best suggestion for steelhead fly reel

[uflyfish2]

Hi, I'm gonna get a fly reel for my 8wt. steelhead fly rod , between 150.00 and 300.00, what do you recomend?

[FLGator]

For something in that price range for an eight weight I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value than the Teton Tioga 10 Large Arbor. It will hold the 8 weight line of your choice plus about 150 yds of 30# backing.

[fishkisser]

For something in that price range for an eight weight I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value than the Teton Tioga 10 Large Arbor. It will hold the 8 weight line of your choice plus about 150 yds of 30# backing.

Yep thats what I run ... Extra spools are only about 80 $ ...They have regular arbor spools also for that model ... You can increase your backing by almost double with the micron dacron line ... Barney

[AndyK]

I'm gonna get a fly reel for my 8wt. steelhead fly rod , between 150.00 and 300.00?

I have landed many, many steelhead without using my reel; just stripping the line in by hand. Occasionally you will hook a big powerful fish that will take out a lot of your backing and you will need to fight the fish on the reel. However, you can palm the spool to slow the run if your drag is inadequate.

Here are some options that should work well:
Cabelas SLA #3 $195
Cabelas XSS #1 $175
Pflueger President #2090 $169.95
Tioga Large Arbor #8LA $155.00

[uflyfish2]

Ive got several teton reels, and never had a problem with them. What's up with the sealed drag I'm hearing about for steelhead reels? Is it necessary?
Anyone try the lamson velocity, that are available for about 175.00?? I'm just wondering if I should deviate from teton, or like murphy's law Buy another since it "ain't broke" so to speak...

[sothereiwas]

I have Lamson Velocity reels on my 7wt and 8/9 wt spey rod. They are great reels. They have a great drag system. If your looking at one for the 8wt I would get a 3.5. The 3 I have on the 7 wt is a little cozy. If you jump to the 4 it will easily hold a 10wt line. The 7wt is a summer steelhead setup, and the 8/9 see's some brutal winter conditions an not so much as a hick up.

The issue you may hear about that they have had in the past have been corrected. They had a clutch bearing issue, which became obvious on one of my reels. Their customer service was great they sent the new part out at no charge and sent one for the other reel just in case. The issue I had was following a salt water trip. I would recommend them to anyone.

Brad

[butch4706]

anyone have any experience with a pflueger trion. Just curious.

[sothereiwas]

I have one of those as well. Actually i bought it my girlfriends first fly rod. I haven't played with it to much but the drag has very smooth progressive adjustment, a nice wood handle, and the machine work looks good. I began fishing for steelhead with a Sage 707 real, which is basically a Loop/Daniellson reel. If your not familiar with them they have an adjustment that prevents over spool but no drag. For steelhead fishing to really dont need a top dollar reel. Look for something you like the appearance of and play with it. Make sure that the drag has good fine adjustment, some cheaper reels seam to have an on and off setting on the drag and not much adjustment. Then make sure the spool turns smoothly on the way out with the drag engaged. If it works well with these two tests you should have absolutely no problems with steelhead. The biggest benefit to a sealed drag reel is you dont have to worry about moisture compromising the drag system. Its a tough to see how a reel will work when wet without purchasing it. That why I would go with one of the suggestions of the guys on this board. They catch lots of steelhead and most are like me and have been steelhead fishing for a while. I have landed fish on many different reels and have ended up going with Lamson on my steelhead rods. Not necessarily because its the best but because I like the way it looks and works. There are a lot of great options out there.

Brad

[Carp4Fun]

Check out the Danielsson LW 69. Incredible reel.

[jschainsaw]

Lamson Light Speed 3.5

[Got One!]

I think it really depends on how you fish. If you hand draw/play, (which is what I do) I use an automatic Martin, cheap well made but heavy*. The hand reels are a PIA, if you fish this way, so the auto was a wonderful thing when I bought it.

All the others mentioned are good and I would throw in a Cortland Current III, center mounted drag mechanism with a Rulon disc drag, I have a cortland XLIII (gift) but havent used a standard fly reel since I bought the Martin.


*Heavy = More then the norm, but this ultra lightweight stuff for 10x the $$ is silly to me anyway. I don't catch anymore fish with a light weight rig than a heavy one, nor do I tire from holding a "heavy" one.....just silly to me. But then I'm really cheap too :D

[cphatts]

anyone have any experience with a pflueger trion. Just curious.

I have a Trion on my 7/8 single hander and it has landed many a steelhead just beautifully for me. It is a great real for a good price (I seem to recall mine was around $100 4-5 years ago). The drag system is super smooth...more so than some of the higher priced reels I have used.

The only thing I can't comment on is durability.....I have had my Trion for 4-5 years but I don't use my single hander a whole lot so I can't say how they hold up day after day over the long haul.

[Grantspastor]

I have landed many, many steelhead without using my reel; just stripping the line in by hand. Occasionally you will hook a big powerful fish that will take out a lot of your backing and you will need to fight the fish on the reel. However, you can palm the spool to slow the run if your drag is inadequate.

Here are some options that should work well:
Cabelas SLA #3 $195
Cabelas XSS #1 $175
Pflueger President #2090 $169.95
Tioga Large Arbor #8LA $155.00

I agree with AndyK....I have also landed hundreds of steelhead and have never considered the drag of critical importance. The weight of the fly line in the water exerts a substantial amount of drag on the fish. I have many different reels some with good drags, some like my favorite Hardy St. George have a minimal drag. Some expensive...some inexpensive. they all work. For the price range you're talking about you can get a superb reel, and there are many on the market

[Ty]

Scientific anglers Line, Ultra 4 or Master series steelhead, the sky is the limit w/ the reel, but GLoomis has two new reels that are great and very affordable.

[D3smartie]

I'd get a Ross CLA. great company with great service.

[Djflyfish]

I'd get a Ross CLA. great company with great service.


I would get the new Orvis Large Arbor big game reel..This has a great drag system for big fish!

[M'kay13]

I would get the new Orvis Large Arbor big game reel..This has a great drag system for big fish!

The Orvis LA Big Game reels are kinda new, so I'd give them get some testing. Don't get me wrong, Orvis sells a few okay reels. I just retired a Battenkill LA that has literally landed 200+ silvers (I used it as a client reel in AK).

A tried and true reel: Ross Gunnison 4. Look for them on ebay. I know it is not a large arbor, but they are workhorses.

[Snap-T]

Save your money and get a Tibor...lifetime heirloom. If not, pick up a Danielsson original. Smooth as silk and the original drag works great for steelhead, even bonefish. It's actually Randall's favorite reel for bones. (Orignial Loop, same thing) They are affordable.

Give Ron Larson a call @ Danielsson USA

[rob allen]

stick with companies that only make fly reels! i also recommend staying away from Aisan made reels.. In that price range i'd be looking at bauer reels.. made right here in Oregon...

[stillwater97]

stick with companies that only make fly reels! i also recommend staying away from Aisan made reels.. In that price range i'd be looking at bauer reels.. made right here in Oregon...

Why?


I have several "asian" made reels that perform flawlessly.

[SSPey]

Hi, I'm gonna get a fly reel for my 8wt. steelhead fly rod , between 150.00 and 300.00, what do you recomend?


for sale in the ifish classifieds

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=183574

[JigMast]

what about Hardy fly reels?