I knew this was comming! LOL

The perfect Perfect is the current wide spool Taupo, probably. I have that on a 6/7 wt 12' 9" spey rod. That said, the weight of the reel, so long as you have enough volume, is the only metric to worry about in terms of balance. 8-10oz would be a good weight (empty), and I'd say the Marquis Salmon #1 (cheaper, and much easier to find used at a great price) is also a great match for that rod - get one of the older used "black" finish spools and you will have some classic good looks. But any number of reels would present themselves as qualifying. Have fun.

 

What Bots said. TO get started cheaper look for an old JW Young Beudex.

 

TO get started cheaper look for an old JW Young Beudex.

I purchased a 4" JW Young Beaudex for my 12'6" 6/7 MKS and must say that it balances very well ... maybe a tad light for me though. A great reel though that is 60 years old and will last another 60 for sure ... great reels, built tough !!


Mike

 

Both of those reels are beautiful!!

 

Congrats, that is a sweet rod from Bob. It shared duties with a Burkie 6128 all summer/fall for summer Steel. Such incredible feel when you get that grab!

I use Saraciones MkIV and Vs in a 3 1/2" on mine. A work of art to complement the work of art in that 12657 HighlanderC.

 

I use Saraciones MkIV and Vs in a 3 1/2" on mine. A work of art to complement the work of art in that 12657 HighlanderC.

Now you are just being mean to the poor guy - not to mention me! :-0

Unfortunately Saraciones will have to remain in the realm of "reel porn" for most of us. But those are my idea of beautiful.

I'm heavily leaning towards the Taupo. They've been reissued for a few years now...any opinions on them compared to the originals?

The new ones are, excuse the pun, perfect. They are fine. The new ones are anodized which functionally is probably a better finish though nothing looks as great as a really old painted or leaded one that has been fished so much it all has worn off. *schwing!* But this is an irrational fetish, along with the fetish about made in England as a general rule. Mechanically they are as good as the old ones, and the Marquises are even a little improved maybe due to an improved feature or two. The latter especially still have the little inconsistencies in fit of the spool now and then that the old ones have due to their latching mechanism. They don't have 100 years of fishing mojo on them, and I do appreciate the aesthetic of and and use several older reels I know have been used by many before me. However, the way I look at it, if you buy a new one you will know all the scratches are your scratches, and that has a certain kind of sentimentality/aesthetic to it as well.

Also, an this is my personal a totally subjective aesthetic opinion, but leaving Mr. Saracione aside, Perfects really look fantastic on the Meiser rods- might be the grey finish and the dark grey blanks. Nicely understated - leaving aside the very "small" detail that it is a custom rod and a very expensive reel.

 

I agree about the Marquis Salmon 1, that's what I use on my 12'6" 6 and 7 weights, although they're a little lighter than you're talking.

I love the old perfects, but most are RH and I prefer to reel left handed.

 

The Marquis Salmon 2 seems to be in the recommended weight range.

 

I've fished both the Marquis 1 and 2 on a 12' 6", and I like the 1 better. The two is too large for me.

 

too heavy or too large? or both?

 

I'd say both. I tried each for awhile, but found the 1 seemed like the best fit.

MB

 

Remember, unless you had Bob put on a longer reel seat, you may not be able to accommodate one of the older reels. I put a Hardy 3.75" Uniqua on my 12'6", and had to cut off one of the rings to make it fit, and it barely does. I've got a 4.25" Uniqua on my Meiser 13'6", and have a longer reel seat installed because the foot on the reel is 4" long!!!

Just a caution.

I agree with matching the best with the best!

 

I use a salmon 2 on my old st Croix 12'6 6/7, and it suits me just fine. With a new rod and down locking seat a salmon 1 may work. Either way, if you buy a used one and it doesn't suit you, the marquis reels can be unloaded fairly easily

 

I use a Hardy St. John on my Sage 6126.
It holds a 55 foot 8wt fly spey line with enough backing for me.
They can be found for a reasonable price and are listed as weighing 8.5 oz. in a Hardy catalogue. A nice classic looking reel that is a loud screamer with a hot fish on.
I'm sure you would be happy with one of these reels of your new rod.

 

I use a 3 3/4 Hardy Bougle but they stopped making them. I would think that a Marquis 1 is the best match.

Mark

 

I think what is missing is a discussion

I guess what I see is missing in this discussion is "what are your requirements?". mostly what has been proposed is Hardy or like, and no discussion that reflects what else maybe important to you, such as fat retrieve (large arbor) or how do you want to apply pressure - fingers on the backing plate, palming or disc.

you can also look at Farlex (heavy), Sacrione (already mention) or a Nautilus NV-G Spey (large arbor, disc). All made in the US. I am also fond of the Islanders made in Canada.

 

To the original poster, I don't think you can have everything on one reel. I like to use my good disk drag reel, while two of my best fishing buddies like to have click and pawl reels for the racket they make when a fish is on. One of them prefers having to wrap a finger onto the spool to "palm" the reel.

Perhaps it is like your preference in women; all are good, some just fit your style better!

 

I'm heavily leaning towards the Taupo. They've been reissued for a few years now...any opinions on them compared to the originals?

 

I have one of each, and if I wasn't looking at it, wouldn't know the difference while I am reeling up. Both are fine.

 

If you reel left the new style pawl placement is better (my opinion) An original with line guard will be heavier than the re-issue. Originals are pretty scarce in comparison.

One thing that troubles me with my modern Taupo is pulling off a snag. It seems like you need to wrap the run line around your hand rather than place that huge load of torque on the winding plate. Sounds simple but on a long cast there's a considerable amount of stretch in play and when locking the spool only, still need to go to the crank to take up next bit of slack. Have felt the spool rotate a bit under heavy load, scared me, thinking it's possible to strip threads or break the spool screw? (sorry for the mild side track, looking forward to experienced comments)

The Salmon 1 is a very nice reel on that class rod.

 

Salmon no1!

 

Speyco Skandi or Skagit. Made in Green Bay, WI. Cost around $500. Worth every penny.

 

The CFO VI I have posted in the classifieds would fit the weight requirements you're after. Orvis labeled reel, made in England by Hardy, designed by Stan Bogdan. And you don't see them every day.

 

I wound up purchasing an old Marquis Salmon #1 I found on speypages. Just got it today...Beauty! Now I just have to patiently wait for the rod to get here...UGG!!!

 

Yeah, know how that feels. Probably need to borrow one in the mean time. A methadone rod. ;-)

 

Ok Gents....you've gotten me this far..let's see if you have a solution for this:

I just received my rod, excitedly opened it up and slapped my Marquis Salmon 1 on it (gently of course)...and the reel seat hood is too wide for the reel foot so that there is side to side play even when the reel seat is locked down tight. It feels like the reel is about to fall off even though it won't. Has anyone else had this problem and maybe have a quick solution (I'm Trinity River bound in about an hour)?

Thanks!!!

 

Please disregard.. Bob just called me to explain how to properly lock the reel down after reading my post....talk about service!

 

I bet Bob also told you to shoot for 9oz of reel to balance it, I hope.
I use a Velocity 4 with about 1.5 oz worth of 30# backing, 150 yd.

This gives me perfect, weightless balance during the swing on my 13' 5/6/7. God, what a sweet rod. even with fullsink heads, she swings so nice. Oop, now there's a tear in my eye. We're back into the fullsink season.