Hey there guys and gals, I'm looking to purchase a couple 7 weight fly reels in the near future and I was wondering if you had any suggestions. I don't want to spend alot of money cause I would rather spend that extra money on lines and gas. I bought a nice galvan fly reel for my five weight and all it does is store line. I usually just strip in fish. Any help would be appreciated.
7 Weight Fly Reel
bengal31
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with low range cast reels of any type, I dont care how much of a "good deal" it is, you will be asking yourself the same question in a year or two. I have a ton of personal experience with orvis, galvan, ross, lamson, tibor, redington, sage, teton, you name it I have fished it. And they only two reels I own are galvans, a t-6 and a r-5. They are the only reels I trust. The ross evolution is a close second to the torque but my drag would go out and there would be no type of resistance. Ross was glad to rebuild it, but an inconvience when in MT. Plus, I know people who have done bluewater in mexico with torques, and they are the bulldog out of a hefty group of reels. So whatever, buy one now and never again.
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Wow Dan, are you getting paid? What a great answer.
Pflueger has the cheapest machined reel you can get into. I've caught steelies with them and would recomend them to someone who isnt looking to drop 350 on a torque.
Pflueger has the cheapest machined reel you can get into. I've caught steelies with them and would recomend them to someone who isnt looking to drop 350 on a torque.
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Yes, but not by any fishing gear company of any type. When I fish i want to be feeling the most pure type of fishing with no little things holding me back the slightest bit. And with my current setup of a 5 weight xp/galvan r-5 and bllx 7 weight/t-6 I have never been happier. And at one point I had damn near a dozen rods, reels, and ridiculous amount of fly lines from rio and sa that were just kicking it under the stairs. So i have consolidated so that I can prep the wrx with a bit more power and get her ready for mt and a driftboat.Zen Piscator said:
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Dan, why don't you fess up and at least admit you get all your stuff prodeal?!
if you were forced to pay retail, then you might be a bit more open about what you spend (even though i know you are still in HS)
that might change your view a bit. plus you don't have all the brands at your disposal! Nautilus?!
First off, you don't know 100% what your sayin cause the orvis mid arbor is a MACHINED BAR STOCK reel.
I have 2 of them and they do the job just fine. caught that 19" cuttie streamer fishin with you on the cedar with it and the 21" fatty bow the next day out in the same spot.
nice thing with orvis is that you don't have to "send it off" just go in the shop and presto! you're good to go!
both of you guys are spoiled gear hounds gettin stuff the way you do! the rest of us are just jealous of that! i'd have to agree with Zen and go with the Nautilus
the pflueger medalist has landed more steelhead then any other reel and probably more then all the rest put together! just like the hardy style. so if you wanna be a "purist" go get yourself a bougle
btw. you ought to PM me if you really wanna pimp your ride!
just wait until both of you are married, then just see how easy it is to score nice loot like that even if you bring home the fattest bacon!
recently, i just had saved up 100% what i needed for my new spey rod, then boom, windstorm busts my fence! no rod at least for now!
- jason
if you were forced to pay retail, then you might be a bit more open about what you spend (even though i know you are still in HS)
that might change your view a bit. plus you don't have all the brands at your disposal! Nautilus?!
First off, you don't know 100% what your sayin cause the orvis mid arbor is a MACHINED BAR STOCK reel.
I have 2 of them and they do the job just fine. caught that 19" cuttie streamer fishin with you on the cedar with it and the 21" fatty bow the next day out in the same spot.
nice thing with orvis is that you don't have to "send it off" just go in the shop and presto! you're good to go!
both of you guys are spoiled gear hounds gettin stuff the way you do! the rest of us are just jealous of that! i'd have to agree with Zen and go with the Nautilus
the pflueger medalist has landed more steelhead then any other reel and probably more then all the rest put together! just like the hardy style. so if you wanna be a "purist" go get yourself a bougle
btw. you ought to PM me if you really wanna pimp your ride!
just wait until both of you are married, then just see how easy it is to score nice loot like that even if you bring home the fattest bacon!
recently, i just had saved up 100% what i needed for my new spey rod, then boom, windstorm busts my fence! no rod at least for now!
- jason
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I feel your pain. I was about to hook up a new 8 weight this week...until the shop called...instead I have to drop 700 bucks on my frickin car. :beathead:Jason Decker said:
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Jason Decker said:
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this is what you said........... and folks were just talkin about the orvis battenkill mid arbor so your "deal' reference seemed pointed in that direction.Dan Soltau said:
btw, what i meant about the prodeal........... if they retail for $350, then you can get them for 1/2......... so it's just the same or darn close to the retail mark on the other reels........ so that makes it a no brainer. obviously the high end reels are better but at the same time painting with a broad brush stroke like that by lumping all the other reels togther kinda takes away from the individual merits of each, that was previously discussed on this thread....
steve - we are still talkin bout reels here! mabye more like talking about how we discuss the reels.........Dan Soltau said:
jason
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Well my reel holds more backing than your reel!East Fork said:
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I don't know why I don't get bored more easily with "what reel to get" threads. Maybe it's because they're a good substitute for the reality TV shows I don't watch.
Fly reels are generally way over-rated, since most are assigned the rather ignoble task of being flyline holders. And when did a disc drag matter on a trout reel when you're hand stripping in your line anyway?
I haven't seen any bad fly reels in the marketplace, even at $35, although it's not reasonable to expect a lifetime of performance at that price point. The original poster should buy whatever reels catch his eye at the price point he's comfortable with, confident that most any choice is going to satisfy his needs. The subjective issue relates to what attributes he wants that go beyond simply meeting his angling needs. Subjectively, I like reels that feel and sound like they are well made. Look for close tolerances. I dislike the sloppy feeling of spool handles that have slack between the handle and handle shaft. Same with the spool; better made reels feel like the parts barely fit together because the tolerances are small. A many-toothed gear wheel sounds better than one with few teeth. If you're going to fish salt water, or king salmon in freshwater (not with a 7 wt, I hope) look for a good disc drag. Otherwise, disc drags are just about functionally irrelevant, except that they make for endless conversation among anglers who haven't learned that they are unnecessary additions to most reels.
The deal Leland mentions sounds like a good value. The next best fly reel value I've seen is the discontinued Ross Colorado. They come unadorned with unnecessary disc drags, tho. I bought a couple on Ebay for $65, which is a good price for a machined reel with close tolerances. I used one of them in saltwater for bonefish, and it worked just fine, although if a permit had hit, I would have been shy of having enough backing.
Sincerely,
Salmo g.
Fly reels are generally way over-rated, since most are assigned the rather ignoble task of being flyline holders. And when did a disc drag matter on a trout reel when you're hand stripping in your line anyway?
I haven't seen any bad fly reels in the marketplace, even at $35, although it's not reasonable to expect a lifetime of performance at that price point. The original poster should buy whatever reels catch his eye at the price point he's comfortable with, confident that most any choice is going to satisfy his needs. The subjective issue relates to what attributes he wants that go beyond simply meeting his angling needs. Subjectively, I like reels that feel and sound like they are well made. Look for close tolerances. I dislike the sloppy feeling of spool handles that have slack between the handle and handle shaft. Same with the spool; better made reels feel like the parts barely fit together because the tolerances are small. A many-toothed gear wheel sounds better than one with few teeth. If you're going to fish salt water, or king salmon in freshwater (not with a 7 wt, I hope) look for a good disc drag. Otherwise, disc drags are just about functionally irrelevant, except that they make for endless conversation among anglers who haven't learned that they are unnecessary additions to most reels.
The deal Leland mentions sounds like a good value. The next best fly reel value I've seen is the discontinued Ross Colorado. They come unadorned with unnecessary disc drags, tho. I bought a couple on Ebay for $65, which is a good price for a machined reel with close tolerances. I used one of them in saltwater for bonefish, and it worked just fine, although if a permit had hit, I would have been shy of having enough backing.
Sincerely,
Salmo g.
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thats probably the best info that this thread has had so far.
aside from the deal leland mentioned
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I have a G Loomis Venture 7 and I like it.
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I dunno...if a moron like me can land a big one on the Cedar with shameful casting, two left hands and a Mohawk 1106 (40's era H-I; no drag adjust..that was a high-end feature), how fancy a reel do you really need? :hmmm:
(Goes to Salmo's point I guess..)
(Goes to Salmo's point I guess..)
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If anyone is still looking for a reel (I've lost track of the thread); I just listed a new Orvis Battenkill Large arbor V in the classifieds. THis is in the 7+ wt. range as per the original question. http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/showthread.php?t=37099
Eric
Eric
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Who said I was talking bout the orvis? I didnt. You are looking at an argument not so much about product but about how one goes through their way of fly fishing, I prefer to have the best possible thing that I can get. You would never believe it but none of us dislike each other we just have diffent philosophy on angling sytems. Also with a seven weight I am trying to hook fish that are big and 9 times out 10 will take a formidable amount of line out, so I like the simple and very effective drag of my current reels. And I like they are built by a family run bisiness in the US of A.
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dan & i have fished together and know each other so their isn't any thing more then a "reel" discussion here...... btw we DO agree on streamer fishing vs other methods......but that's another discussion!Dan Soltau said:
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A great deal is the Cortland Endurance package that Jason Decker has for sale in the classifieds. If I weren't already at least two reels deep in about every line weight category, I'd buy 'em just because it's such a good deal for a nice reel.
BYW, I'm not pimping for Jason, as I don't know him or have never met him; just pointing out deal for you! :thumb:
BYW, I'm not pimping for Jason, as I don't know him or have never met him; just pointing out deal for you! :thumb:
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