Learn How to Buy Freshwater Fish Gear – The Fly Casting Reel

Our series of articles on Freshwater Fishing Tackle continues as we attempt to slay the fright of purchasing fishing tackle from the novice fisherman.

We address a wide range of fishing gear including reels, rods, baits, lines, and a ton of other gear. We hope by the conclusion of the series that you will be able to buy the exact fishing tackle for the type of fishing you will be doing.

We initiated our series with a review of fishing reel, including the spincast, spinning and baitcast reels. These reels have a wide range of uses and functions but in the end they are meant to cast your line and help retrieve your fish, you cannot say that about the final reel in our series. The Fly Casting Reel is the most unique reel of the four main categories. You do not cast your line or reel in your fish with it; the only function of the fly fishing reel is to keep your line organized.

A fly casting reel helps prevent you from tripping over your line and to retrieve and rewind it and not much else. The fly casting reel has through the years has been very elementary in terms of mechanical construction, little has changed from the original design.

To use a fly reel you simply pull some line off the reel and cast forward, releasing it as the rod flicks forward. Newer designs do come with a drag mechanism to prevent the fish from releasing out more line that is desired.

Newer fly casting reels also have upgraded and advanced disc-type drag systems made of composite materials that boast increased adjustment range, more consistency, and resistance to high temperatures from drag friction. And for the lazy angler you can also find fly reels with an auto retrieve feature to bring in your line without turning a handle.

Fly reels can have a bigger line spool that is designed to cut line memory and allows for consistent drag and aid the quick recovery of loose line in case a fish quickly makes an about face and comes back to the angler.

The primary weaknesses of the fly reel is its limited use, it is used strictly for fly fishing and does not allow for casting. Fly casting reels also tend to be on the expensive side.

An excellent example of the fly cast reel is the “Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor Fly Reels,” priced at under $130. It has a classic mid-arbor design that minimizes line curl and increases line retrieval rates compared to standard-arbor reels. It has an easy-to-grab drag knob machined from 6061 bar stock aluminum and extremely durable and lightweight.

Look for our review of the Fly Fishing Reel in the next article in the continuing series “Freshwater Fishing Gear Beginners Guide.