Rod and reel matching

[midnightmoonlight 0]

Overwhelmed a little at the price of reals lately and the need for a sophisticated reel escapes my understanding. I always hand line my fish in. the reel just holds the line and looks nice. I'm not sure I could land a fish using Drag on a reel. I bring them in fast and release. I fish for salmon  steel head browns rainbows brookys bass walleye and even recently long nose gar. 40+ years of flyfishing and my rods keep getting lighter and the old reels are heavy. I have Madison encounters battenkill phlugers martins and sage. 3wt rods to 10wt. Balance seems important. My old 70s martin mg3 is the same weight as my newer battenkill 1. I was looking at my battenkill 5/6 disk drag with three spools and cant believe the price on fleabay for these reels.How do you choose your reel to match your rod? What's your favorite reel? I like my battenkill I 3/4 and the encounter isn't a half bad reel either. I choose my reel bu what wt line is on it but as I age it's become apparent there is a sweet spot for each rod I have.

[utyer 0]

Since I do use the real and drag, I like to slightly oversize my reels.  Using the heavier reels gives me more room for backing on my reels.  I agree that the reel brand isn't that important for most people, but the balance with rods IS.  On my 6 weight rods, I use a 7/8 reel.  On 8 weight rods, I like to sue a 9/10 sized reels.  My only "expensive" reels are Lamsons, and they were gifted to me, and at least 12 years old.  For me, the most important thing is keeping my reels clean.  Fishing is salt water, and leaving that salt on any reel is never good.  In a short time, any real can show the effects of salt corrosion.  After every salt water trip, I clean my reels in HOT water, cold water won't dissolve the sold as well. 

Watch this video from Kelly Galloup:  I agree with most every thing he says.

[mikechell 0]

I've always brought 'em in by hand, too.  To me, that's part of the fun of fly fishing as opposed to other types of gear.  Almost all of my rods have BPS (White River) reels on them.  The ones that don't have automatic reels ... line storage devices is all they are.

As far as balance goes, I don't notice.  I guess I've fished with automatic reels for so long, lighter reels don't feel "better", just different.

[skeet3t 0]

Most fly reels I have seen are for two line weights and a bit of backing. My reels are listed for X/Y weights but you can put whatever line you want on it. Never got concerned with balance. My son has a reel, can't remember the brand, that has a clicker and a palming rim to use the palm of the hand as a drag.

[vicente 0]

You don't need anything crazy for most fish the Lamson waterworks are pretty good have solid drag if you ever need it and well priced. Check Sierra trading post as well they often have good deals on old models or colors.

[The Mad Duck 0]

How I use a reel/drag totally depends on what I'm fishing for. Bass/Bream and most fresh water fish, I pull in by hand. Salty fish are a bit trickier and learning how to use a drag is really important in fighting saltwater fish.

I can only think of a couple of trout that I have put on the reel and used drag on.

[Poopdeck 0]

On 7/25/2021 at 11:21 AM, utyer said:

Watch this video from Kelly Galloup:  I agree with most every thing he says.

Great link! Couldn’t agree more. A “balanced outfit” is so subjective because it’s all preferences and individual definitions of what balance actually means. Drag, material, weight and price could not be more over hyped. I pick a reel by price and keep it under 200.00 and usually under a hundred and I won’t buy a reel that’s not marked down on sale. I have Cabela’s, sage and Allen reels. My reels are simply line holders. I put more thought in the rod and the line and very little into the reel.