What Makes A Good Trout Fly Reel?

[Wildfisher]

My fly reels get a lot of use.

As do mine and the DC3 is still as new save the dings and scratches

I fish rivers mainly. On rivers you are constantly stripping and winding which means a lot of wear on the bearing point

This is an issue not only on rivers and one most fly fishers don't seem to be aware of.  Unless you strip off line parallel to the rod (no one does that) the lower reel post is a static bearing point and it will wear out the coating of your line (and eventually may even cut a groove in the post which will strip the coating off completely). I have been using Vosseler reels for so long I too had failed to consider this.  Our discussion of this subject in the pub a few weeks ago brought it back to mind.

Some folk get almost paranoid about using things like line cleaners, Armour All pads, line slick etc  worrying that these will damage they coating on the line. That's laughable when you consider the wear you cause to your line coating every time you pull line from the reel! 

If you change your line often this might not be a big issue for you, but it is still one everyone should be aware off. 

I can't prove this, but if you are using high end lines that cost £70 a time I reckon you will pay back the cost of a properly  designed reel within  3 or 4 seasons  max.

Poor design is poor design no matter if it's a fly reel or a motor car.  I am not surprised at all that it took a German engineering company to see this and do something about it. 

Vorsprung durch Technik  as we Vosseler users say.   :lol:

[Bobfly]

Vosseler cannot be so fully fixed on the two side post design for their small DC3. My salmon reel is a Vosseler S3 ...... which has a three post cage ......... and one of the three is a bottom post !!!!
My favourite reels are my Orvis BBS IVs. Lovely to use. Simple clean lines. Lightweight Sage reels look flimsy and may not last a few drops onto rocks which is where the DC3s and similar have the ability to last and take the wear. I have had years and years from bog-standard Dragonfly 395s with cheap line spools and a solid build. Still what I would use when rattling about in a boat.
The Daniellson small roller spool holding  system was brought in way back by Loop who abandoned them because small bits of grit get into the open rollers and grind up the edge surfaces on the spool itself that the little rollers run on. Many Loops were returned to the shops they were bought from !!!!

[Wildfisher]

I agree that many  fly fishers may not even be aware of it, but that does not mean it's not a problem. It's one of the strengths of this forum that within we have such a wide base of expertise and experience and share it without being shackled by commercial considerations. Improvements in tackle is an ongoing process driven by real anglers. By that I don't mean bells whistles as they are not improvements and are driven by marketing. If anglers  did not observe and act we would not have lined but and tip rings on our  rods.

Alex has had a serious problem with exactly this issue, probably an extreme example of it, but it really brought it to my notice. I certainly feel it deserves further investigation and will probably do just that and publish the results.

I agree though that ultimately it's down to personal choice, people should use what they are happy with, but I like to think that a group like ours can help by providing information  that helps make that choice informed.

[Wildfisher]

The Daniellson small roller spool holding  system was brought in way back by Loop who abandoned them because small bits of grit get into the open rollers

When I first looked at that Sage reel years ago  grit was the first thing that came to mind.

[Bobfly]

I wholly take the point about the tip ring of a rod, which should all be lined IMHO. I wish my rods were !! The diameter of the wire in a tip ring is maybe 1mm, and that is actually the extreme edging surface over which fly lines run. Think of when you wind in against a fish or any resistance and that it by far the sharpest edge in the system  for the line to fold over.
Not noticed by me until it was too late a friend I was climbing with once threaded an abseil through a thin wire sling instead of through a krab into the wire loop and that then put an instant bulge of the rope core out through the rope sheath. £75 gone in a moment !!! Feck !!!

[Wildfisher]

I wholly take the point about the tip ring of a rod, which should all be lined IMHO. I wish my rods were !! The diameter of the wire in a tip ring is maybe 1mm, and that is actually the extreme edging surface over which fly lines run.

True. Also think of  the way you pull line off a reel, it's under tension especially if you have the drag set quite high. We  tend to lapse into our own "default behavior patterns"  if carrying out repetitive mechanical procedures and I'll bet we always pull the line off the same way and the wear point will be at the same point on the post - probably the left corner if you are right handed.

Alex - any chance  of posting a photos of the wear on your Lansom reels?

[bushy palmer]

. We  tend to lapse into our own "default behavior patterns"  if carrying out repetitive mechanical procedures

Absolutely- Almost everything we do is almost always "Muscle Memory" when it comes to fishing. After 30 years I cannot teach myself to play fish on the reel- it feels alien to me and I have no confidence doing it.  Last year at a certain whumper loch I had an amazing day with fish to rediculous proportions. The whole time I was there I was getting lectured about how I WILL loose these fish if I didn't get them "on the reel". Only once I'd landed my seventh did I hear a concession that maybe "it's whatever you're comfortable with"

[Ythanjoe]

I was happy with a small orvis battenkill reel, not lightweight but cheap enough but after hooking my first decent river trout I moved swiftly to a large arbor, playing off the reel is a lot less fun ( in my opinion) but I am not skilled enough to dance around coils of line on a river if the fish gets downstream and I have to follow it :roll: On rivers I like to get the line back on the reel if the fish is a good one,  the Orvis Battenkill LA has served well and never failed ( unlike the waterworks LA , at X3 the price ) .....but I do like a very light reel and the waterworks is still my favourite, for that reason only ......its also OK to look at when you have several hours to spend waiting for a hatch

[Wildfisher]

but I am not skilled enough to dance around coils of line on a river if the fish gets downstream and I have to follow it :roll:

Yes, playing a big fish in a loch by hand lining is one thing, on a river it's something different altogether. I can think of  a few occasions on rivers when I would have lost a fish if not playing it off the reel. I have in fact lost fish even on a loch by loose coils of line becoming  fouled in vegetation at my feet - snap.......  IMO a good reel is an essential bit of kit.

[Hill loch gold]

I have in fact lost fish even on a loch by loose coils of line becoming  fouled in vegetation at my feet - snap.......  IMO a good reel is an essential bit of kit.

I always play good fish on the reel because of things like this fred. If your line gets tangled up and the fish makes a strong run, there will only be 1 outcome.