fly REELs
The perfect laydown. A dragless, short drift under the bank.
Suspended emotion as the water dimples and your fly disappears. You
pause. Only the big browns take a dry without breaking the surface, so
you make sure the fish has turned down before you tighten up. Half an
instant longer, then, SET! There it is! Pulsing, constant, and alive at
the other end! The stalled world is drawn into motion. Line peels off.
You didn't think the hole under the bank was that deep... but the reel's
still screaming. This fish could be big, very big. You take your eyes
off the water long enough to see your backing appear, bright and
startling. Still running. This could be one great fight . . .
Or it could be one great disappointment. What makes the difference?
Your equipment, your connection to the fish, your reel! When you're in a
situation where all elements count, you want the best. But what is the
best? How are you to know what to look for when there are so many
choices out there?
CONSTRUCTION AND DURABILITY
The campsite was less than ideal. Your trusted friend and
guide swore he'd been here before, that it was a "great spot." That was
before the wind, and the rain, and your good buddy's all night snoring.
At sunrise, the only thing keeping you going was the promise of strong
fish on new equipment. You leave the tent, survey the site, and grimace.
In the confusion to put up the tent fly, a reel had been dropped. The
palming rim on the outside spool was bent into the frame and riddled
with dirt and pine needles. "How on earth did this happen?" you ask,
"This reel is totaled, and I never even got to fish with it!"
Fly fishing takes you to wonderful places. Wonderfully savage places.
Places where plans go awry, and the best security is having solid
equipment. Fly reels are no exception.
Machined Aluminum
The most structurally sound reels are machined aluminum, entirely cut
from bar stock in the way the David was carved from a block of marble.
Dynamic in their simplicity, machined reels are comprised of the fewest
assembled parts, so there's fewer things that can go wrong.
Sophisticated design standards ensure these reels function as a smoothly
spinning whole. Ounce for ounce, these reels are the strongest and most
precise on the market.
Anodization and Lubrication
Keeping grit and grime out of your fly reel is important. Low or
no-maintenance lubrication and a durable finishing process are critical
characteristics that increase the life of your reel and safeguard
against mechanical breakdown.
Aesthetic Considerations
A fly reel is a thing of beauty. With so many different designs, you
now have the opportunity to choose a reel that embodies the experience
you're seeking when you step into quiet waters. Is the style of the
holes in the frame, called porting, agreeable? How is the finish? Does
it balance with your fly rod? In short, is it a pleasure to fish with?
OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE
She's still down there. You don't know where. You don't know for
how long. But you do know one thing, she's big. This is the third run she's
been on, and last time, you almost got her to the surface. It was just
long enough to see the telltale shape and coloring, and to quicken your
heart. Now she's coming in again. In anticipation of another run, you
tighten down the cork drag two clicks between rotations of the spool.
You keep the rod tip high. Slowly. Slowly. She's almost to the surface.
You bring up her head. You're sliding her towards the net . . . and . . .
WHIZZZ! She turns and dives deep again, straining against the line. As
the sound of the outgoing click blurs into a siren, you smile. This fish
isn't going anywhere.
Smooth Rotation Engagement
Start-up inertia is the single biggest obstacle to landing a fish,
whether line is coming in or the fish is running out. A reel that
requires the smallest amount of energy to start turning, avoiding a
"spike" in sudden resistance, is the best choice when seeking to reduce
stress on a fish taking line. In this respect, a fly reel is only as
good as its drag system, and a drag system is only as good as the
materials and design that go into it.
Cork Disc Drag
Drag systems employing cork and synthetic discs consistently perform at the top of industry
standards. These are the smoothest systems around, they dampen the
transition from stillness to rotation resulting in the least-jarring
spool engagement. That may sound like a mouthful, but it means fewer
broken tippets and more successful landings. The materials that go into a
great drag system must be durable enough to withstand high levels of
pressure, heat, and friction. Retaining its shape no matter the drag
pressure, treated cork has proven to be a superior drag material because
of its compressibility.
Arbor
The arbor is the interior cylinder of the fly reel; it's what your
fly line wraps around. Recent design trends have emphasized an arbor
with a greater circumference. With large arbor reels, line memory is
reduced, and the rate of line retrieval is increased. Most importantly,
outgoing drag tension is mitigated as line is depleted, decreasing the
chance of losing that once-in-a-lifetime trophy on a long run. Fishing a
large arbor maintains a tighter connection with the fish, reducing
slack and giving you more control over unpredictable fish-fighting
conditions.
Revived and strong, the fish eases away from your net and glides
out of sight. No fight is certain, and that's what makes this landing
all the more rewarding. You've had your moment of simple perfection. In
the days to come, the picture your buddy snapped and the stories you'll
tell will recall this experience. But for right now, the only proof that
it happened is the glowing ache in your arm, and no fish tale can do
justice to this hour on the water.
