# fly reel recommendations



## ohiogary (Dec 14, 2006)

I just came across a Temple Fork 5 wt rod and now in the market for a reel, I am totally new to fly fishing, and would like to hear some suggestions for a reel, I was really surprised when I looked at the cabelas web site and saw the prices for these reels, seem like the average was 200.00, what makes the difference, Cabelas had one reel for 29.00, any suggestions on reel or line, I really want to start out bluegill fishing and work my way up.


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## ishi (Jun 2, 2012)

Good Morning Gary, 

The 5 weight Temple Fork makes for a good all-around rod for Ohio waters. I would suggest a 5 weight, weight forward, floating line. The price will depend on which brand you purchase. Cortland and Scientific Anglers make good quality fly line in the $40-$60 range. 

Note: The better the fly line, the more performance you will get out of your fly rod. 

In most cases, your reel just holds the fly line. It should be light and narrow. I have been through a number of $29 reels and find they do not last very long. Spending a few extra dollars will go a long in reel function. $50 should buy you solid reel. 

Do not forget your backing and leader. 

Best of luck on your next fishing trip. 

Regards,


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## ohiogary (Dec 14, 2006)

Thanks so much for the advice, like I said I am new to fly fishing,but seems like a interesting way to fish, Im going up to cabelas later today to pick up some line and a reel and see what they have to offer.


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## SweetFeet (Aug 7, 2006)

I've got a Pflueger that I bought for $60 6 years ago - works as well as my Orvis Battenkills. Redington makes some reasonably-priced reels. Also, keep an eye on the Allen Fly Fishing site (and FaceBook page). They're always running some kind of deal, and Allen reel owners are a very proud group. I just bought an Alpha ii 7/8 reel - no way I could find the features of an Allen for less than $250 anywhere else.


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## nitsud (May 22, 2010)

As far as I can tell, for lighter weight rods, it's not often that you end up using the reel for anything other than holding line. If you're sure that fly fishing is your bag, go ahead and get a nice one. You pay for a few things in this: smoother drag, lighter weight, and built from better materials. The smoother drag thing is mostly moot because unless you very often get into big fish, you won't be using it much. Lighter weight is always nice, but you won't notice it in casting until you know what you're doing. It might reduce your fatigue at the end of a long day of fishing somewhat. Better materials and general durability is also important, but you'd have to break a whole lot of $30 dollar reels to get to one $200 reel. The problem is that stuff typically breaks when you most need it, like when you happen to hook a 5 lb cat when fishing for bluegill.

As ishi said, line is much more important. You will constantly be using the line, so get the best stuff you can. That said, most of last year I used a White River (Bass Pro Shop brand, I think) combo with their $20 fly line, and it was just fine. My second line was a little nicer, and increased my casting distance a bit, but if I was wanting to try out a new weight line or something, I'd probably start with that price range.

The combo I bought came with this reel, which is metal, pretty cheap, and has worked just fine for me. After looking again at what's out there, fly reels are ridiculously overpriced.


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

I suggest a nice bogdan.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

Spend your money on casting lessons.


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## nitsud (May 22, 2010)

Patricio said:


> I suggest a nice bogdan.


Sure, you could do that, but I like a challenge when fishing. When fishing one of these reels, the fish just jump into your hand to bask in the glow of your awesome presence (and ask for a loan).

Of course, you can't warp time and space like you can with a Zane Saltwater Ti. I think both come as a package deal with a monocle, tophat, and cane.


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## ohiogary (Dec 14, 2006)

I end up purchasing a reel yesterday from cabelas, it was a cabelas brand, I paid 29.95 and the line was like 39.95, brought home , tried it out in our pond with a popper, my casting has a lot to be desired, but I was getting better. I did catch one small mouth around a lb and one large mouth about 2 lbs. this morning my 2 sons and myself are heading out to the strip ponds to pursue some blue gills.I will post later how things go, thanks to all replies, you can really spend some money on some of the setups I saw yesterday, one rod alone was 700.00


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## BradS (Apr 7, 2004)

nitsud said:


> Sure, you could do that, but I like a challenge when fishing. When fishing one of these reels, the fish just jump into your hand to bask in the glow of your awesome presence (and ask for a loan).
> 
> Of course, you can't warp time and space like you can with a Zane Saltwater Ti. I think both come as a package deal with a monocle, tophat, and cane.


You forgot the tweed fishing jacket and Brady bag....

Brad


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## nitsud (May 22, 2010)

It's like anything, going from $50 to $100 gets you a big improvement. Going from $500 to $1000 is likely an improvement, but nothing like the previous one.

In any case, nice job on the catches! A pounder smallie and 2 lb bucket is a hell of a way to start!


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## ishi (Jun 2, 2012)

Gary, Good luck with your new outfit. It doesn't get any better than bluegill on poppers.


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## ARReflections (Jan 7, 2011)

ishi said:


> Gary, Good luck with your new outfit. It doesn't get any better than bluegill on poppers.


A carp on a wooly or nymph is awfully close! Oh and my vote is for a pflueger medalist on the ol' bay.


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## ohiogary (Dec 14, 2006)

Thanks, actually this is a join effort between my sons and I , we tried out a strip pond and ended up catching 13 bluegills and 5 large mouths although the bass were on the small side, they were a blast catching. I noticed this learning process that have plenty of flys, lost a few today, the leader line we were using was 3.5 lbs and seemed like it was easy to break during casting, have alot to learn, kind of a new sport


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## fredg53 (Sep 17, 2010)

Andrew S said:


> Spend your money on casting lessons.


Why it's not that hard and u need to figure out ur own style 

Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

ohiogary said:


> Thanks, actually this is a join effort between my sons and I , we tried out a strip pond and ended up catching 13 bluegills and 5 large mouths although the bass were on the small side, they were a blast catching. I noticed this learning process that have plenty of flys, lost a few today, the leader line we were using was 3.5 lbs and seemed like it was easy to break during casting, have alot to learn, kind of a new sport


ah yes, the *snap* then vanishing fly. 

when backcasting, repeat this, "ohio is a great place to live", then begin your forward cast. its all about timing. 

pretty easy to teach yourself to cast.

bogdans are a work of art. its the difference between driving a kia and a rolls royce.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

Pretty easy to teach yourself to cast? Develop "ur" own style?

Perhaps, especially if you need to make 35 foot casts with size 10 bluegill flies, but the majority of fly fishermen I have seen don't cast nearly as well as they ought to (or as they think they can).

The typical "self-taught" caster thinks he's doing a great job until he either a) finds himself fishing next to a truly good caster, and the fish are far away or tucked into a tight corner, or b) he goes on a guided trip, and the guide wants to shoot the sport or sometimes, himself.


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## ishi (Jun 2, 2012)

I hate it when those darn flies disappear. Your cast will come. It's like riding a bike.


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## SweetFeet (Aug 7, 2006)

There are LOADS of resources on the 'net to teach and give tips on casting. http://howtoflyfish.orvis.com has some great video lessons. There's a million other sites like that. Best thing you can do is just get out and fish. Or at least go to the back yard and practice.


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## Andrew S (Jul 7, 2011)

Videos are very helpful. But they don't give feedback. They can't tell you what you're doing wrong.

And practicing is great...assuming you're practicing the right things. That old saying "Practice makes perfect" is incorrect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Bad practice makes casting faults that are hard to fix, once they become ingrained. 

Clearly, most people here disagree with me. But I maintain that for somebody just getting started...i.e. somebody who hasn't yet developed bad habits...some form of casting instruction, either from a pro or at least a good caster, is going to be much more helpful in the long run than money spent on an expensive reel.

I was a poor caster until I moved to California and started fishing the surf. California has a culture of very good long-distance casters, and when I saw what other people were doing that I was not (like reaching fish that were 40 feet farther away than my longest cast), I decided to get better. I did this through A LOT of practice, video-taping my own casts, and a couple of lessons when I had developed some faults that I couldn't seem to fix on my own.


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## nitsud (May 22, 2010)

As I'm going through learning how to fly fish, I think I'm in between the "go get some lessons" and "just go fish" groups. You don't learn to cast for any other reason than to catch fish, so as far as I can tell, the first step is to get on some fish. However, I've kind of plateaued as far as my casting goes. I can get it out there pretty good, but my control could be better, and it takes more energy for me to cast than I feel like it should.

I'd agree that the money that you'd spend on a bogdan would be better spent on casting instruction, but you're not going to get much instruction for the price of the cabelas reel gary ended up with. Most people don't have the money to buy a bogdan or casting lessons.


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## BradS (Apr 7, 2004)

Mad River Outfitters offers a basic casting class for $25 dollars....

http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/t-classes.aspx#FlyCasting

Brad


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

Some people need lessons, some don't. I wonder what people did 50 years ago before there were "professional casting lessons." Over time, almost anyone can learn to "master" casting a fly rod. Some people learn different ways - some by watching, some by reading, some by following orders, and some by trial and error - much like riding a bike, or hunting, or even just hitting a baseball. No harm, no foul any which way.

And back to the question of fly reel recommendation from the OP : Good choice to start! If you decide you like fly fishing a lot, and stick with it, and money allows, one day you may decide to get "fancier" equipment, but what you have right now will do just fine!


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## ohiogary (Dec 14, 2006)

I would have went with a more pricey reel, but I had to buy 3, one for myself and one for my 2 sons, not sure about the functions of a fly reel, atleast at this point I can work on casting, everything is matched up, 6 wt. I have a neighbor that is a avid fly fisherman and as soon as I can touch bases with him for some lessons, I will do so, for I do agree about picking up bad habits along the way, its remarkable watching a pro on tv, how far they can cast there lines and placement. I really appreciate all the advice everyone has to offer. Really I never thought the casting part of fly fishing is so difficult, but its a challenge.


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## nitsud (May 22, 2010)

Thanks for the link! Orvis also offers some free instruction:

http://www.orvis.com/intro.aspx?subject=8249


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

We can take your casting to the next level, nitsuD. Holla!


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## ledslinger (Aug 24, 2006)

nitsud said:


> Thanks for the link! Orvis also offers some free instruction:
> 
> http://www.orvis.com/intro.aspx?subject=8249



Its pretty simplistic--the ff 101 is very basic---very good if your new to the sport, but the extent of the individual attention will depend on the class you go to and how many instructors are there helping. If you are breaking bad habits or trying to unlearn the windshield wiper, vanishing fly snap cast you might have to see someone that can spend a couple sessions with you (whether you pay for it or not). Usually the bad habits show up when you try and cast any distance. It can be learned on your own but assistance speeds up the process.


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