# Large fly reels?



## kenny (May 21, 2004)

I've Been fly fishing in Belize twice now on my own and, over Christmas, caught two large bonefish the same morning casting off a bulkhead. I have a TFO 9' 8# 3-piece and a couple of generic reels with floating Rio tropical.

My question is about the large diameter reels. What's the advantage? 

Going back in May to fish the river mouth for Tarpon & Snook with a friend that lives there.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Your reels could already be large arbor types, many are these days. Fly reels are one to one ratio. Larger the diameter, the faster the line picks up when you reel. In my experience, fast fish far outpace any normal human ability to keep up with them, if the fish are running towards you. If the fish runs away from you, itâ€™s then more about the drag. 

I donâ€™t get real excited about reels, but lots of people do. I do like a reel to balance the rod on the handle where my hand naturally rests. Anodized, machined Aluminum 6061 bar stock, decent drag, thereâ€™s cork, hybrid, and disk types. Cast aluminum will corrode. 

Donâ€™t know your budget or tastes or if you are one that must have the very best of everything or something middle of the road or are value minded.


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## impulse (Mar 17, 2010)

The advantage of the large arbor is more inches of line retrieved per revolution on the handle. 

I'm not a big fan of large arbor reels, but it's hard to get away from them. If you look at the weight of some large arbors, I can get the next bigger size small arbor reel, load it up with backing and still have a reel that weighs less and has an effective arbor diameter that's the same. Plus, I have a load of backing just in case.

I've got some high dollar Redington and Fenwick and Penn fly reels and I still prefer my Okuma's. Okuma Sierra's a great entry level reel, widely available, and cheap. Integrity is another good Okuma reel if you do go large arbor. They're cast aluminum reels (not CNC from a block), which puts off a lot of guys, but I've had great luck with them over many years. Besides, for most fly fishing, the reel is just a place to store your line.

Stay away from graphite frame fly reels. They're cheap, but they flex too much.


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## Bird (May 10, 2005)

Along with the above listed qualities of more line retrieval per rotation of the handle, there is an often over looked benefit of large arbor reels. The diameter of the line spool decreases as line comes off. This in turn increases the amount of force required to pull line from the spool against the drag. Think of the radius of the spool diameter as your lever, the smaller the lever the more you have to work to turn it. Anyway, as you get way down on the spool it can dramatically increase the drag tension and along with the drag of the line in the water, exceed your tippet strength and pow, you part company with the fish. Granted this is more of an issue with fish that can get into your backing with powerful runs. Bonefish are a good example since you use a lighter tippet and relatively small flies. They also make blistering runs. Set your drag properly before you start fishing and tend to your line as it goes out and I suspect you'll be fine. 
Personally, I am a big fan of Waterworks-Lamson reels. Good quality reels, made in the USA at a good price.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

https://www.tridentflyfishing.com/b...and-review-whats-the-best-saltwater-fly-reel/

Trident does an eight weight reel shootout comparing different models. So has Yellowstone. These shootouts might appeal to the perfectionist/obsessive-compulsive wing of fly fishing more than anything, but at least thereâ€™s a number of models gathered together with more data than you ever thought possible. Happy obsessing!


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## impulse (Mar 17, 2010)

Bird said:


> Personally, I am a big fan of Waterworks-Lamson reels. Good quality reels, made in the USA at a good price.


I had a Lamson many (25?) years ago, but it had a funky drum brake that was really catchy- never smooth. Did they fix that?


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## Bird (May 10, 2005)

impulse said:


> I had a Lamson many (25?) years ago, but it had a funky drum brake that was really catchy- never smooth. Did they fix that?


Lamson was purchased by Waterworks, hence the name Waterworks-Lamson. I had an old LP3.5 from Lamson I bought in 1991. At the time, they were owned by Sage. In any event, they completely redesigned the whole line up and have continued to do so. Most of the reels use a sealed conical style drag. I have 4 of their reels and will buy more.


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## Popperdave (Jul 9, 2016)

For me balance is more important than spool size. We fished for many, many years with small arbor reels and lots of backing and we caught lots of fish. So a large arbor reel isn't necessary. I have a mid arbor on my 10wt with 300yds of backing and it has worked fine for bull Red's, jacks, and Trapon. If you go with a large arbor make sure you can get the amount of backing you want on it. A lot of them won't hold more than 100yds of backing (30#braid) and a 100' of floating line.
My personnel favorite reel currently is the Allen Kaken series. At $220 they are the best reel for the money.


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## DRH (Oct 14, 2009)

*Fly Reels..*

I have a ADG Titanium 9' 12/13wt fly rod wt a 12 Galvann Torque reel... Caught a 45lb Bull Red on it ..The big reel worked great with a strong drag.. took about 10min to land.


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## DRH (Oct 14, 2009)

I have video of the fight..


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