John Zeringue In a previous post I covered fly rods. The rod is the most expensive piece you are going to buy in order to get into fly fishing and is the most important. In this author’s opinion the fly reel is the second most important piece of equipment you will need because it hold your line and backing, more on those later in the post. In most cases you will not be fighting fish on the reel; you will typically hand line, or as it’s called in fly fishing, stripping the fish in. Because of this the reel is usually used to store your 90 feet of fly line and 100 yards or more of backing. When you hook a big fish, however, you will sometimes have to fight the fish on the reel, so now you have a decision to make: what kind of fly reel do you buy? They come in 3 different types: automatic, click and pawl, and disc drag.
- The automatic reel: these are not used very much
today and only 2 companies, Martin and Pflueger,
still produce them. They work by loading a spring
when you pull out the fly line, similar to a tape
measure. To recover your line, just press the lever
and the spring will release its tension and the line
will be respooled into the reel. This is a great reel
to have if you have mobility issues in your hands;
however, for the day to day fly angler I wouldn’t
recommend one. They are relatively heavy and throw your rig off balance. Also the spring can release its tension if the reel is dropped or if you accidentally hit the lever.
2. The click and pawl reel, sometimes called the spring and pawl reel is the simplest and usually the most inexpensive reel. It consists of 2 parts; the spool and the housing. The spool has a fixed gear on the back side. That gear locks into a pawl and when the spool
is moved forwards or reverse makes the classic clicking that most people associate with a fly reel. Because there is no adjustable drag on this reel, you palm the spool with your reel hand to slow down spool when fighting a big fish that is peeling off line. These reels are easily converted for either left or right hand retrieve; before you put the line on the spool just turn the reel to whichever side you want. Then spool the line and you’re good to go. If you already have line spooled, just strip the line into a bucket and then reload the line. If all you’re going after is bream,
sacalait, and small to medium bass, the click and pawl reel is all you really need.
3. The disc drag reel is probably the most common fly reel out there. They have the ability to provide some tension on the spool to slow down the fish. Most have a knob on one side of the reel that lets you adjust how much tension will be applied to the spool like a normal baitcasting or spinning reel. Just like the click and pawl reels, reels with a disc drag can be set up for either a left or right hand retrieve. Most come set up for a left hand retrieve out of the box. In order to change the retrieve, you usually have to flip a bearing or washer under the spool. Refer to owner’s “manual” that is included in the box with your reel.
Once you have decided on which type of fly reel you’re going to buy, you have to decide on what size reel to buy. Besides small, mid, and large arbor reels; fly reels are sold by what sized fly line they are rated to have hold. Normally they are labeled to hold 2 different size line, such as a 3/4 reel. That means the reel will hold either 3wt or 4wt fly line. The only difference is how much backing you can spool before spooling your fly line. Just like switching the retrieve on a disc drag fly reel, refer the the owner’s manual. There should be a little chart in it that will tell you how many yards of backing to use for whichever size line you will use. It is ok to use bigger fly line than what is suggested for you reel, just use less backing. At one point I was using 5wt fly line on my Albright 3/4 GPR fly reel. I have since put 4wt fly line on it to match my 4wt TFO rod.
Now that you have your fly reel, you need to put some line on it. This first line you need to put on the spool is some backing. Backing serves 2 purposes; it’s used as “filler” to make reeling in the fly line easier with less revolutions of the spool, and gives you more line for when a fish takes all of you fly line. Backing is generally made of braided dacron in either 20 or 30 pound test. Unless you’re going after tarpon or bigger saltwater game fish 20 pound backing is all you need. Do not; however, use monofilament for your backing. It has too much line memory and will coil and tangle easily. It also can dig into itself on the reel which can also cause tangles.
Once you have some backing you need some fly line. The first thing you need to decide is what weight line. Get the weight line that matches the weight of the rod. It’s that easy. Next you need to decide on what taper. Fly lines come in 3 different tapers: weight forward, double taper, and level.
is moved forwards or reverse makes the classic clicking that most people associate with a fly reel. Because there is no adjustable drag on this reel, you palm the spool with your reel hand to slow down spool when fighting a big fish that is peeling off line. These reels are easily converted for either left or right hand retrieve; before you put the line on the spool just turn the reel to whichever side you want. Then spool the line and you’re good to go. If you already have line spooled, just strip the line into a bucket and then reload the line. If all you’re going after is bream,
sacalait, and small to medium bass, the click and pawl reel is all you really need.
3. The disc drag reel is probably the most common fly reel out there. They have the ability to provide some tension on the spool to slow down the fish. Most have a knob on one side of the reel that lets you adjust how much tension will be applied to the spool like a normal baitcasting or spinning reel. Just like the click and pawl reels, reels with a disc drag can be set up for either a left or right hand retrieve. Most come set up for a left hand retrieve out of the box. In order to change the retrieve, you usually have to flip a bearing or washer under the spool. Refer to owner’s “manual” that is included in the box with your reel.
Once you have decided on which type of fly reel you’re going to buy, you have to decide on what size reel to buy. Besides small, mid, and large arbor reels; fly reels are sold by what sized fly line they are rated to have hold. Normally they are labeled to hold 2 different size line, such as a 3/4 reel. That means the reel will hold either 3wt or 4wt fly line. The only difference is how much backing you can spool before spooling your fly line. Just like switching the retrieve on a disc drag fly reel, refer the the owner’s manual. There should be a little chart in it that will tell you how many yards of backing to use for whichever size line you will use. It is ok to use bigger fly line than what is suggested for you reel, just use less backing. At one point I was using 5wt fly line on my Albright 3/4 GPR fly reel. I have since put 4wt fly line on it to match my 4wt TFO rod.
Now that you have your fly reel, you need to put some line on it. This first line you need to put on the spool is some backing. Backing serves 2 purposes; it’s used as “filler” to make reeling in the fly line easier with less revolutions of the spool, and gives you more line for when a fish takes all of you fly line. Backing is generally made of braided dacron in either 20 or 30 pound test. Unless you’re going after tarpon or bigger saltwater game fish 20 pound backing is all you need. Do not; however, use monofilament for your backing. It has too much line memory and will coil and tangle easily. It also can dig into itself on the reel which can also cause tangles.
Once you have some backing you need some fly line. The first thing you need to decide is what weight line. Get the weight line that matches the weight of the rod. It’s that easy. Next you need to decide on what taper. Fly lines come in 3 different tapers: weight forward, double taper, and level.
1. Weight forward taper.
The weight forward taper is the most commonly used line. The first 50 to 60 feet of line from the backing forward is called the running line and has a consistent diameter. The last 30 feet is where most of the weight is located and is called the belly. The last 5 feet or so then tapers back down to a thinner diameter to the tip so you leader can be attached. This line is easy to cast and give the greatest distance. For us down here, this is the taper we use and I recommend for anyone just beginning fly fishing.
The weight forward taper is the most commonly used line. The first 50 to 60 feet of line from the backing forward is called the running line and has a consistent diameter. The last 30 feet is where most of the weight is located and is called the belly. The last 5 feet or so then tapers back down to a thinner diameter to the tip so you leader can be attached. This line is easy to cast and give the greatest distance. For us down here, this is the taper we use and I recommend for anyone just beginning fly fishing.
2. The double taper.
Double taper fly line has the majority of its weight in the middle and has the same taper on either end. The double taper works well for a more subtle presentation, but you lose some distance when casting. You can also reverse the line on the spool if one end gets damaged.
Double taper fly line has the majority of its weight in the middle and has the same taper on either end. The double taper works well for a more subtle presentation, but you lose some distance when casting. You can also reverse the line on the spool if one end gets damaged.
3. Level line.
The level line has absolutely no taper in it at all. It is the same diameter from tip to tip. This taper is usually found on budget, or cheap, fly line. It has no advantage other than being less expensive. Once you have chosen what taper, you need to decide on what type of fly line to get. There are 3 types of fly line to chose from: floating, sinking, or sink tip.
The level line has absolutely no taper in it at all. It is the same diameter from tip to tip. This taper is usually found on budget, or cheap, fly line. It has no advantage other than being less expensive. Once you have chosen what taper, you need to decide on what type of fly line to get. There are 3 types of fly line to chose from: floating, sinking, or sink tip.
● Floating line: Floating line does just what it’s name says: it floats. From the butt end that’s attached to your backing to the tip attached to you leader, it floats. It’s great for fishing all types of flies in shallow water, and by shallow I mean up to 10 feet of water.
● Sinking line: this is just the opposite of the floating line: from butt to tip it sinks. There are 8 types of sinking line though. They range from Intermediate, then types 1 through 7. What’s the difference you ask? Sink rate. Each one sinks at a different rate. There’s is no standard in the sink rate between the manufacturers, but it should say on package in inches per second, ips, what’s the sink rate. These lines are typically used for getting flies down to the fish when they are deep. These are generally used to fish lakes for trout, or in our area in the winter when fish have gone deep because of cold weather. Because the entirety of the line sinks, there is increased drag when setting the hook.
● Sink tip: this is a combination of sinking and floating line. Typically the last 8 to 16 feet of the line sinks and the rest floats. This is useful because it reduces the drag of the line when setting the hook. Due to the fact that this and the sinking line sink, you won’t be able to fish dry flies and poppers.
Now that you know what kind of line you need, you need to figure out the weight of the line that you need. That’s the easiest part. Just match it to the weight of your rod. If you are still trying to figure out what size rod to buy I have a chart. Just match the size of the flies you’re going to fish to this chart. It will tell you what size rod and line you need.
● Sinking line: this is just the opposite of the floating line: from butt to tip it sinks. There are 8 types of sinking line though. They range from Intermediate, then types 1 through 7. What’s the difference you ask? Sink rate. Each one sinks at a different rate. There’s is no standard in the sink rate between the manufacturers, but it should say on package in inches per second, ips, what’s the sink rate. These lines are typically used for getting flies down to the fish when they are deep. These are generally used to fish lakes for trout, or in our area in the winter when fish have gone deep because of cold weather. Because the entirety of the line sinks, there is increased drag when setting the hook.
● Sink tip: this is a combination of sinking and floating line. Typically the last 8 to 16 feet of the line sinks and the rest floats. This is useful because it reduces the drag of the line when setting the hook. Due to the fact that this and the sinking line sink, you won’t be able to fish dry flies and poppers.
Now that you know what kind of line you need, you need to figure out the weight of the line that you need. That’s the easiest part. Just match it to the weight of your rod. If you are still trying to figure out what size rod to buy I have a chart. Just match the size of the flies you’re going to fish to this chart. It will tell you what size rod and line you need.
For fishing down here a weight forward, floating fly line is all you really need. You can fish streamers, nymphs, wet flies, dry flies, and poppers all on the same line. Also, look for a fly line with a welded loop on the end. The welded loop will let you change the leader easily without having to tie a new knot. Most of the tapered leaders you buy have what is called a perfection loop on the end for attaching it to your fly line. If the fly line you buy doesn’t have a welded loop on the end you’re either going to have to learn to tie a n ail knot to attach the leader or create a loop at the end of your fly line making a p erfection loop. Just type either of those into your favorite search engine and you will find videos that teach you both knots. Now I will say this NEVER USE A NO KNOT EYELET to attach the leader to your your fly line! This is important! Those things are terrible.They are basically a barbed needle that you push into the end of your fly line. The cause the tip of your floating fly line to sink. Just don’t use them. Nail knots and perfection loops are too easy to tie to use one of those things.
As far as leaders go, that is a topic for a whole different post. For now either buy tapered leaders in 0X to 3X or just use a piece of monofilament 6 to 9 feet long.
You now have everything you need to know in order to go out and buy your first fly rod set up! If you have any other questions feel free to email me at vacherie.boy@gmail.com.
Tight lines JZ
