[Luv2flyfish]

Good Day Spey Heads! I was doing a little digging around, and did some subsequent research and get a little useful spey related info about the Snowbee reels.

I asked the question if these reels will hold long belly lines and this is the response I got back from the UK:

> Yes, it was for exactly this reason that we introduced the new
> XS1112. Our new 3D Spey lines have a head length of 73ft and you can
> comfortably fit a #11/12 line on the reel plus approx. 200yds of
> standard 30lb braided backing. Obviously if you go to Micron or Dynema backing, this figure rises considerably.
>
> We recently had a guy go for the World Fly caught record on Blue
> Marlin. He took one of our XS1112's and managed to fit 1,000m of
> 32lb Dynema on it, plus fly line !
>
> As an example, our reel has approx 35% more capacity than a Sage 3500D,
> which is already one of the largest capacity reels on the market.
>
> I hope this is of help, but let me know if you need more.
>
> Best regards
>
> Russell Weston
> Managing Director
> Snowbee (UK) Ltd.


On another note - the reels were written up in the Fall 04, Flyfishing and Tying Journal Magazine on page 78, if anyone was curious. I think one of these reels will look pretty sexy on a CND Solstice.....when I get one.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT TRYING TO PROMOTE THIS PRODUCT. I just did a little handy work on a product I hadnt heard of or seen before and thought I would share it with all of you.

 

[Gillie]

I have no idea whether this is accurate but this snowbee reel looks very similair to the Orvis Mach reel. I know orvis has this reel made in England. Coincidence ?

Gillie

 

[Luv2flyfish]

Gillie, your observation is pretty accurate. I went and looked at orvis and they are pretty close. I think the snowbee looks a little better IMHO. The snowbee is a little cheaper which is always a good thing. If I spring for one of these reels, I'll post back and do a review on it. (it'll be like next fall though..)

 

[Gardener]

I believe that Snowbee reels are made in the old BFR factory in Falmouth, which is owned by Orvis. Unfortunately Orvis recently announced thay they are closing the factory down and moving production to China.

The factory has a long history of making decent products since the days when it was owned by Morritts and sold tackle under that name, going back at least to the 1950's. Its closure will cause pain in a county that has some of the lowest average incomes in Britain.

Even more galling is that the BFR brand, which stands for British Fly Reels, will still be applied to these Chinese reels!

Thanks, Orvis.

 

[Cascade]

Well pleased !

I bought one of these Snowbee reels (XS 11-12 ) towards the end of our salmon season, and liked it so much I bought 3 spare spools to hold different lines.
It can hold a full XLT 10-11 with backing, and is a dream to fish with.
I have used the SA system 2 reels as a workhorse for years, but the Snowbee is just in another league. I`m a convert !
Cascade.