Fly Reels

 
In choosing a fly reel for trout fishing, generally the reels is used just to hold the line. In contrast to saltwater or fast big fish like steelhead or salmon the reel generally doesn't play a great role in landing the fish. To be sure, if you hook a nice fish and the drag system fails losing you the fish, you will disagree. And that is why when choosing a reel you need to be at least aware of the importance of a good drag system. But equally important is weight. If you are going out onto the river to fish all day, a heavier reel with a heavier line will tend to wear on you as the day progresses unless you are used to it.

A good example would be a float trip where you fish streamers for 8 hours. If one is unused to this degree of activity it will become tiring. And the heavier the equipment the shorter the period before the effects begin to become evident.

So which reel? There are a great number of good reels out there and we carry most of them so we will just list some of the manufacturers and comment.

Greys. Has an excellent range of low to mid priced reels which are very well made for the price. Their lower end reels start in the $40's and move up. You can see the range of Greys reels we carry on our Greys fly reel on line store.

Hardy. The oldest most distinguished name in fly fishing. They also own Greys. Under the Hardy name they have a range of excellent reels which include the celebrated Hardy Perfect, a reel which has been virtually unchanged since the 1920's. You can see our range of Hardy Fly Reels in our online store.

Lamson. Lamson have developed a unique conical drag system which has proved to be remarkably resilient. Coupled with their hard alox finish for the price, the Konic is one of our best selling reels. You can see our range of Lamson Fly Reels in our online store.

Galvan. A small US family company which has been making excellent reels for some time now. Beautifully engineered they are highly regarded by fly fishermen because of their precision and balance. You can see our range of Galvan Fly reels in our online store.

Ross Reels. Owned by Scientific Anglers who in turn are owned by 3M, Ross reels have been a favorite of Rocky Mountain fishermen for years.   You can see our range of Ross Reels in our online store.

Bauer Reels. Another excellent reel which is used by steelhead fishermen because of its engineering and consistency. You can see our range of Bauer Reels in our online store.

We also carry a range of other reels including Redington, Okuma, Marryat, Tibor, Hatch and Orvis. Details can be seen in our online store.

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