Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

Click reel for 7/8wt glass

Classic Reels 
4K views 38 replies 13 participants last post by  Polar Shrimp 
#1 ·
I just recently bought a cgr 7/8wt and need to buy a reel. I'm looking for an older click reel. I'd prefer to stay away from the medalist reels, never liked them. I've been looking at the heddon, berkley, Cortland and a few others on eBay. But I have no idea what size will fit the line for this rod. Most eBay listing don't say anything about diameter or line size. Can anybody point me in the right direction to get info on what models will work for and 8wt rod?
Thanks
Joel
 
#3 ·
The used reel market offers quite a few spring-and-pawl reels of a suitable size. I've always liked English reels and there are plenty of Hardys out there but the Perfect will always be more pricey than some of the others. I have a St. Aidan which has landed many steelhead over the years and I've seen them going for as little as $135 (expect to pay quite a bit more for a Perfect).
 
#4 ·
Appreciate the info on Hardy's but I can't justify putting a reel that expensive on this rod....it cost me under $40. I was hoping to get specific models or the martins, heddon, etc to get the right size. Most of the stuff on eBay doesn't list what size line those reels will hold and there isn't a ton of info online that I can find.
Thank you
 
#5 ·
What about one of the new Medalists? They have a 7/8 and they're all spring/pawl reels. You could also go the route of SA System 8 or 9 (Hardy Marquis). The new Orvis Battenkills are also in that range...Or, if you wanted to go old(er) school with something that will never ever break, keep an eye out for a Young Beaudex (I have a 3 1/2" W that fits well with my Steffen 7/8, so it might be a little heavy for the shorter CRG, but it would likely work just fine). If you wanted a Young reel that was a little lighter, a Pridex might be a little better for you.

Good luck...
Cheers,
Randy
 
#7 ·
no problem, cheap and used fits an old Young reel...

something like this (although $43 for shipping alone is basically this seller skirting ebay rules, not to mention a bit ridiculous):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/J-W-Young-S...481122?hash=item33893801a2:g:aawAAOxyUrZSwesI

The thing I love about Youngs is the fact that they are tougher than eny other reel I've ever had...they're a reel you'll be giving to your grandkids....

I'm not sure if the Medalists are out yet (I think they are), but here's a nice little review on them from Cameron over at TFM: http://thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com/2015/07/3-first-looks-fenglass-medalist-ultra.html
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have bought a few old Japanese-made Hardy knockoffs. They look like the Hardy lightweight series and come in a variety of sizes and many brands but they were all made by one company in Japan in the 70's. They show up on Classic Rod Forum's classified with some regularity and are often on ebay. Look for Heddon 320, Daiwa 720, Berkley 340 (?) and others. Search "Hardy knockoffs" to find more info. They are not high quality but they have some of the cool look and click/pawl feel of the higher quality and far more expensive Hardys. Prices will generally run $30-50 range. Good luck. Ron
 
#9 ·
I have bought a few old Japanese-made Hardy knockoffs. They look like the Hardy lightweight series and come in a variety of sizes and many brands but they were all made by one company in Japan in the 70's. They show up on Classic Rod Forum's classified with some regularity and are often on ebay. Look for Heddon 320, Diawa 720, Berkley 340 (?) and others. Search "Hardy knockoffs" to find more info. They are not high quality but they have some of the cool look and click/pawl feel of the higher quality and far more expensive Hardys. Prices will generally run $30-50 range. Good luck. Ron
Thank you
 
#31 ·
Interesting, thanks. I'll have to start researching those more closely.
if it has the two springs that look like mirror images of each other (ala Hardy), then they're reversible. There are some with a single spring (think Condex) that I believe are all RHW, then there are also some with 2 springs that are almost in parallel with each other which I'm not sure about. Hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge on this than me will chime in.
 
#19 ·
I hear ya. There are some interesting and unique reels on ebay you can get for a dang decent price. I have picked up some interesting ones. Like a Saltwater Marquis Salmon 1, probably my favorite reel. Got it for 160 bucks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#26 ·
So there has been some of you that mentioned that these older click reels that are fit for an 8wt line might be heavy for the cgr 7/8wt. I don't think I would ever need to cast 90' of fly line on this rod. So if I was to cut the back 20' off a fly line would that get me enough extra room to get 100yrds of backing and 70' of 8wt fly line on a 5/6wt reel?
 
#27 ·
another thought, are you set on spring/pawl drag or are you mostly interested in a solid "clicking" sound? You can find SA System 2 reels for a song (I just picked up a 7/8 for under $50 on the bay) that have a nice metal pawl that gives a pretty sweet outgoing click and they're disc drag (more of a caliper than your standard disc drag, but very dependable) should that be necessary for other types of fish, work great in the salt.
 
#39 ·
I just hopped on this thread and was going to throw out the option of a Martin 65. I got one from Jeff Dodd a couple years ago. Should be cheap and balances a 9' 6 weight graphite rod quite well. Good capacity too!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Dodd
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top