Nailed it Ben - I've been happy with the Idaho based Lamson reels for many years. The drag system is the same on all models, from what I have been told... and the drag system is stellar. Go grab a 3 pack Remix or Liquid, and spend some time on the water.
OK, didn't know about the Steal Your Face reel, so I looked it up; then found an article about it by Tim Romano; then found another article by Tim Romano where he goes tenkara fishing for tarpon. Thanks for that rabbit hole, Ben. I always learn stuff here.
I've fished small mountain streams for the last 40 years and never spent over $80.00 for a reel. For trout up to 18" your hands are your best drag control. The reel is just the line holder. 🎣
funny that a $70 spinning reel, and all its intricate parts, and the amount of revolutions it takes in a day of fishing, like orders of magnitude more than any fly reel, pulling harder on fish and actually being used in the retrieve of lures, lasts YEARS. YEARS. The idea that something that is just a wheel on an axle with some kind of clutch linked to 2 disks with a variable squeezing mechanism needs to be unusually durable or is put-upon by the stresses of fishing it, is ABSURD. Plus, the people who spend $$$$ for excellent fly reels that are super durable, are probably going to buy the next shiny thing in a few years. It's so much B. S.
Its so dumb dude. A $100 fly reel should be sealed and have a premium drag system. The fact that some of these click and pawl reels are $300+ is ridiculous.
The large cost difference is due to the manufacturing method. A $70 spinning reel is cast aluminum or graphite just like a $70 fly reel. The expense to machine a reel out of a billet of aluminum is much greater than any of the various casting methods. And about durability, my high dollar machines fly reels are doing much better after a decade of use than any of my spinning reels after 2-3 years. I fish in brackish/salt water so your experience may differ.
The cost has more to do with economics of scale. They make millions of spinning reels. High volume manufacturing means you can amortize the manufacturing costs across more products and then sell them at lower prices while maintaining good margins. At low volume, like with fly fishing reels, you have to charge more to maintain desirable margins because there are less products to spread the manufacturing costs across.
@@coreytohme9861 spinning reels get much more wear and tear from actual use though. You don't have to reel in line, flip a bail or use drag nearly as often as a spinning reel does..
In the salt I set the drag so it slips with 1 Liter Nalgene or similar bottle of water filled, which is around 2-2.2 lbs for redfish/bonefish. You can also use cans of soda or beer (0.78 lbs each) in a plastic grocery bag and just loop some leader material through the fly line loop and the bag to set them at the start of the day by lifting the bag until it barely starts lowering off the reel. I double that amount of drag on my 9 and 10 weights, but those are for larger fish. A brass scale is better, but when traveling light, the cans of beer in a bag drag weight setting system works great.
Some reels can't be switched. I had to make a few new parts for one of mine. I believe it was the Leeda 200 (also sold as Orvis Spey for 50% more cash)
Most important factor for me is what happens to the reel when I drop it, and I am going to drop it. Expensive, over-machined aluminum reel may bend and definitely will ding up. Cost effective, machined reel will take years of abuse. Cast reel may break. Easy choice for me.
Ran into a guy in Montana on the Missouri he had a vehicle full of Huge Fly fisherman stickers. I scored nice guy and now everyone knows I'm a huge fly fisherman as well. One side of the suv reads I'm a huge fly fisherman and the other side I suck at fly fishing. It reminds me to never take any of this to seriously. It's fishing not brain surgery. Now on to today's video nice job. You might have mentioned the different arbor sizes and what they're for. A large arbor on a 2 wt fishing a mountain stream maybe over kill. Where as a large arbor on a 6 wt full of well rope on the Missouri might be just right. It all comes down to the critters your chasing. Stay huge 53 years behind the fly!
Reely good content Ben! Yup I said it! A good reel will last a long long time. Rods same if you don't break them doing something stupid, like walking with them tip forward! Best tip here is to get several spools so you can switch them out as conditions change on the water, from hour to hour or day to day. I have an old Hardy princess reel that a friend gave me years ago as he was getting something else, it had two extra spools, which are handy as I would float tube with a sinking line for a while then switch out later for some stream fishing, using the floating line on a different spool. That's reely all I have to say. ;D
Great video. But, I would say if you are right handed, which most of us are, you need to train yourself to reel with your left hand. Right-hand retrieve is for left-handed fly fishers.
I prefere looking like a beginner with crappy tools and no anglers clothes - and then casting the gear freaks azzez off.. Nobody disses you, when you cast a lot better than they do - they isolate and marginalize you (like girls do to competion everywhere).. "48 rules of power" - Never outshine the master.. :D
Ben, the only thing missing in this video is a hooded t-shirt restock. Only time I get noticed on the river is when I’m wearing a “I suck at fly fishing” short sleeve. Need the long sleeve hooded to go with my new Abel reel and 30’ cast.
Why does a spinning reel with 10+ ball bearings and waterproof drag cost $50 and a good fly reel with 1 ball bearing cost $500? Mysteries of the universe.
Because most fly fishermen think they are better than everyone else and if their reel is cheaper than little Timmy's walmart spinning reel they think they will be looked down upon.
Sort of like the guy who brings out the $250 bottle of wine, at a party, vs the "two buck chuck" that does basically the same job, getting you a bit "tipsy", after drinking a few glasses of it! And Ben would not notice the difference either way, being a confirmed suds guy! ;D LOL
Because a $50 spinning reel is cast aluminum or composite material. It’s the same way with fly reels. Also, cost per unit is less because sales of cheap spinning reels outnumber fly reels more than 10:1
@@coreytohme9861 Yeah, I once saw a Chimp using a spinning reel, but not a fly reel. Might have been CGI but looked cool, ....as the monkey's first real tool! ;D lol
All true words, from A to Z. I’m embarrassed to say I got a few of those overpriced fancy jobbers, and honestly they’re just a place to store line on. Out of the dozen or so Reels I own I can be caught most of the year fishing a sub $125, but with an extra spool for other lines. 👍
Buy Ross reels. I have an old Gunnison that I bought in the early 90s. I tried to put it on a more modern rod. Didn't fit, turns out the feel on those old reels were smaller than they are now. I contacted Ross reels asking about whether a new foot would fit on my old reel and ho much a replacement would cost. They sent me one with screws free of charge. I will never buy another reel other than Ross.
I fish for big bass, carp, snake head and bass and 150 reel maby 200 is what I go with that way I do have a decent drag my pan fish set up is definitely a cheep reel
I picked the Sage spectrum for my trout reel, and then went with a Galvin Torque for my big game reel. For fresh water, I think machined is nice, but a good cast reel will be fine. For salt machined all the way. Thing that drew me to the Galvin is the quality and simplicity. No bearings in the drag, so nothing to corrode, and I can do a full service on the reel in about 20 minutes. My two cents, and about colors? I like having a little fun with reel colors. Burnt orange for the Galvin. Looks like you have an orange Nautilus?
I will disagree with you on a sealed drag for saltwater. The drags in Tibor and Shilton reels are not sealed and they hold up because they are large cork friction drags that are easy to maintain. Sooner or later you are going to get saltwater in your sealed drag and that WILL lead to issues when you do not want them.
I buy what I like because well why not. If you want to go cheap then by all means do so, but if a fella wants a reel that’s over kill for most fish they catch than that is cool also. Me I fish Allen reels, and I’ll never go to anything else again.
But Ben, everyone in the county needs to know I'm hooked up when I'm using my skagit rod. That's why I bought a Battenkill. It's just a rule in fly fishing!
Sorry about the comment on the last vid. Tasteless joke with the naughty word. Didn’t get to see your comment Bc I’m sure my comment was deleted. Family friendly. My bad.
If you dont have 1000 dollar reels are you even a huge fly fisherman? I dont think youre actually allowed on a Hell's Bay without at least one grander reel.
