Fly Fishing

flyinredneck · Location: Scarborough, ME

Hey Guys,
I'm back looking for another piece of advise. With a year of Fly fishing under my belt, I'm looking to upgrade my gear setup a little bit. I got into the sport with a simple 5/6 St. Croix rod and reel. While I really like the rod, as it lets me really be diverse, I would like to upgrade the reel. The St. Croix reel is definatly a beginner setup and I'm not really fond of the drag system, (it has failed once). I've been looking around at a few different companies offering reels and have seen many that I like. I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations as to a good intermediate reel that wont break the bank (being a poor college student and all). I really like the looks of the Galvans and The Hatch reels but they are just to pricey for me. Anyway any info that you guys could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks Again.

-Shane

flymouth · Location: Richmond, VA

Shane check out the Orvis Mid Arbor reels.....they run about $159 and have a good drag system for the price.

flyinredneck · Location: Scarborough, ME

Thanks For that tip. I was recently looking at the Cortland Sterling reel. Any info on this reel? Anyone own it or have any preferences? it seems to be a pretty good price and I'm assuming because its not made in the USA but it does have a lifetime warranty. I'm still open to hearing about any other reels as well. Thanks

-Shane

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

I am with flymouth on this one. The orvis mid arbor reel is a great functioning and great looking fly reel for the price you are looking to spend. I have 2 of them (one for fresh and one for salt) both with extra spools .. The spare spools are really affordable too. I also have a few friends who use them regularly and like them and consider them a great real for that price point. Orvis also has the guarantee on their gear. Also, if you get a line with the reel they will spin and put the backing on the line for free (http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=72ER). I can't really speak to the cortland reel you are asking about, because I have never used it. Good luck!

captmike · Posted: Mon 09/14/09 8:06 am Post subject:

The Orvis mid arbor is a really nice reel for the price. I think to get an appreciable difference you'd have to spend a lot more money.

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

A few others I would look at:
The Waterworks/Lamson Konic which comes in at $129. This is a true large arbor reel with the same fully sealed drag that comes on their high end reels that are priced up to $700+. If you want fully machined, look at the Guru which comes in at $189. Ross also makes some great reels for the money. The fly rise has a great maintenance free drag system that Ross is known for and the #2 comes in at $100 (made overseas). If you want a USA made reel with similar specs, look at the CLA which is based on the original Cimmaron design which has been made and time tested for over 15 years. $185 I have seen a couple of cimmaron reels get run over by vehicles and still perform after bending the frame back. The CLA is just an upgrade to a larger arbor design. All of these reels are lifetime warrantied so no worries there and most fly shops will rig them for you. Ross even has a guarantee of shipping the reel 2 days after receiving it in the rare case that it has problems so you are barely even without your reel.

flyinredneck · Location: Scarborough, ME

Thanks for the great advise guys I really appreciate it. I settled on the Lamson Konic today. got a pretty good deal so im pumped about that. I cant wait to try it out! anyway thanks again for the help.

-Shane

rustayy · Location: Islamorada,FL

For an inexpensive freshwater reel check out the Reddington Rise reel. The drag is super smooth and is machined from barstock aluminum. This reel will take a beating and is pretty cheap, I think it retails around $130-150. All of the new Reddington stuff is great for the price. The CPX fly rod stopped everything from Albies to Tarpon for me on my last fishing trip. And the Titanium saltwater reel is pretty sweet too, it is just a little heavy.
-Derek

flyinredneck · Location: Scarborough, ME

Hey Guys,
I tested out the Lamson Konic reel today it worked great! the drag was super smooth and worked great when a 25 inch carp took my line out for a ride. Thanks for the advise!

-Shane

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

Sweet! glad it worked out and also sweet that you are fishing for carp Very Happy