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A fly reel is pretty much just a glorified container
for your fly line. Most are constructed of aluminum,
either molded (melted and poured into a form) or cut
from solid bar stock. Reels cut from solid bar stock
aluminum are stronger and generally more precisely manufactured
than the molded ones. Aluminum fly reels are also either
anodized or not. Anodized reels are corrosion resistant
and stand up to salt water much better than untreated
aluminum reels.
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Some reels are made from more expensive alloys, and still
others are constructed of graphite. The aluminum reels are
by far the most common, but graphite reels are making big
gains and their price is coming down quickly. Graphite has
the added advantages of being extremely light, strong and
rust/corrosion-proof when compared to the metal reels. Reels
made from exotic alloys are very good, but they are extremely
expensive also . . . too much so for this man.
Fly reels come in three types of actions: single, multiplier,
and automatic. Single action reels, as the name implies, wind
one turn of the spool for each turn of the handle. The handle
is attached directly to the spool and there are no gears involved
in the action. It is simple, reliable, and by far the most
popular.
Multipliers are designed much like a spinning reel, for each
turn of the handle the spool turns three to five times. Gears
inside the reel are designed to multiply the number of turns
of the handle thus increasing the speed of your retrieve.
However, anything with gears is just something more to go
wrong. Anglers who tackle large fish that run great distances
can find them useful, but most of us find them expensive and
heavy.
Automatic fly reels have a spring retrieval system that,
when pressed, automatically winds in all the extra line between
your line hand and the reel. When you hook a fish you set
the hook and simply press a button on the reels and a return
spring winds up all the excess putting the fish on the reel
much faster than you having to wind in all the excess while
trying to play the fish. However, this quick rewinding very
often results in tangles and lost fish. Automatics are also
heavy and bulky due to the size of the spring in the reel.
Overall, automatics should be avoided as well; they are neat
toys but not all that practical. For the vast majority of
fly-fishers a single action reel is all they will ever need.
All fly reels come with one of two types of drags, either
a pawl (gear) or a disc (friction) drag. Pawl style drags
rely on pointed metal pieces called pawls that are attached
to the reel housing. They are supported inside the reel by
springs. The spring tension is adjustable on most and when
the reel is assembled the pawls fit into the teeth of a gear
fixed to the back of the spool. As the spool turns the pawls
are pressed against the springs and the pawls click as they
rub from one tooth of the gear to the next. The tighter the
spring tension the greater the resistance the pawls produce
before allowing the gear, and thus the spool, to turn. The
vast majority of lower priced reels have pawl drag systems
and they are very reliable.
Disc drags work very much like the drum brakes of a car.
There is a nylon or asbestos brake shoe that rubs against
a metal wheel. This metal wheel is attached to the reel housing
or is free floating around the spindle and often has slots
in its side. A retractable pin attached to the back of the
spool fits in one of the slots when the line is pulled off
the reel and this causes the wheel to turn. When the wheel
turns the brake shoe rubs, resulting in drag. The drag tension
is adjusted from a dial on the outside of the reel housing.
Disc drags are more expensive and are found more often on
reels designed for larger fish. Disc drags are smoother than
pawl drags and generally can be set to a much heavier tension.
No matter whether the drag is pawl or disc, fly-fishers must
make sure that the drag is adjustable. Not very many reels
come with non-adjustable drags, but they are out there and
they should avoided. The drag on a trout reel should only
be set as stiff as is necessary to stop the spool from "free
spooling" when you strip line off in preparation for
casting. Unlike spin-casting reels, fly reels are seldom used
to actually put drag pressure against a fish unless the fish
is very large or fast. With larger fish such as steelhead
or salmon, a good drag is necessary to do just that, but trout
rarely require such tactics.
If you take a close look at different reels you will notice
that there are two styles, internal spools and external, or
exposed, spools. Internal spools have the edge of the spool
enclosed by the reel housing, external spools do not. The
exposed spool design allows the fisherman to "palm"
the spool when playing a fish. By placing the palm of the
hand lightly against the spool edge when a fish is making
a run the fisherman can apply drag to the fish. It is an added
feature that makes you feel more in control of what is going
on instead of having to rely on the reel drag. It is a personal
choice and neither style is necessarily better than the other.
When purchasing a reel many factors must be considered. Fly
line weight, fish size and speed, and fresh or salt water
are some of the more important. Trout reels need not be too
sophisticated as they will be used for smaller fish in fresh
water. The big game saltwater fly-fisher is in a whole different
ball game however, and he will need a larger capacity salt
resistant reel with a drag able to slow and stop very large,
fast running fish. One reel seldom fits all an angler's needs
and opportunities.
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you choose, check to ensure that the spool has a counter-balance
on it. For small trout this is not needed, but anything
over about two pounds can make a good run and a running
fish pulls line off the reel at a fast rate. The spinning
spool will bounce and vibrate badly sometimes causing
the tippet to break if it does not have a counter-balance
to offset the weight of the reel handle. It's a good thing
to keep in mind when looking over reels. |
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When you finally go to make a purchase you will notice that
nearly all new reels are set to wind right handed. They wind
clockwise using the right hand to wind with. For most new
fly-fishers this seems backwards. Most beginners wind with
their left hand and hold the rod in their right. It seems
awkward to have to cast using the right hand and then change
hands to reel in a fish, and it is. That is why most reels
are reversible. Instructions included with each new reel will
show you how to reverse the reel's drag so you can wind it
left-handed. It is a personal choice and you can suit yourself;
I find left-hand wind more comfortable.
Finally, manufacturers tend to love to dress up reels in
order to jack up the price while only marginally increasing
the functionality of the reel. You should stick with a basic
serviceable reel that will perform the job you want it to
do reliably. That is not to say that you should go out and
buy the cheapest reel you can find, but purchasing a very
expensive reel more often than not results in a very good
reel at an exorbitant price. Good serviceable reels can be
found at very reasonable prices and anglers should not allow
themselves to be talked into buying expensive reels when a
simpler, cheaper model will do the job just as well.
Previous Articles by Bill Luscombe:
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