Reel advice

[Hill loch gold]

I'm looking for a reel to match up with my hardy jet switch 8/9. It has to be big enough to take a line like a rio short head spey but not too big for the rod. That's the salmon running my local rivers now and i still haven't had a cast with this rod yet.  Leaving things to the last minute as always.
Any advice appreciated.

Alan

[rannoch raider]

The Hardy Ultralite CLS Reel seems to be on sale at most places at the moment. Reduced from approx £250 to approx £150. Nice reels. I use the 5000 for trout lines and the 7000 for 9 weight Pike lines which are mainly short heavy head weight forwards. I don't put huge amounts of backing on and they tend to be shorter lines so the 7000 is fine. For decent salmon you might want more backing so perhaps the 9000 model would be a better choice.
It's a nice smooth reel for not a lot of cash at the moment. Maybe worth considering.

Cheers
Jim

[corsican dave]

ditto on the Hardy Ultralite; I got a couple of the DDs when they were on sale, 7000. fantastic reels. survive a good dunking, too.

i'm pretty impressed with the Vision Big Daddy I got last year. colour scheme's probably not your thing (but who knows.... :lol:). it's basically an uprated Rulla. the Ace of Spey would probably be ideal for you, with the Rulla as a slightly cheaper option.

having said all this, if I were buying another reel right now i'd probably go for another Danielsson. the L5W 6Nine is a beautiful piece of engineering and is fully saltwater-proof. plus their smaller 4seven spool fits the same reel. only downside is that the cost is creeping up a bit from the discounted Hardys and the carriage. but I can vouch for the fact that their delivery is amazingly efficient

just in case you're wondering, this is my complete reel collection (give or take the old okuma as reserve). a couple of years ago I made a point of replacing shite with the best I could (or couldn't  :roll:) afford. never regretted it and I guess my credit card company is quite happy, too

[Hill loch gold]

Thanks for the replies guys. I contemplated buying an ultralite but spoke to a guy with the same rod and this is what he told me

Alan.
Just cast aside the 7000 or 9000 I tried them both the 7000 no space for backing an looks out of place, 9000 just to large in diameter.

Dave, by coincidence i was on the danielsson website 1st thing this morning having a look. Anybody who owns 1 of their reels seems to rate them very highly.

[corsican dave]

Alan.
Just cast aside the 7000 or 9000 I tried them both the 7000 no space for backing an looks out of place, 9000 just to large in diameter.

interesting that one, Alan. my one's had a #10wt floating sage pike line (which is not  dainty line, more like a skagit) on it and I reckon I got 150m+ of 25lb braid backing no worries. but admittedly that's not a great deal when you're contemplating a long-running salmon, plus you're probably wanting something a bit beefier than braid as it's a bugger on the fingers at high speed! ( I still have a numb spot on my forefinger from a carp two years ago  :lol:)

i'd go with the Danielsson if you can afford it. your kids will thank you... :wink:

just by way of balance, lest everyone thinks this isn't objective; the Danielsson handle is a bit on the small side. I got Ken to look at making a bigger one but the design means it's a bit thin for wood. the Hardy handle is perfect, but sadly they're not interchangeable.

[Hill loch gold]

Got this from a friend yesterday to try on my rod....brand new with the option to buy if i liked!!

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Have to say i was really impressed with the reel and it looked the buisness on my rod  :lol: ....but it just felt far too heavy for the wee 11ft rod. My brother and toprod were with me and both of them had a cast and said the same.

The reel hunt continues!!

[Lochan_load]

I got a hardy ultralight dd on eBay for a snip, it was listed as used but had been used once. It's a great reel. Anyways saw this and thought it might be of interest and it's also listed as used but only once! Currently going for £40, might be food for thought....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282104275805

[corsican dave]

if it was "used only once" it wasn't very well treated! a lot of scuffing on the bottom of the reel and a few nicks here & there. mine are over a year old now and look way better than that.... maybe I don't get out enough?

[Hill loch gold]

This came in the post today

Hardy ultralite 8000dd

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It looks good and is an ideal size to go with my rod....got it for a good price too 

[corsican dave]

looks a damned sight better than that other one off e-bay. well done!