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Reel differences

5K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  voodoofly 
#1 ·
I've noticed a lot of the reels used for spey are either classics or have that classic look. I realize that both classic and modern reels work, but are there any significant differences? I like that look a lot, but there seems to be a difference in the way the sizes work. I have my eye on one of the SpeyCo reels, but clueless about what size I'd need for a 13' 7wt.

Are there any resources any of you can recommend? Since I'm just beginning should I try and seek out a used one? Thanks folks!
 
#2 ·
As far as resources ... you're in the right place :)
The search function here can lead you to many discussions on the subject of reels.
For me, there is no right or wrong answer, it all depends on personal choice, style and functionality.
When I first started the two-handed game, it was modern reels with wickedly smooth drags. I have since migrated over to the gear and pawl for the three reasons I listed above. Always digged the classic styling of a Vom Hoffe, Zwarg and vintage Hardy Cascapedia Brunswick. These bulky S-Handle reels are like vintage wines to me ... the fruit of labor, hand-crafted and well thought out functional machines. The simplicity of the gear and pawl means less to go wrong. Most of my fishing takes place during less than comfortable conditions. Freezing temperatures and water dunked reels are not good bedfellows . Most small pieces associated with ultra smooth drags can easily be frozen, which then leads to failure. A hot fish will also put your tackle to the test and the more pieces, the more chances for things to fail. Not cool when your standing waist deep in the river during a snowfall and your 3 days into a week long trip that you have planned all year with your spey bro's !!

Though most of these available vintage models are priced well beyond my grasp, there are a few modern day reel smiths that have been influenced by these masters. The wait periods can seem like forever, but the joy and pride of ownership out weighs the build time by far.

There are some very affordable reels that can be had for less than the price of a line. These reels are no non-sense, built like tanks, smooth operating and will serve you well for many, many years. I have one of these "UK growlers" as well and works flawlessly. Though not as pretty as the reels mentioned above, it has it's own unique style that can easily be adored.

Again, choice is personal and matters not to anyone else but you. Nothing wrong with used gear, gives you a chance to get some higher quality equipment at lower pricing. The Classified Forum here usually is the place to watch !!


Mike
 
#3 ·
For that 13' 7 wt most folks would recommend a reel with about a 4" diameter. Modern reels are often large arbor and lighter than spring and pawl reels so you may want a slightly larger reel if you're worried about backing or balance weight (I don't). The only real difference between the two types of reels is drag. With a drag reel you can control it with a knob and crank it pretty tight if a fish is threatening to spool you or head somewhere bad. With a spring and pawl reel there is only a little drag from the pawls and any real drag you have is from palming your reel. I started out with drag reels, but like many folks, I moved back to the old reels because I found my drag reels unreliable, I usually set the drag light and palmed anyway, steelhead seldom run very far and why would I stop them, and the old reels just look and sound better to me. It's all personal choice, just like the rod or line system you use, and there is no wrong way to go.
 
#4 ·
Simplicity (very few moving parts, ones that I can easily access myself and take care of) , reliability (see simplicity - they don't break or stop functioning well for an obscure reason so when they do - extremely rare - I can usually fix it, often right away, and sometimes on the river), immersion (playing a fish on one of these real feel like you are in much more intimate contact. Also the other def - if you aren't dunking your reel in the water a few time a day by accident or on purpose you may not be doing it right as modern reels as a rule, especially the inexpensive ones, are more susceptible to problems in that case), history (I really kind of enjoy knowing people have used my reels before me an it is a connection with continuity we don't often get in the modern world), weight (better balance and feel on a longer rod) and lastly sound (the one I have changed the most on over the years. A lot of us have a kind of fetishistic pleasure at the the sound of these reels).

All that said most of that is sentiment and personal aesthetics, and the parts that are not people who prefer modern disk drag reels can easily answer in their own way. Plus the modern aficionados have their own equally valid aesthetic criteria. It is pretty much a boxer or briefs type question.

The short answer to your question is that the 'right sized' reel in this category is probably in the range of 9 or 10 oz reel (empty) for your 7wt 13' spey rod, but it is not going to hurt you much to go outside that range by an oz or so. The good news is that you if you want to try one out there are a lot of used (I prefer the term pre-authenticized) ones that are perfectly good fishing tools and are quite inexpensive if you stay out of the collectible category. If you do some browsing of old posts you will see that there are loads of "suggest a reel for my rod threads". If you do one for your own you will get tons of suggestions, and probably a few offer to sell you something the right category for a decent price. Seeing what people list as a suggestion is like a fire hose of an introduction all by itself.

There are cheaper reels in this category, but the relatively inexpensive Hardy Marquis Salmon reels (esp. #1 and #2) are the gateway drug for a lot of people. Either would probably be ok on your rod, but the nod would be for the #2.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for the info guys. I wasn't aware of having to palm the spool, but I'm perfectly comfortable doing that. Right now I'm using a Ross Animas 9/10, but I'd like one of each just to see where I might want to focus my attn in the future. I'll take a look around the classifieds to see what's out there. Appreciate it.
 
#7 ·
Patience (and checking the classifieds OFTEN) is a virtue.. good luck beating our moderator to the punch ;) Seriously; sooner or later the item your lusting will turn up here. Or if your able purchase new.. Tim is a great guy, modern artist with true passion for the sport.

High quality 'draggers' have a sealed system.. they are not going to freeze in that area. Most frozen / locked up circumstances are actually due low tolerance CNC machining.. the spool locking to the frame is pretty common. I do everything in my power to avoid dunking a reel, even with a modern sealed unit. Heads freeze to running line and continue down into backing.. on ANY spool, regardless of reel type.

As noted by you and prior posters, palming a spool (of any type) is not that difficult. Made even easier by the larger diameter of reels associated with two hand rods. Even with drag reels I operate same as Peteo describes, very low setting and palm the reel from there. No hard preference here, I really enjoy them all. Having a nostalgic vein using the original classics can be pretty satisfying.. a lot like an old model 12 Winchester or L.C. Smith
 
#8 ·
Hello xchromex,

what about this reels:





Young 1535 with spool. Left or right hand.
Nice quality reel. 100 USD to your door.






Young 1535 with spool. Left or right hand.
Nice quality reel. 100 USD to your door.

They will last the next 30 years!
Tight lines
Peter
 
#11 ·
I'll chime in on this one. I'll assume you are not a member of the 1%, either financially, or in fishing opportunity. Our quarry is "the fish of a thousand casts." So, most of the time, the reel is merely a place to store line...until its not. Then, you want your reel to work the way it's supposed to. To me, that augers for simplicity. Even simple ratchets fail. Simple is gears and pawls (aka clickers), like the reel Peter Pan is trying to sell above. The simplest failure - like a momentary failure of a ratchet-type drag catch - can cause a backlash and disaster. Hence, my advice is to go simple - gear and pawl - but be sure the reel has a palming rim, or like a Hardy Perfect, a spinning plate you can finger drag. I happen to own several neat, well-made, cork drag, draw bar-type reels and while failures are rare, they happen often enough to have me in the market for a clicker.
 
#12 ·
Different strokes,,,,,

Some, most notably those favoring click pawl or ratchet type reels having that "classic" look, complain of the lack of song afforded by modern disk drag reels. True, the modern reels sing a very quite song. On the other hand, some of those highly prized reels of yore sound, to me, more like a bunch of rocks rattling around in a tin can. :Eyecrazy: One (myself included) would like to think there must be a happy medium somewhere in between those two extremes. I have yet to find anything even close.

Aside from S handles, I don't care much for the aesthetics of those old reels either. And the first time I experienced any part of my line becoming entangled in an S handle, would be the last time I fished that reel. Aged pewter and fake Ivory also lack appeal to my eyes. Black anodized aluminum & highly figured wood handles I can get excited about, but something that looks as though it is displaying its colors in full oxidation and tobacco stains? Not my bag. :eek:

When I was a kid, I used to completely disassemble, clean, oil & reassemble my level wind casting reels every year prior to opening day. I have yet to see a modern fly reel that would require anything that extreme. I hate it when I see how a lot of modern reels have been whittled away to where there is hardly anything left of them. Just because a CNC machine is capable does not justify removing those few ounces which I will somehow have to replace in order to get the reel to balance out nicely.

My apologies to those whom I may have offended. It bothers me not if that's your thing. More power to you, it's just not mine.
 
#16 ·
Some, most notably those favoring click pawl or ratchet type reels having that "classic" look, complain of the lack of song afforded by modern disk drag reels. True, the modern reels sing a very quite song. On the other hand, some of those highly prized reels of yore sound, to me, more like a bunch of rocks rattling around in a tin can. :Eyecrazy:
My first one of these (and first 1/2 dozen) was a Hardy. While I liked the sound of some of them more than others they all sounded good to me. I did not realize until I heard a Young 1540 this year how bad it could get up close on some of these reels. "Rocks rattling around in a tin can" is a perfect description of what that one sounds like! Maybe with some shrapnel and razor blades as well. And it has a mechanism superficially the same as Marquis. Something about the size and shape of the ratchet and pawl I guess, and maybe the way the body of reel shapes the sound. So yes, there are definitely SOME of those reels that make me wish I was using a nice quiet disk drag. For me the Young proves that just HAVING such a mechanism does not guaranty a pleasurable sound.

But like the guy in the listerine commercials of yore, I suppose there is always somebody who actually likes the rock-in-a-tin-can sound.
 
#13 ·
Thank you all for your input on this one. Peter, those look great, but I'm looking for something with an s handle. Great price range though.

I'll prob be looking to spend up to around 350 for now and in no rush. I see there's a 30% off sale so its tempting :)

The sound of a reel makes no difference to me either. Maybe it'll bother the people low holing me enough to find a new drift.
 
#14 ·
It's like comparing a Ford to a Chevy in some respects. Are you capable in playing and landing a fish by palming a click and pawl reel or do you need the disc drag i.e.. set it and reel to complete the job. A nice first option can be purchased around $300 and should last you ( with care ) a life time. The second option of equal quality will be in the $500 plus range and with care should last you the same time. IMO it's how you want to be in touch with the control of the reel and therefore the fight of the the fish.
 
#18 ·
I agree 110%, my disk drags reels dont see much use now, especially if it's for trout or bass because all it is then is a line holding device. The click pawl definately adds another element to the fight and as you mentioned more of a connection between you and the fish. If you used a centrepin in the past you should have no issues using a click pawl reel.
 
#17 ·
Click pawl reels

On my first trip to Alaska, the first go at King Salmon, I had a Sage RPLX 990-3 equipped with a Cortland Magnum click pawl reel, fishing from the boat. Jacks were no problem, but even though we chased them with the boat, 30+lb adults fresh from the sea were something else.
 
#19 ·
I like fishing with functioning pieces of history. The gear and pawl reel of today is continuation of designs more than a century old. The basics innards are the same and only the names have changed. Vintage reels for me, carry some old world charm and tradition from the 1st half of the 20th century into the 21st. Tangible memories from a time before the population exploded and the runs dwindled.

Are they practical? Who cares? It ain't a life or death situation and a little whimsical frivolity to massage the senses is completely harmless in this application.



And contrary to popular belief, palming rims are not a recent development, nor are they a necessary requirement. Probably why they never took off back in the 1920's...



And some of those old clickers are down right purty!

 
#21 ·
I like fishing with functioning pieces of history.
Are they practical? Who cares? It ain't a life or death situation and a little whimsical frivolity to massage the senses is completely harmless in this application.
Righteous....righteous indeed!
 

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#20 ·
Those are definitely sweet looking and I see myself eventually picking one up.

I ended up going with the SpeyCo skagit with an Echo king 10130. I was thinking more about getting an 8wt, but Tim convinced me to go with this one for the big water especially being new as it may help with casting big heavy streamers and sink tips.....or possibly even people :) There are also muskie in the Niagara, so it can probably be used for that as well. I also have a Redington Dually 13' 8wt, but I don't know much about the quality yet. The 7wt casts ok, but was a little soft.

Thank you all for your input. I cannot wait to hear this reel grow
 
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