Fly Fishing Reel Basics

If you've ever visited a bass and pro shop and saw a fly fishing reel, you can clearly see that you wouldn't use a fly fishing reel to fish for largemouth bass. A fly fishing rod would probably not withstand the weight of a bass bait. Lures for bass are significantly heavier than most flies used in fly fishing. Anyone who says that a fly reel is used merely to hold the line has probably never hooked a big rainbow trout or a wily specimen brown trout that spends most of the fight powering toward the nearest snag. Anyone who has will know that to use the light lines so often needed to fool big 'educated' trout, you need a reel that will give line smoothly with no jerks and jars that can snap that line.

One of the most important developments in the modern fly reel is its drag system. When once a simple check mechanism was considered good enough, today a sophisticated drag system is found on your average-priced reels. The most popular and efficient of these is the disc drag, which is both smooth in operation, completely variable, and hard wearing.

Whether using light tippets for ultra-selective trout, tackling big largemouth bass or saltwater species that can run hundreds of yards at breakneck speeds, or simply in the hope of hooking a good fish, it is imperative that the reel is able to give line as the fish runs. Smoothness is the key: a drag mechanism that gives with an initial jerk is likely to break the line as a fish snatches the lures for bass (or bass bait), especially at short range, while for big, brawling tuna, largemouth bass and sailfish, a drag that locks up as the fish powers off is an absolute disaster.

Fly reels are now made from a variety of materials. Wood and brass were once the standard, but developments in modern lightweight materials means that we now have models made of graphite (carbon fiber), magnesium alloy, polycarbonate and aluminium, the latter being preferred for most fly reels.

Depending on the price and specification, aluminium reels can be made either from cast aluminium or from a solid bar that has been machined to shape. Being stronger weight-for-weight than cast aluminium, aluminium bar stock allows reels to be made lighter and is normally used on the higher priced models. With higher priced materials, you can try catching larger largemouth bass using some of the more demanding lures for bass (like spinnerbaits, buzzbaits,anytopwater bass bait).