What kind of reel and lines to use..beginner

[dawtimothy 0]

Hey all,

Im a beginner and i would like to know a few things..it doesnt matter the price unless its over $200.00 i want to get a reel that will handle some sockeye ranging from 5-8 lbs. and some coho from 8-12 lbs., also what kind of line do i use i will be fishing mostly streams with medium moving currents that are about 2-3 feet deep for the sockeye and about 4-10 feet deep for the silvers..thanks to everyone hope that was enough information..oh yeah i just got a new rod its a loomis 8wt 9ft..thanks again

[Bert Brehm 0]

Characteristics of a good steelhead/salmon fly reel:

• smooth disk drag that works while wet or icy.
• avoid click/pawl drag unless it has an exposed flange to palm the spool
• reasonable backing capacity (100-150 yards of 30lb)
• spare spools that are easy to change in the field without dropping parts in the river
• large arbor is nice but not necessary
• light weight is nice but not necessary

Characteristics of a good steelhead/salmon fly line:

• 8 weight to balance your rod
• weight forward for shooting line
• steep front taper to carry weighted flies and split shot
• floating line is easier to mend
• flourescent color is easier to see.

 

 

[kodiaksalmon 0]

If you're going to get one line, get a WF floating line. You can make a floating line sink, but can't make a sinking line float. You can add sink tips or split shot ( :thumbsdown: Using split shot doesn't make you bad, I just think it's a PITA and causes more problems than the one it solves ) to your leaders to get it down. Even a weighted fly with a conehead or heavy eyes will get your fly down if your leader is long enough.

 

For reels, there's so many reels out there for less than $200 or even less than $100 that will last you a lifetime. Just don't skimp. Look at the reel, and don't shop based on price. Try to avoid the "wow, this reel is only $50 and that other one is $200, but they look the same, so I'll get this one...." Look for a good annodized reel with a decent disc drag. A large arbor is a good deal for what you're doing as well. You will use your drag on salmon, and you'll know real quick if you bought enough reel or not. I won't even drop brand name. Just shop around and you'll quickly see what's out there.

[Futzer 0]

Well, I believe when it comes to equipment, that you get what you pay for. I use a Tibor for Steelhead/Salmon. They are not cheap approx. $700. The trick will be getting a good reel that will hold an 8 wieght line and 200 yds of backing. If you use 30# you will go over budget. Go check out a Lamson 3.5, which will hold 200yds of 20# backing. It will set you back about $285. A Ross Rythm 3.5 will set you back about $240. Both are solid with good drag systems and reasonable extra spool prices. Do not get tempted with one of those lines that you can put different heads on via a loop connection, getting the loop through your guides without losing your fish is difficult, no matter how attractive the price vs feature comparision seems. With the depth your river has a good floating line will work, the 10 foot depth will be a bit hard to get fully down without a long leader. I'd probably go with a Scientific anglers steelhead taper WF 8 which are about $65.

 

Cheers Futzer

[kodiaksalmon 0]

I'll have to politely disagree with you Futzer on a couple of things. And not to argue, but rather for the poster's info.

 

Concerning the tips and the loop-to-loop connection, most are just fine. I fish with tips extensively for muskie, salmon, halibut, steelhead, and they all involve bringing the tip into the rod guides for landing a fish. I've never lost a fish or had any problems with them. If I saw it as even a small threat, I wouldn't jeopardize losing a 50" muskie, or 100 lb halibut from 200' of water. I trust them. That said, they need to be the right kind of loop. The factory loops, like from Rio are slim, unobtrusive and work very well. However, some do-it-yourself loops are big and clunky and can get hung in guides, and you're right, can cost you a fish. They wouldn't make shooting heads with loop-to-loop connections if the loop didn't shoot through the guides. I don't use shooting heads, I use sink tips, but the loops are the same, and they work very well.

 

I do agree about getting what you pay for; absolutely. I agree on the Tibors; all of my rods have Tibors on them. They're all I use. But he's looking for something less than $200, and that's very easily doable, and no reason for him to exceed his price range, or even $150. The Loomis Venture or the Pflueger Trion are two reels that come to mind that are less than $120 and will work just fine. The Orvis Battenkill LA used to be less than $200 (now about $230 I think) and I had a couple of those on my client rods for salmon and they worked like champs. I still have one somewhere around here. Alot of reels are being made overseas now (I'm pretty sure the Trion is) and the prices are coming down on these. The two reels you mention are good reels, but I want to make sure he knows he doesn't have to exceed his budget, and can be into a good reel and still pay for gas on the way to the river.

[peregrines 0]

Just want to 2nd Kodiak's advice on reels and fly line. You've gotten great advice on what to look for in a reel and some good specific recommendations. You might want to consider a Teton Tioga at about 170 bucks also in addition to the ones already mentioned.

 

For one fly line, I would also go with a high quality 8 wt, weight forward floater by Rio or SA designed for cold water to eliminate problems with coiling like a steelhead line. And, just to avoid confusion, I would recommend a full length (90-110 feet) line, not a shooting head (30') and shooting line system, especially if you're fairly new at this. At some point down the road, you might want to add a sink tip, so consider the price of an extra spool for your reel when you buy now, since you might want to add one down the road. But for now though, weighted flies and some mending will get you down in deeper 8-10 water and the floater will be fine for 3'.

 

Personally, some other qualities in a reel that I look for are a solid frame and spool that can take some banging around as opposed to some with a more "lacey" open type of design with lots of holes and drill outs that lighten weight but that might cause problems with alignment etc if they get banged around if you have to do some rock hopping or mad dashes after hooked fish, or pounding around in a boat. And double check to make sure anything you consider buying has a lifetime warrantee. (If you look at used reels, try and find one with a blank warrantee card).

 

Nothing against Tibors, Pates etc, they're great, but there's no need to break the bank and you can get a very good reel for what you're looking to do within your budget. Just my 2 cents.

 

peregrines

[dawtimothy 0]

Hello,

Thanks to everyone on your input, and Kodiak are you in Alaska? Im from Eagle River just north of Anchorage. I just want to know a few other things, some more noob questions. I want to thank you all for your reel and line recomendations I'll be shopping around for some this weekend. Now onto the line part, some things I dont get, how do I get the line to sink down on a floating line? Do I go from backing - floating line - leader - sinktip - weighted fly?

Thanks Tim

[kodiaksalmon 0]

I don't live in Kodiak right now unfortunately. I'm in the CG and work in helicopters as crew and mech. I was there from 99-04. Right now I'm stationed in Michigan, and actually decided to come here, rather than go back to my beloved island....because there's no muskie in Alaska! I'll be back up in 2012 when my muskie tour here is done.

 

As far as sinking a floating line, there's alot of ways. My preferred method is to add a sink tip with a loop to loop connection. In my boat I carry four or five different rods to accomodate depths and conditions but I'll use tips when I'm salmon or steelhead fishing on foot and I need to get down for a pool, or heavier current. It's easier to add a tip than it is to swap spools while standing in the river. Then when I come out of the pool, I take the tip off, or put on a lighter one, or whatever I need. And tips for this type of application are fairly short, less than 9'. Don't confuse a "tip" with a "head." A head will usually be 25'-30' or so, and is meant to actually compose the forward head of your fly line. A tip is just a short piece of sink tip that will drag your fly down to where you want it. In my opinion, tips are neat, clean and easy to cast. You can buy individual tips from alot of places, and one of things I like to do is buy skagit spey tips I see on the clearance table at a shop from Rio (15', because they're for a two-hand rod) and then cut off 5'-10' to get the length I want. You can also make your own from from sink tip material you can buy at the fly shop. you'll see "T-14" and other types for sale from Rio. You can make your own tips, and get into all kinds of sink rates and so forth.

 

Having spent I-don't-know how many hours fishing in Kodiak, I can tell you you don't need to get too fancy for salmon. You just need to get it down, and it ain't got to be fancy. One or two sink tips in you pocket should be able to cover rives and maybe the occasional lake or surf zone you want to fish. Bear in mind, it's easy to loop on too much sink tip, with too fast sink rate, and you'll be dredging the bottom and snagging on all kinds of stuff. I know reds like to hang low, but silvers will suspend more readily and sit higher in the water column, especially if they're cruising in a lake pre-spawn. Start with a longer tip, and then you can cut off what you need to find the happy medium.

 

Other methods of sinking a line are adding splitshot to your leader. I don't like this method because it creates a "hinge" in your leader and creates a chuck and duck kind of cast. Beyond that, I've seen them damage leaders and fish break off right where the shot was. All that hinging, and the actual crimping of metal onto your leader...I just don't prefer that method, but it will get your fly down. It's a very popular method for "flossing reds"....and you know what I mean.

 

As for sinking flies, almost all of my salmon flies are weighted to some extent. I like using dumbell eyes, or I-Balz if I'm fishing deep enough. Using eyes makes my hook ride point-up, which helps reduce snagging. To make sinking flies more effective, you need to go with a slightly longer leader; at least 7'-9'. Too short a leader, and your fly line will still float the fly and leader. Make the leader long enough, and your fly will more freely sink. Likewise, when using a sink tip, use a shorter leader so your (if you're fishing an unweighted) fly doesn't swim higher in the water column.

 

And as far as the stack-up, it's fly line, sink tip, leader/tippet.

[dawtimothy 0]

Thanks alot Kodiak..Ive been watching some videos on YouTube about muskie fishing it looks pretty fun, Ill have to try it someday. For now Ill have to learn the way of FLYFISHING. We do a lot of halibut fishing out of Whittier and Ive used casting rods for the reds and silvers around here but wanted to try something differend and more challenging. Anyways thanks again

Tim

[kodiaksalmon 0]

Just remember to keep it low and slow for reds. You've got to hit them on the nose with it. Reds will move side to side, but not typically up in the water column. I didn't fish for reds my last three years there. I concentrated entirely on silvers.

 

Halibut on a fly in 200' of water.....give it a shot. It's doable on regular fly gear-sink tips and big flies, and no lead weights or scent, but that's a whole different topic.

[dawtimothy 0]

Haha yeah, halibut on a fly rod with the conventional fly gear..that would be a challenge. I will have to try that also someday later on in life. Have a good day Kodiak

[kodiaksalmon 0]

13 wt, big reel (I use a Tibor Pacific or Gulfstream), as much backing as you can put on, and the fastest sinking line you can find.

[dawtimothy 0]

Would you have any pictures of the flys you would use for the chasing butt..?

[kodiaksalmon 0]

Just make 'em big. There's different methods of casting for halibut, but in deep water, I like a large sillouette that best mimics a sand lance or squid.

 

[Futzer 0]

I'll have to politely disagree with you Futzer on a couple of things. And not to argue, but rather for the poster's info.

 

Concerning the tips and the loop-to-loop connection, most are just fine. I fish with tips extensively for muskie, salmon, halibut, steelhead, and they all involve bringing the tip into the rod guides for landing a fish. I've never lost a fish or had any problems with them. If I saw it as even a small threat, I wouldn't jeopardize losing a 50" muskie, or 100 lb halibut from 200' of water. I trust them. That said, they need to be the right kind of loop. The factory loops, like from Rio are slim, unobtrusive and work very well. However, some do-it-yourself loops are big and clunky and can get hung in guides, and you're right, can cost you a fish. They wouldn't make shooting heads with loop-to-loop connections if the loop didn't shoot through the guides. I don't use shooting heads, I use sink tips, but the loops are the same, and they work very well.

 

I do agree about getting what you pay for; absolutely. I agree on the Tibors; all of my rods have Tibors on them. They're all I use. But he's looking for something less than $200, and that's very easily doable, and no reason for him to exceed his price range, or even $150. The Loomis Venture or the Pflueger Trion are two reels that come to mind that are less than $120 and will work just fine. The Orvis Battenkill LA used to be less than $200 (now about $230 I think) and I had a couple of those on my client rods for salmon and they worked like champs. I still have one somewhere around here. Alot of reels are being made overseas now (I'm pretty sure the Trion is) and the prices are coming down on these. The two reels you mention are good reels, but I want to make sure he knows he doesn't have to exceed his budget, and can be into a good reel and still pay for gas on the way to the river.

 

No worries, you did not offend. I have never used the Rio loops, but several others, and I have not had good luck with them. I have never fished Halibut conventional or fly, but that sounds pretty wild. I have used loop heads on Tiger muskie, pike, salmon and steelhead and did not have your experience with them. Most the salmon and steelies I have caught were in fairly cold weather conditions, so maybe that was it, or the fact I have not used one in over 5 years. I would select the floating line based on the depth that Dawtimothy described of less than 10 feet, or maybe a 5 foot mini tip. Anyway there are as many opinions and trusted equipment choices are there are flies.

 

Cheers Futzer.