was desparate!). The guy said they didn't do online orders and normally didn't do phone orders, either. I turned on the Texas charm and the rest is history.

I had picked up last year's model Lightspeed #4 from Cabela's back in the spring and couldn't believe the price....$49.88, which isn't bad for that class of reel. If you have a little patience and are willing to look around, the deals are out there!

Phil

 

[ezamora]

yup, the deals are out there. i picked up a lamson radius 1.5 a couple of years ago. it features the same conical sealed drag as the velocity i think. my reel developed a problem. the spool started rubbing. soon, it was very difficult to turn. lamson said in a phone call it sounded like water had gottne into the drag system. yes, i took the spool off (the two thumbs through the hole system leaves something to be desired for me) but i never took it off near water. upon closer inspection, it DID seem like there was some corrosion. how or why that hapened i'm not sure. i have yet to send it in since i've developed a penchant for older click and pawl standard arbor reels for trout. i'm not the first to have this problem with lamson reels and it has happened to radius and velocity models from what i've read. i DO read lamson has fixed others' reels.

eric
fresno, ca.

 

[philthy]

Wow Eric, this is the first time I've heard of that. Mind you, I don't generally look too hard for people's problems with these reels. All the ones I've gotten specifically state to never, ever take it apart for cleaning to keep water out of the drag system, but you stated you hadn't. Sounds like your Radius may have had a bad O Ring? Stuff does happen. With the limited lifetime warranty, I'd sure send it in to find out. If nothing else, it could be fixed and sold since you like the older style reels. My biggest complaint so far has been with the spool removal. It doesn't "just" snap off the frame. Having strong fingers are a definate plus.

Phil

 

[trout breath]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I settled on the Lamson Velocity. It doesn't have the new finish but the price was right.

Thanks again,
Trout Breath

 

[philthy]

Trout Breath,

Excellent choice and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

Phil