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by Bruce Middleton, March 08,
Knowing how to choose the right reel for the right situation is imperative&#;
In the world of fishing the reel is arguably the most important element other than the rod, you need to know and understand completely. Besides knowing how to cast the different kinds, you also need to have a good working knowledge of the mechanic&#;s of the reels so you can do simple repairs, maintenance and other important operations like changing lines and setting the drag. If you buy a new reel, keep the owners manual in a safe place so you can find it easily and refer to it should the need arise. If the reel is used or a manual didn&#;t come with the reel, write to the manufacture and request a manual. These are usually free and if you send a medium sized bubble wrap filled envelope, self-addressed with plenty of postage on it, they are usually more than happy to oblige you.
There are three basic types of reels we will be discussing in this article. The push button reel, the spinning reel and the bait caster reel. I&#;m often asked which one of these reels is best and the answer is all and none. Like lures, no one reel can do all the things you need it to do. This is why pros use bait casting and spinning reels and amateurs should use them too. You notice I didn&#;t mention the push button reel. That is because, basically it is a spinning reel, and the trip mechanism or bail is just different.
A push button reel is the easiest reel to learn to use and it is a good substitute for a spinning reel in the beginning. Cleverly designed, the push button reel makes casting a snap and highly recommended for kids and beginners. There are no complicated parts to worry about or bails to flip, just a button to depress and let go of. My four-year-old grandson learned to cast with one in just an afternoon. They have good range, the drag system is easy to set up and good models are quite reasonably priced. They will last for years and can even be past on to younger generations. The down falls of a push button reel are that they hold a limited amount of line, the line comes of the spool less smoothly than a spinning reel and the drag system are usually pretty basic.
Eventually, however, you will want a better reel with more casting distance, a better drag system, more line capacity and more controllability. This is when you get yourself a good spinning reel. Again, save the manual. Spinning reels are made for casting light lures long distances. The open face design allows the line to unspool smoothly so that even a small single BB sinker can be cast a great distance. This is an advantage unique to spinning reels. Spinning reels are usually fished with light lines too and to this end you will need to look for reels that have wide and deep spools. If you try several different spinning reels, you will notice that when you turn the handle the amount of up and down motion of the spool differs. The width of the spool differs too. The width of the spool does two things. One, it reels in the line faster on wider spools than it does on smaller spools and two, it creates looser loops from the reel to the first eye of the rod. This loose loop creates less drag and allows you cast farther. Also you should look for large eyes on the rod especially at the first eye.
The controllability factor comes into play by you being able to cup your free hand around the reel to produce drag on the line to slow it down or stop it so as to place the lure right where you want it to go. Most good spinning reels come with a second spool. This spool can be wound with a different poundage fishing line so that it is a snap to change line sizes while only owning a single rod and reel. Say you are fishing a worm with 8-pound test line and decide to go with a jig in a weed bed. This calls for a mush heavier line, so you change spools so your using 20 pound test line, tie on the jig and away you go. It only takes a minute and you have a completely different reel. Of course you have to change the drag setting but is no big deal.
A bait caster reel is a power fisherman&#;s reel. It&#;s made to be tough, durable and rugged. The drag system is far and away more superior to any spinning reel. The drag anti-backlash system can be centrifugal, magnetic or even electronic. The drag system itself is usually ceramic so that heat build up doesn&#;t affect it. The cost of a good bait caster can range from 50 to 400 dollars with the mid-range holding some of the finest reels on the market. Higher end reels are import with a lot of whistles and bells and low end reels cut so many corners that they just don&#;t last long and they don&#;t perform well at all.
With bait caster reels it is often wisest to buy them in combo packages. These packages save you a huge amount of money and you get a top of the line rod to go with the new reel. If you don&#;t have one, look for a package that offers a medium graphite rod with a Tennessee handle. A Tennessee handle is the long two handed model that makes long casts a dream and that you can rest the butt of the rod under you reeling arm and make reeling far less tiring. It also makes playing a big bass far less of a strain on your arm too. An as you get older, a long day on the lake of hour of casting can really take its toll on your arm. Ask any pro, most are suffering from tendonitis, bad elbows and pain in their forearms. The Tennessee handle has helped alleviate a lot of that kind of pain.
Bait caster reels can&#;t cast light lures very far but the drag system is so superior and the gear ratio combination, so versatile that the bait caster is a necessity when it come to fishing for bass or any other fresh water big fish. The real technique to using a bait caster reel is educating your thumb. Your thumb controls the trigger mechanism of the reel just like it does on a push button reel. When at rest the thumb lies on the inside of the reel just off of the spool. This gives your hand a wrap-around grip of the rod and reel at the same time for the best grip. You push down on the release bar and let go as the rod arcs through the 11:00 position for the best and longest cast.
But distance casting is just one of many casts that must be mastered with these reels in order to use them to their fullest potential and to use all the fishing techniques available to you. There is the flip and pitch casts, the side arm cast which is the least wearing on you arm and body, the under arm cast and the skip cast. All of these casts must be mastered and the way in which the rod, reel and line work together in concert must be perfectly every time for consistent results.
Never overfill a reel with too much line, bait casting or spinning reels. All you will get is a huge mess when you try and cast and loops of line that&#;s come off the reel all at once causing your reel to cast shorter than normal. Try to leave about 1/8th of the spool empty. This way you will have room for expansion of the line and no problems casting. If you do have problems, pull off about 50 feet of line and cut it off, retie your lure and start over. When you load up a reel for the first time with new line what do you instinctively do? You put pressure on the line as you reel in on. Then when you go out on the water and cast a light lure, like a worm, and reel it in, there is no pressure on the line and it has swelled up on the reel. Now when you go to cast it a second or third time, it won&#;t cast very far, leaves huge over runs in the reel or just stops short because the line is bound up on the reel. This is why you leave room on the spool. It&#;s just for this expansion.
There is so much more to learn about reels, but the owners manual, practice and time on the water will give the confidence and time you need to learn all about your reels.
Bruce Middleton
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In the first two installments of Fly Fishing 101, I covered the importance of developing a relationship with your fly shop and choosing your first fly rod. In this segment, we&#;re going to cover some things you should know about purchasing a fly reel.
I&#;ll admit it: I&#;m guilty of skipping right past fly reels when teaching fly fishing workshops. I usually mutter something about over-priced line holders before jumping straight into fly lines, but the truth is that there is more to a reel than its role as fly line caddy.
A Good Fit
In last week&#;s article, I explained that the rod you choose should be suited to the fishery you&#;re likely to spend the most time enjoying. The same goes for the reel you attach to that rod. Reels are sized to correspond with rods (and fly lines, more on that in the next article) and usually designed to match two consecutive rod weights, such as 3-4 or 5-6. They vary in physical weight and diameter&#;a trout reel, for example, being smaller than one made for tarpon. Optimally, you want a reel that matches the rod you just bought but can also handle a rod size larger or smaller, in case you decide to expand your quiver.
Even within size class, reel weights can vary. Most are made of aluminum or plastic, and while plastic is lighter, it&#;s also less durable. Lightweight reels are great for reducing arm fatigue, but a heavier reel is advantageous for counterbalancing a heavy rod. You probably don&#;t need to overthink this for your first reel, though.
Once you have the size figured out, your other major consideration should be the reel&#;s drag&#;the means for applying tension to the spool as a fish takes out line. Many novice-friendly fish species like panfish and small trout don&#;t require serious stopping power or a drag at all. Larger fish and almost anything in saltwater, however, will need some sort of brake.
The OGs
The original fly reels were designed simply, without an adjustable drag. Known as click-and-pawl reels, a spring-loaded metal pawl arm locks into a toothed gear on the inside of the spool like a ratchet. This pairing makes a distinctive clicking sound when rotated. Because they have no drag system, click-and-pawl reels rely solely on the angler applying pressure to the spool with the palm of her hand to slow a running fish.
While there are some old-school Atlantic salmon anglers who swear the sound of the clicker was designed to let fishermen know how fast their fish is running, many modern-day anglers simply use the noise as an announcement to others that they have a fish on. Sound aside, click-and-pawl reels work fine for freshwater anglers who don&#;t need a burly drag and want to feel more connected to a fish on the line. Some of the early click-and-pawls are now expensive collectibles, but most of the ones on the market today are reasonably priced&#;often the most affordable option.
Dressed in Drag
Fly reels have evolved into ironman beasts&#;some with drags strong enough to literally stop vehicles (or so the marketers would have you believe). Built-in drag systems can be made from Teflon, cork, carbon or metal, and are often sealed to keep lubrication in and water out. This is especially important when fishing in saltwater, where plastic and other components can deteriorate when exposed to salt. Rinse any reel after fishing in the ocean or brackish water.
How much drag you need usually depends on the type of fish you&#;re chasing. A 50-pound giant trevally demands a much more sophisticated drag system than a 15-inch trout. Not all large fish, however, require a drag capable of stopping a freight train. Talk to your local fly shop and research your preferred quarry before dropping $500 on a line holder.
The Retrieve
Most anglers hold the rod with their dominant hand and reel with their off hand. So, if you&#;re right-handed, your reel should hang below the rod with the handle on the left side, the line coming off the bottom of the spool, and the drag engaging when the spool turns clockwise&#;vice versa for lefties. Most modern reels can be converted to either left or right-hand retrieves.
Another consideration is spool revolution. The vast majority of fly reels have a 1:1 ratio of line pick up. This means that every turn of the reel handle winds one wrap of line onto the spool, unlike the gearing provided by conventional spinning and levelwind reels.
To increase the rate of pickup, some anglers prefer reels with &#;large arbor&#; spools. A wider, larger-diameter arbor increases the amount of line you can recover with each rotation of the reel.
Lastly, fly reels aren&#;t built with worm gears like levelwinds or spindles like spinning reels. The line needs to be manually manipulated to distribute the line evenly on the spool when retrieved. Failure to do so while fighting a fish can cause a pile of line to hug one side of the spool cage, eventually building up until the reel jams and you can&#;t wind in the fish any further. It&#;s an embarrassment no angler wants to face, so it&#;s a good idea to become accustomed to proper line recovery before heading out on the water.
Bottom Line
How much money you choose to spend on a fly reel is entirely up to you. There are functional trout reels available for as low as $20, but you will likely find yourself limited to specific waterways and fish. It&#;s important to mention that some cheap reels may be prone to seizing in certain temperatures or scenarios. Personally, I&#;m a fan of affordable click-and-pawl reels for small salmon, trout and steelhead, though they&#;re not free from unforeseen dramas either. I once lost an enormous steelhead when the spring disengaged from my reel&#;which was literally smoking.
For your first purchase, consider reels that come with spare spools. This economical option means that lines of various weights, tapers and sink rates can be pre-wound and easily interchanged for use on other fly rods or fishing situations.
My advice to new anglers is to find a reel that suits their budget and to become acquainted with it before hitting the water. Just remember to keep your knuckles out of the way, to utilize your pinky finger for level line retrieval, and know what drag setting works well for stripping off line and setting the hook. Mostly though, just get out there and have fun with it. Line-holder or ironman, your fly reel is about to become the protector of the most important part of your fly fishing rig: the fly line, which we&#;ll be discussing in the next installment of Fly Fishing 101.
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