Choosing a Fly Reel

There are a ton of reel choices on the market and it can be tough to know what you need in a reel with all of the available choices.  Le...

There are a ton of reel choices on the market and it can be tough to know what you need in a reel with all of the available choices.  Let's take a look at some features and options before your next reel purchase.

Construction materials:

You can build a reel out of a variety of different materials.  There are plastic reels, die-cast aluminum, bar stock aluminum, carbon fiber and even steel reels out there. The material that the spool and frame are built from are directly related to price and durability.

While you can build a reel out of a variety of materials, almost all reels are made from aluminum.  It is the industry standard.  Aluminum is lightweight, easily machined or die-cast, it is widely available and not terribly expensive as a raw material. 

Redington Zero - large arbor, click drag, die-cast

Composite or plastic reels are cheap. Let's face it.  If you are buying a composite reel, it is because you are trying to save a bunch of money.  That doesn't make them terrible reels or even a bad choice for anyone, it is the most economical choice in reels.  The Redington Crosswater is a composite reel, and it gets the job done for many anglers.  It is many anglers' first reel.

Composite construction can be used in conjunction with aluminum.  The Orvis Clearwater Cassette is a combination of an aluminum frame with plastic spool "inserts".  This is a quick way to get several spools lined up without spending much money.  There are many other reels that incorporate plastic/composite materials into the drag systems or knobs.  The Redington Behemoth has a plastic drag casing, and is one of our all-time best selling reels.

Behemoth - die cast, large arbor, plastic drag casing

Die-cast aluminum is widely used in reels across the industry.  Die-cast reels are usually cheaper than fully machined reels.  The die-cast process includes pouring liquid hot aluminum into a mold.  These reels are stronger than plastic reels, but not as strong as machined reels.  If you drop a die-cast reel, it is much more likely to cause a big dent.  Reels like the Orvis Clearwater, Redington Zero, Behemoth and Loop Q are all die-cast.  Most die-cast reels are completed with a powder-coating process that increases the strength dramatically.  These are a good choices for budget-conscious anglers that value a good disc drag ,or the lightweight features of the Zero, over a machined reel.

Fully machined reels are the top dog in reel construction.  Generally, a solid chunk of "barstock" aluminum is put into a CNC machine, and then a reel is spit out the other end.  Some of these machines take 6+ hours to machine a single spool, so the process is expensive and time consuming.  The overall strength and durability of machined aluminum can't be beaten though.  If a reel is over $200, it is likely a fully machined reel. Our go-to reels are the Hardy Ultralight, Orvis Battenkill Disc and the Redington Rise.

Big Y Standard - Full machined, disc drag, large arbor

Drag Systems:

There are two basic types of drag systems; click and disc drag.  The drag systems serve a couple of purposes.  The first, most basic function of the drag is to keep your reel from "over running".  Click systems do that very well. The secondary purpose is to put some pressure on that fish; wear it out, get it landed, and release it quickly.  This makes a disc drag more important for anglers that are targeting larger fish like bonefish, steelhead or stripers.

Orvis Battenkill - Click pawl, caged frame, machined

Click systems are the old school way to go.  Most use a triangular "pawl" that clicks against a ratchet, but some, like the  the Redington Zero, have a plastic "click check" system.  There are several variations of click drag systems.  Hardy Marquis, Orvis Battenkill and Pflueger Medalist all use click pawl systems and are very popular.  A click drag system has less material and weighs less than a disc drag system.

Click systems have little "startup inertia", which is the amount of energy that it takes to get the line to start moving against the drag.  The startup inertia of a click reel is usually less than even a top end disc drag.  For trout fishing, a click reel is adequate, although they can be a tough sell to anglers that want a reel with stopping power.

Click reels do not have much in the way of stopping power.  That is usually up to the angler and their ability to slow the spool with their hands.  One last thing to consider with a click pawl drag is that they very, very rarely fail.  There is really not much that can happen to a click pawl system that would cause a drag failure.  The benefits of a simple system...

This is a standard disc drag system, one way bearing
on the spool.

Disc drag reels usually have a series of "discs" that are stacked on top of each other inside of a housing.  These discs can be plastic, carbon fiber, or even ceramic.  The drag happens when you put pressure on those discs (tightening the drag knob). The spinning discs encounter resistance and then slow the spool from spinning.

Disc reels include a one way bearing that only lets the drag work in one direction.  Disc drags can have good stopping power, as in they can really make it hard for a big fish to take out line.  Most reels on the market have some sort of disc drag system. Some reels have more top-end stopping power than others, but the majority of the reels available today have far more than enough for most angling situations.

Sealed drags are disc drags that are covered by a cap and sealed with a gasket or O-ring.  This prevents most water from getting into the drag, as well as most sand or other dirt and debris.  Saltwater anglers prefer sealed drag systems, but their popularity is growing among the freshwater crowd.  Our favorite sealed drags include the Big Y General, Orvis Mirage, or the Mirage LT, as well as the Redington Grande. 

Arbor:

Large and standard arbors

The arbor is the area in the middle of spool where there is no backing.  The large arbor design that we see in most reels was not popularized before the 1980s.  Old school reels were all "standard arbor", and they were typically narrower than the large arbor models that are wider.  The Hardy Marquis, Orvis Battenkill and Pflueger Medalist are all standard arbor reels.  Those three models have been around forever.  The advantage of a large arbor design is that there is more line pickup with each rotation of the handle.  This also means that the line doesn't get coiled up as much on the reel.

Weight:

Many anglers take weight seriously.  Whether it is trying to balance out a long rod, or make the lightest setup possible, weight can be taken into account.  Most standard rods will balance well with most appropriately-sized reels.  While some of the newest, ultralight fly rods might balance better with a lighter reel, most of today's rods and reels tend to balance out well across the board. 

Frame:

Vosseler S:  Sealed drag, caged frame, machined

One more thing to consider is the frame.  Some reels have a "caged frame"  this means that the edge of the spool sits along a frame across the whole edge of the spool.  This increases torque strength, but most anglers use them for two-handed rods or for Euro nymphing.  Really thin lines can "jump the gap" between the frame and the spool on a standard reel, and this feature prevents that from happening.

There are not a ton of reels with this feature, but it is nice if you need it.  Many larger reels, including the Vosseler S Series, Big Y General, Orvis Battenkill (IV and V) and the Big Y Standard (9/10) all have this caged frame, although it is not a widespread feature, especially on smaller reels.

So we have all of these factors to consider when purchasing a new reel.  What is important to you?  Where are you fishing?  What do you fish for?  Most trout anglers should be just fine with a click pawl reel over a disc drag.  I would get a machined, click reel over a die-cast reel with a disc drag because I value the strength and durability of a machined reel, but many anglers value the disc drag system more than machined construction.

Saltwater anglers will probably place higher value on the disc drag, or even the fully-sealed drag.  Small creek anglers will likely value the lightweight drag system of a click pawl reel over the heavier disc drags.  Each of the features of a reel should be considered when you are looking for that new reel that will meet your needs as an angler.

Andrew Perrault
-Fishing, usually not catching