[scottd]

im looking for a spey reel to use on the solstices in 13 ft 4 and 14 ft 3. i was going to pick up one reel and a extra spool. i looked at a bauer m6,reddington breakwater and ross canyon bg6. does anyone have any good or bad experiences with the lamson velocity or litespeed. i have a reddington as and had problem with drag free spooling on me when i had two fish on lately.

 

[BrownDog]

Bauer makes great reel---can't go wrong there

 

[spencesbridge]

Abel Big Game standard arbor #4 or higher

 

[o_clarki_clarki]

reel

ahem..........Bauer M7.....classifieds...

Vinnie

 

[sms]

Bauer M7 is a great reel...IF the IAR works reliably.
Mine had problems from the very start and the drag discs' glue was bad and got onto the drag surfaces from time to time. Now it's whole drag system is upgraded and it is my no.1 reel. It walks all over even my Loop LW 8twelve.
The reel is just soooo smooth now. Ugly backside thou.

 

[Halifaxangler67]

Spey Reels

You might want to consult with Jim Williams (just-reels.com). He has a selection of new and previously owned equipment from various manufacturers and many are hand-made!!

I have had good success with him in the past.

Good luck,

Chris

 

[salmo]

Old Florida Nautilus No.10 will hold 100 yards of regular 30 lb backing and 7/8 Rio Mid Spey.
If you chose No.12 then you have room for near 200 yards of the backing.
Unlike Bauer, Nautilus has fully sealed cork drag system:
http://oldfloridareels.com/reels/Reel02.asp?ReelSize=NautilusSuper

However if you can spend a little more $ go with Loop LW 8-12!!!
This one will hold 200 yards of 30 lb regular backing and 8/9 MidSpey. So with 7/8
for Solstice 14'3" you can spool in 220-230 yards.

Loop HD 9-13 would be to much for Solstice 14'3"

 

[SSPey]

Any of these reels with land fish. Balance is also important, especially for rods over 14' long.

I prefer rod-reel-line balance, in actual fishing mode, to be located at the upper grip point. Otherwise I'm fighting gravity all day just trying to prevent the tip from dipping into the water on each and every swing. This is tiring and annoying.

In this sense, for my rods, the Lamson reels come out consistently too light.

 

[Rick J]

Make sure which ever reel you choose has adequate capacity if you decide to venture towards long belly lines - I have two Ross BG's and love them but though they claim to have tons of capacity, I had to go to the BG 7 to fit an xlt 7/8 and to the BG 8 for an xlt 9/10 and still had to go to gel spun for backing on the big reel. I would think the Bauer 6 may be on the small side

 

[BLACK FRANCIS]

I just picked up the j ryall quick #10 which retails for $335. it has plenty of capacity for the wc7/8/9 and 200 yards. if you get the #12 ($350) it is the same diameter but the arbor is smaller and it will hold a mid spey 9/10 with 200 yards. it is also a good weight for 13-14' rods and picks up a ton of line. imho the best deal out there on big reels with a great drag system. no, i don't have any association with them i have just used them for over 10 years from trout to salmon and have never had one issue. check them out. my $ .02.

 

[halcyon]

I have the Lamson LiteSpeed 4 reels and find them to be excellent spey reels. Large enough capacity to take a 10/11 XLT and 235 yds. of 30# micron backing, tremendous drag system that is completely sealed. Priced extremely well for the quality and size.

Regards,