Buying a reel

[Fish For Life 0]

Im looking into buying a reel in a while for a 9' 10 weight single handle rod. I will by fishing mostly pike and some times salmon. I know many of you probably have a crazy $300 reel but im looking for something for a bit less. Im looking for a reel under $100.When i get older i might go out and buy A really nice reel for a few fly rods but for know i need to try to keep it fairly cheap. Im not buying right know i just want to get some ideas for the future. Any sugestions.

 

Thanks

[Crackaig 0]

First of all you don't give much detail about what you are looking for. I'm in the market for a new reel for Atlantic salmon. It need not be saltwater proof. My preference is for a disc drag. For probably 100 years, until recently, click check reels were used for A. Salmon. There is a simple rule to look at when getting something like this. "The more engineering that goes into it the more it is going to cost." You will not get a Rolls Royce for the price of a Skoda.

 

This is what I am looking at for my new reel. It is a larger version of what I use for trout. I know this is in England so shipping and taxes may be a factor. At this price though, you will still come in under your budget. The smaller ones are superb for the price. I have two and am looking at 3 more over the next few months. It's a lot more reel than you are paying for.

 

Cheers,

C.

[Piker20 0]

I have seen Crackaigs reels and they are really good. If you didn't know you would easily say they cost 2x if not 3x what they do. I use a 10/11 weight Leeds LA profil reel on my salmon rod. Again not saltwater friendly and the drag is a simple rachet but I don't fish off the drag all that much.

For saltwater reels you need to look for a reliable drag if you are hitting big hard running species but for my bass and seatrout fishing in salt I use a scierra avalanche reel in 7 weight and wash it each trip and its going strong, i don't need a drag that can stop a small car.

 

 

[EricF 0]

Once you have a better sense of what you want, it may be worth looking at www.sierratradingpost.com - they have good deals (an expensive reel is still an expensive reel) and they if you look at price alone you may get a reel that doesn't meet your needs. Their inventory changes over time - so it is worth multiple checks over the year.

[mikechell 0]

Bass Pro Shop's White River reels. Even their large arbor reels are around $50 bucks.

[cmb18895 0]

orvis reels

[zOnk 0]

FFL -- you're going after big fish it seems. Pike and salmon are burst runs on hook up and inexpensive reels have drag systems that will stick on the first run and can cause lots of lost fish. I can tell you that from years of steelhead fishing with a Ross Gunnison -- the drag system will do what you need.

 

These reels stand up to abuse and can be found used for $90-125. This reel would really serve your needs better than a new low cost reel with an inferior drag system.

 

I use a Ross Gunnison G-3 on my 8wt with ample backing. You may want to look for a Ross Gunnison G-4 for that 10wt.

[Piker20 0]

Pike and salmon are burst runners, but what are you doing with the line lying at your feet from retrieving? I will agree that salmon fishing won't mean a length of line as most casts are fished to the length of line that's out. But the drags are always set tight enough that the water flow can't pull line and the hook sets on the take. This whole low startup inertia IMO is partly a marketing gimmick as for most freshwater fish it is a mute point. Salt fish on light tippets are a different game.

[ditz2 0]

To beat a dead horse.....there have been many salmon and even a lot of strong saltwater fish caught on the Pfleuger Medalist. Nothing fancy but very durable. The prices of the old used ones seem to be going up and old beatup examples are selling for 2 or 3 times the original new price. Better yet, forget I mentioned it. The more fellas buying the higher the price will go.

[sandflyx 0]

Medalist 1498 will do just fine. find them on e-bay. indestructible reels.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I've used Ross Cimarron reels for years (the original, not the newer large-arbor version) and they are fantastic. I really don't think you can buy a better reel for the money. You can find them used on eBay for $100-150. The large arbor version I think has the same drag, but they are butt ugly to my eye.

I think the Orvis Access reels are supposed to be really good for the money.

 

Do a little research and you can find all the reel you'll ever need (note: NEED) for under $150. Once you get above that level, you're basically buying fly fishing bling.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Sorry, I guess I didn't really answer the question, which was about reels under $100. For that price, I would go with one of the large arbors from Bass Pro or Cabelas -- they both offer good disc drag reels for under $100.

[zOnk 0]

Piker you're absolutely right on the pike issue when you are stripping line. I agree the inertia is somewhat marketing gimmick when you start comparing better reels that have good drag systems. I will say that my first bargain basement steelhead system had an old SA reel on it and sounded more like gravel grinding then a reel singing on hook up. On steelhead it's a tight line, down and across swing. I don't have slop on the water and rarely hold the line with my second hand, as is usually stuffed in a pocket or the top of my waders thawing out. On the SA I lost fish.

 

I think regardless of the thinking you can buy $300 + drag technology for around a hundred bucks if you shop used and many of those reels will be better that what he might find for under a hundred new.

[switch10 0]

I just bought a large arbor Orvis encounter composite reel for my 7 weight. Total cost was $50. It is a good reel for the price.

[Piker20 0]

regardless of the thinking you can buy $300 + drag technology for around a hundred bucks if you shop used and many of those reels will be better that what he might find for under a hundred new.

Agreed. The other thing I do for salmon is make my cast, then pull a small length of line which I hold behind upper rod hand. The fish when it takes can then pull this line under no pressure before it hits the reel which removes any inertia issue. I also tend to stick with maxima as my line which stretches a lot more than some modern lines and cushions the hit.