"Affordable" big, fast, fish reels?

[SilverFly]

Besides needing a quality chinook reel, I need to gear up for a couple of trips in August, one to Belize and the albacore charter :D.

So I'm looking for a sturdy reel with a smooth drag that won't incinerate with an 80# tarpon or a 30# tuna heading for the horizon. I am willing to spend what I need to, but personally I think many fly reels are way over-priced, or priced based on essentially aesthetic details which have little to do with the performance of the reel (stuff I can hopefully afford to care about some day). For that reason I've been looking at the 12wt model Pfloooger trion which is under $200. Generally I've heard good things about the reel with one exception about it's free spooling performance.

Anyone have "big fish" experience with the Trion or other reasonably priced reels?

Thanks in advance.
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[40ishnewbie]

I'm looking at a 10 wt salmon rod myself. Talk to Don at River City about the Tica reels. I think you'll be impressed by their build quality, drag and price.

Jay

[D3smartie]

No offense but, that Tica reel looks like a piece. I'd love to see what a season of Kings would do to that reel, let alone some serious warm water salt fishing.
I think you should look for something with a warranty, smooth disk drag and a good track record.

[LunkerFish]

While I don't have any personal experience with the Galvan reels in saltwater, the Rush model is an excellent reel for the money. It isn't exceptionally pretty but the drag system is good at an affordable price.

The Redington Brakewater was an excellent reel for what you are looking for, but that particular model has been discontinued and I'm not sure what model has replaced it.

:twocents:

[NWFloridian]

The Lamson Radius 4 is a fantastic reel for the price. At $239 it's a fully-machined reel with a sealed drag--the EXACT same drag that Lamson uses on the Litespeed and ULA. I just got one for my 9/10 Fly Logic. It holds over 300 yards of 30# backing--more if you go with gel spun. Plus it's not as "huge" as some of the LA reels.

I'm looking forward to putting it to the test on dorado, roosters, and big jack crevalle in Mexico this summer.

Dave

[daveg]

You might want to look at Orvis mid arbor or large arbor. Their new drag is totally sealed and very strong, and not too pricey, got one of each. make sure you get a large enough size since most reel manufacturers quote capacities that are unrealistic. If you can afford more look at the Nautilus reels, nice sealed drags.

I purchased reels that were supposed to hold 250 yards 30 micron plus a 10 wt WF. Had to cut 10 ft of fly line off rear end, put 100 yds micron and 125 of 35 micronite. Had similar issues with all reel makes.

With strong fighters like tuna and tarpon you dont want a piled up line to cause a break off.