k-bob
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2009
- Messages
- 2,371
most of us will never have a use for a superlight fly reel, but some very short fly rods (5'9" LLBean 3wt; some 6' 2wts; older 6'6" Cabelas 2wts) don't balance well (they are very grip/reel heavy) with even an orvis bb1 reel (3.2 oz empty).
you can cast rods that way of course, but I'd guess people might make better casts and enjoy fishing more w/o adjusting for reel-heaviness. (btw a short rod w/ superlight cigar and rings reel seat would be less prone to this. at the other extreme, a short rod w/ the same nickel-silver reel hardware used on longer rods, such as the old sage 6'3" txl 3 wt, might balance much better w/ a light reel)
I didn't buy a UK wychwood 1.7 oz clicker reel until they went on sale on ebay for about 90 british pounds (w/ shipping = $135 at current exchange rate; shipping took 2 weeks). they are as light as advertised and work fine. reel appears to save weight by using a shorter half-length "axle" for the spool.
with 45' of line, the reel weighs about 2 oz, making the above-named short rods balance in your hand without being seriously reel heavy. also makes for very light (4 oz) rod-reel-line combos, which to me is more fun when you usually catch small fish on the small streams where I use very short fly rod. of course I bring em in and let em go just as fast as I would w heavy gear.
with a lot of brookie fishing in PA, a light reel can be a plus at least on some very short fly rods....
you can cast rods that way of course, but I'd guess people might make better casts and enjoy fishing more w/o adjusting for reel-heaviness. (btw a short rod w/ superlight cigar and rings reel seat would be less prone to this. at the other extreme, a short rod w/ the same nickel-silver reel hardware used on longer rods, such as the old sage 6'3" txl 3 wt, might balance much better w/ a light reel)
I didn't buy a UK wychwood 1.7 oz clicker reel until they went on sale on ebay for about 90 british pounds (w/ shipping = $135 at current exchange rate; shipping took 2 weeks). they are as light as advertised and work fine. reel appears to save weight by using a shorter half-length "axle" for the spool.
with 45' of line, the reel weighs about 2 oz, making the above-named short rods balance in your hand without being seriously reel heavy. also makes for very light (4 oz) rod-reel-line combos, which to me is more fun when you usually catch small fish on the small streams where I use very short fly rod. of course I bring em in and let em go just as fast as I would w heavy gear.
with a lot of brookie fishing in PA, a light reel can be a plus at least on some very short fly rods....