What You Need to Know About Fly Fishing Reels
Fly fishing reels come in many sizes, materials, and price points. The most important role of any fly reel is to hold the line. Once this fact is appreciated it becomes possible to save a great deal of money. An over-riding consideration is the drag capability of a good reel. The drag when correctly set will prevent tippet breakage when a large fish wants to take line and run.
Take a look at the image of reels shown opposite and you'll notice they are full of holes drilled into the metal casing. The reason for this is to reduce the weight of a reel. Having a lightweight reel adds considerably to the casting ability of a rod apart from making a days fishing less exhausting.
Reels and Lines
A typical fly line has a length of 30 metres (100ft) and depending upon the ASTM weight rating it will have a wider (heavier lines) or smaller diameter. This means small sized fly reels are unsuitable for heavier rods/lines because the fly line alone would take up much of the spool capacity.
Before attaching the fly line to the reel it is best to wind on braided backing to build up the spool diameter and also provide capacity for when that big fish takes the fly and runs off with it, stripping all the fly line off the reel.
Reels are available from a number of manufacturers two which are shown below. Prices vary from $89 in the Ross range while the top end Lamson fly reel costs $445.
Get a Spare Spool
Fly fishing conditions are always changing and different waters need different tactical approaches. This means at least two lines are required by mnay people who fly fish. Rather than buy a second reel it is worth considering a spare spool for the chosen reel.The one spool would hold a floating line perhaps while the second might hold a sinking line or intermediate line. There are many variations of fly lines and you'll find that fly fishing folk tend to have more than a single reel and numerous spare spools.