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when someone says "the reel's just for holding line, right?"

Started by corsican dave, May 25, 2017, 04:42:48 PM

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corsican dave

you know they ain't ever been fly-fishing for big carp  :lol: :8)
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If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're probably doing something wrong - John Gierach

caorach

I think it depends where you fish - I'm very much of the "just for holding line" school as you know but the "bigger" fish I hook tend to be salmon or sea trout on small rivers and they rarely run out of the pool and it is rare you can't follow them up and down the pool if necessary, they also tend to top out around 6lb with most significantly smaller. I know it is different fishing to what many people do but it is also the case that for a sub-set of anglers the reel is almost always just for holding the line. I've been thinking about it and suspect that in nearly 40 years of fishing I've played 3 fish off the reel, and only two of them took me into the backing. If I was chasing different fish in a different environment then I could hold a different view on this.

This is what I tend to look like when playing a fish, I understand the risks of having all that line flapping about but there are risks with getting them on the reel as well and on small pools like this it works for me:




Robbie

Dave you don't need to justify your tackle tart tendencies to us  :makefun

corsican dave

Quote from: Robbie on May 25, 2017, 11:05:36 PM
Dave you don't need to justify your tackle tart tendencies to us  :makefun
:lol:

it's nice to be amongst friends!  :8)

joking aside, this is a recent photo of Marek, my friend in Gran Canaria. at this point in the battle you can pretty much only watch the backing pour off the reel and hope you don't get spooled....
If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're probably doing something wrong - John Gierach

Robbie

Its a great photo, that reel looks like its really being put through its paces!

Whenever this topic comes up people often talk about never having a fish take them into their backing. I wonder how relevant this is. I'm by no means a good caster and a good portion of my fly lines remain on the reel. To my thinking if you even end up playing a fish on your reel you'd want to be fairly confident it is going to perform as required. Does it really mater if a fish pulls 10yards or 110yars of line off your reel it still needs to be reliable. Obviously a longer run will put more strain on a reel, but you will require same performance on start-up inertias and if the reel isn't up to scratch the end result will be the same.

corsican dave

quite right Robbie, and you touch on a number of points here. firstly, start-up inertia: this needs to be as near as dammit zero but... secondly:  there needs to be no chance of a backlash or over-run & again as the fish runs. it's a tough call and many reels aren't up to scratch (or intended for this situation, to be fair)
If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're probably doing something wrong - John Gierach

Wildfisher

Quote from: Robbie on May 26, 2017, 02:02:39 PM
Does it really mater if a fish pulls 10yards or 110yars of line off your reel it still needs to be reliable.

Indeed it does matter, or least it did to me. I had one fish last month that took me too the backing. The smooth drag with no start up inertia was essential  with the 5X tippet. However once that amount of line was out on the water the reel became irrelevant. What lost the fish was the drag of the line on the water pulling out the size 16 hook. Possibly not such a big deal if you are using large hooks and heavy nylon, but you won't catch many big trout on a river doing that.

Bobfly

I have seen for years adverts suggesting "zero startup inertia" and I have always wondered how some sort of a reel, cheap or expensive, can have "zero startup inertia". If the drag is part way on when you are fishing then there will be some resistance to any pull that is going to turn the spool of the reel. Only if there is no resistance at all can there be zero effort required ..... unless I am missing something. If no effort is required to start to turn the spool it would gently turn this way and that of its own accord whilst you watched it hanging from the rod handle. Surely it is only when a force draws on the line, even a slight force, that the spool can rotate and that is the force required to overcome the initial inertia. Any physicists here ??
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corsican dave

well, if you're spoiling for a scientific argument Vaughan, I guess you're right  :lol: yep, "zero inertia" taken literally is a nonsense. but it's an easier concept for most folks (and far more marketable) than "barely perceptible" or "so low you won't get snapped off" ...

as it happens, i really don't have any drag set most of the time when i'm after carp. and that's where the reel comes into it; even at a "zero" setting there's still enough check to prevent an over-run and let the line run smoothly; with a good reel.
If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're probably doing something wrong - John Gierach

Bobfly

Not spoiling for any argument Dave ..... I'm just pointing out that "zero startup inertia" is completely bollocks physics. The reel when it is not turning is just that, it is a "body at rest" in terms of physics. No body when at rest can be moved without the application of a force ... simples. What you have is a setting giving an even but low level of resistance in order to prevent an over-run. If the fish stops running then your reel will also stop simply because you have set a resistance to the turning of the spool. Even with the very low friction and sweet balance of a good centre pin reel it will, in time, stop spinning because of the friction that is in the machine. Zero inertia is, as you say, a nonsense.
For a "zero startup inertia" reel makers would have to invent a friction free machine for which they would be awarded a Nobel Prize because they would be the first in the history of the world to do so.....  :roll: :roll:
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