RJFlowers Loc: Montana

I have only experience with a cheap reel purchased at Walmart, and a Lamson GuruII that I really like. I know Lamson makes good stuff, but want to hear from others who have experience with multiple brands.

Seeeeya: RJFlowers

Graywulff Loc: Cortez,Co.

I fly fished for over 50 years. I was never really a scientific, match the hatch, purist but managed to catch my share and then some over the years. I never used a manual reel, always an automatic. It's what I was taught with and what I knew. I used Martins and Perrines. Of the two makes I favored Perrines because they were durable and dependable. I still have two of each they still work even though my body no longer cooperates.

Jim Kay Loc: Franklin, Virginia

From the vintage category, i like the Shakespeare Ausable-#1864,and the Daiwa #706/708. More contemporary would be the Newer Daiwas or the Orvis lower price models. Remember unless you are targeting.large Stripers or Redfish the drag is overkill. For Trout and Bass, the reel is primarily line storage.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Or salmon

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Depending on your budget, there are many choices to consider. Personally, while I have purchased some new reels over the years...like Okuma, Ross, Lamson and Pflueger, to name a few, I really enjoy fishing with old vintage reels from Orvis and Hardy. I like the "click and pawl" single action stuff that has a nice smooth feel and sound. The new reels I mentioned all work just fine for me...in fact I have never owned a fly reel that I was unhappy with. One drawback with vintage reels is that they tend to be narrow arbored, which makes your fly line stay in small tight coils when not in use. The modern large arbor reels take care of this issue.

As has been mentioned...the reel, in many cases, is just a place to store the line when not in use, and depending on your quarry, most fisherman do not play fish from the reel drag anyways. With large fish...the story changes dramatically.

When it comes to "sound", sometimes I like a reel to be totally silent. A few reels do this automatically based on drag type...but I have a couple of old Orvis CFO's that I remove the pawl from so they run with a zero drag...great for small fish but dangerous when you are expecting large ones! Also have a Hardy Sunbeam that is a sweet set up and already runs silent without any "mods".

Hardy Sunbeam on a 7' split cane rod - my favorite rig for fish under 18"


A Valentine fly reel on a 9' home made fiberglass Fenwick rod - targeting steelhead

RJFCO

I have all kinds of fly reels. from $1,000 Hardy Perfect's to my first (Perrine automatic) from 60 years ago. The drag system is really all you need to consider. Unless you are fishing for fish that you will get "on the reel", a reel is just something to hold your line!

CoreG0nUS75 Loc: SE NC

Well, I'm a clumsy sort of person and have several old Martin 65s I have had to bend back into shape after dropping them. I have a Lamson Liquid 3.5 with two extra spools that I dropped and tore a nice little chunk out of the rim of the spool. So, if I ever use it for something other than practice or teaching and need to palm the spool, it will cut my hand big time. Therefore, for the most part, I like to use machined reels such as the Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor, the Orvis Access Mid-Arbor and the new Battenkill Disc in addition to other Orvis Battenkill Large Arbors IV, V and VI for saltwater as well ass fresh. Overkill for a good drag on a trout rod? Sure. Is it strange to use machined reels in the salt air of SENC? Not at all. It probably saves me money in the long run and the new Battenkill Mid-Arbors are not much more expensive than cheaper reels. I use my old Martins, Clearwater Classics, Olympic, Cortland even my STHs for practice. Fill them with worn or extra cheap line and I can even cast them on the gravel or pavement. And you just never ever know when a big fish is going to come along.

Graywulff Loc: Cortez,Co.

Especially after a big rain huh???

CoreG0nUS75 Loc: SE NC

People ask what I'm catching in the gravel street/driveway. "Rock" fish of course. But your implied question about my grammar is on the mark. Well done, Graywulff.

RJFlowers Loc: Montana

I have two Walmart fly reels that freely spin, are silent, and have pretty good drag. For fresh water brookies, they are perfect, especially for the price point. I have a 7+ weight Lamson Guru II on my 7 weight Winston BIIIx that is buttery smooth. I like it a lot. I'm currently building a CTS Affinity 8 weight. Not sure what's going on that rod yet. I may just sell it to one of my sons who's interested in it, for the price of the parts (he is my son after all, and it's still a $650 build). He can decide what reel he wants to use. I'll probably recommend Lampson Speedster. It's a rod for larger fish, maybe even some Chinook. He'll need a good reel.

Seeeeeya; RJ Flowers

CoreG0nUS75 Loc: SE NC

Bet that Lamson Guru II think it’s died and gone to heaven by. Being mounted on a Winston. But a great outfit. I have a number of Gugus and my one complaint is the knob for he drag. It is hard for my fingers to make it work. Even the Lamson Liquids have a better knob, as do the rest of the Lamson models. I just made Mud Hole 6-wt. rods for my two young granddaughters and matching them with Orvis Battenkill Disc III reels. If they are as good as the two predecessor models, my g-daughters will get many years of good service out of them.