Nautilus Fly Reels... Yeah, but which one?

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Buy now before the price goes down!!! Your young, shop carefully! Shops often have -25% -30% & -40%! I even knew of one shop have a moving sale, everything -50%! Does it have to be today or tommorrow?

[flytire 0]

a few weeks ago, werent you bitching about having to pay $4 for grizzly marabou and now you want a $275 reel?

 

[Adam Saarinen 0]

But now he's tying for a guide, so the money will be rolling in! One guy here tied 5000 flies, then bought a house! :-)

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

Bitching? That's a little strong, remarking maybe.

 

Amongst others, I own three Lamson Guru reels and they are quite sturdy with solid and smooth drags. As was mentioned these reels are at your price point. However they only come in satin silver. For me, black or silver is fine, but to each his own. The Guru II is also available in the HD version with a full cage design that might interest you.

 

And like Adam mentioned, look around for close-outs on last years models as you can probably save yourself at least 25% which would leave about seventy-five bucks in your pocket that could go towards a new fly line and backing. Speaking of which, keep an eye out for some sites that offer a credit or free fly line with the purchase of a reel, that is also a great savings.

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

Adam, that was a dog house.

[Saltybum 0]

Well Flats is only 14 and not married so he doesn't have to worry about ending up IN the dog house for buying pricey tackle.

[FlatsRoamer 0]

What he said lol

[Cold 0]

Hey guys, looking to add to my arsenal with a nautilus fly reel. Something at max 275$, large arbor, made for the salt, disc drag, and with color(gotta have style).

 

I know Nautilus has a great rep but I have yet to use one. Does anyone know of any like that?

 

 

Thanks!

Since I didn't see anywhere in your original post where you asked for any input about your finances, I'm not sure why so many feel entitled in that vein.

 

Anyway, in your stated budget, Nautilus reel selection, for you, begins and ends with the FWX, and at that, only in black or silver.

 

I have two, and they both work well enough, though for their price point, I'd have liked a bit more range of drag power.

 

That said, they've never failed me, and I'm not under the delusion that my palm is a better or more consistent drag than what the thing is built with. When I have a decent fish on, I like to get them on the reel and let the drag earn its pay, even if it's set light. It's just one of two schools of thought on reels: either pay the money, get a nice drag, and enjoy using it, or eschew the need for any drag at all, and you can use whatever cheap thing you dig out of a bargain bin, or even just use a homemade spool lashed to the end of the rod, (then there's the third group that gets their ultra modern high tech, or antique/retro job, pays a ton of money, and either has paid for a bunch of features they'll never use, or paid for prestige in the form of age, rarity, location of build, or something else that's important to them but has little impact on function)...no right or wrong answers, just different approaches. For my fishing, I've had a few bad experiences with cheap reels when I was first getting into the sport, so I typically won't even consider the cheap ones anymore. If I can't devote more funds to the purchase of a quality reel, then I'd rather have no reel at all right now and wait until I have more scratch that I can justify sinking into a better reel.

 

Guys who do a ton of salt fishing generally go for more expensive reels, and into one of two other schools, that being the open cork drag and the fully sealed (usually carbon fiber disc or some sort of plastic) drag.

 

Down the road, you'll likely fall into one of those two, but for now, you just need something light and dependable, that's salt safe, and most of all, you need to take good care of it, whether it just needs a freshwater rinse, or a disassembly, or whatever.

 

Also, FWIW, the drags on the Lamsons are all of the same design but are not the exact same drag unit. They're all good reels, but that is a distinction that often gets lost on forum threads. I also have two of these (a Force LT and a Litespeed), and while neither one gets used a lot regularly, both are solid performers when they do see water. Had some bearing issues with the Litespeed, but that's on their bearing supplier, not Lamson (who took very good care of me in getting that sorted out). It's also worth noting that, despite what some may tell you, the Lamson drags are not fully sealed. That distinction may be meaningless for you, but it's worth noting. They use an O-ring to help keep water and grit out, but through normal use a certain amount of water (and if you're in dirty conditions or not careful, sand and dirt) will get in, and it's necessary to rinse thoroughly in fresh water and allow to dry after use in a salt environment. For freshwater that isn't terribly dirty, it's not a big issue, but salt = problems.

 

My suggestion overall is to take your budget and make a list of reels that fit it, as well as a few that are just outside it at MSRP, then look around in clearance sales on fly shop websites and closeout outdoor gear sites and see what you can come up with. Sierra Trading Post, Steep & Cheap, etc. are all good places to look. Also note that STP email coupons generally don't apply to any of their fly reels. While their prices are good, this generally means that I go elsewhere when it's reel time.

[carpflyguy 0]

First, do you have a quality rod and line you'd pair this with?

 

I wouldn't want to have a $275 reel matched with a rod from a $60 complete combo, nor would I want to have a $15 line on it.

 

There are cheapo reels, like others have suggested, that work fine. If you're in saltwater, look for the simplest metal reel you can find. I got one for like 50 bucks off a Cabelas sale and have no complaints. It's as simple as a reel could be, so basically nothing to trap water and form rust or nothing to break. I've abused this reel... constant dunkings in the surf, burried in sand... drag still runs smooth, works as good as some of my much more expensive reels.

 

But like I said, if you want to buy a $275 reel, make sure you have the cash to buy a quality line for it and a rod that will cast it far.

[carpflyguy 0]

But Cold has the best response here. If you're set on a fancier reel, don't get fixated on one brand. Make a list of ones that would work and then just wait for a sale

[Saltybum 0]

Hunt the sales, and used stuff, take your time.

Just got today an older Lamson Radius 3.5 for $65 shipped. Looks absolutely new and Black at that, my favorite color.

Now to load some backing on it.

[Cold 0]

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/forum/threads/nautilus-fwx-7-8-and-ccf-x2-6-8.119437/

 

Boom.

 

FWX for sale, and $50 under your budget.

In your corner of the US on a PNW site to boot.

[Kudu 0]

Check out still waters fly shop. They give you backing and fly line. Also sell used reels. Since your a working man now buy an Abel. It's what all the cool guys in key west are using. Anyway, glad to see your washing cars! Feels good to earn your own way!

[Saltybum 0]

Or maybe a Charlton?

[ChromeAddict 0]

Another vote for Lamson. I got a velocity 3.5 for $185 USD about a month ago. Buttery smooth drag. Look on eBay and you can find closeout reels for cheap.