Most of my fishing anymore is for salmon and steelhead on smaller rivers and large streams here in Michigan. I mostly fish with a 9' 8wt rod and a now pretty ancient Scientific Angler fly reel. I sometimes drop down to a 6 wt rod for steelhead.

I just purchased a rod I've been wanting for years and tat has been pretty much unavailable though Covid. It's an 8 wt 9' Sage Pulse. Awesome rod and I'm looking forward to spring fishing with it.

I want to treat myself to a new reel to pair with it. Three major criteria: 1) a flawless drag. It has to work the same time after time and it has to be able to hold up season after season, fish after fish. 2) Lightweight. My new rod weighs about 3.5 oz so a light reel is important for balance 3) Interchangeable spools. We fish mostly Amnesia mono with a clear leader and then fluorocarbon tippet in 4 or 6# test. I'm learning the ways of fishing indicator rigs and so want to be able to sway to a traditional fly line by swapping spools.

I've looked at Sage's Spectrum Max and the Lamson Litespeed. I don't think th emore affordable Lamson Guru will hold up to big salmon over time.

I've got a Ross Cimmaron I can use until I pick something out.

So I'm open to any of my fellow fly fisherman's suggestions on a new reel.

Nautilus

I fish an FWX on my 6wt and keep a floating or intermediate on one spool and sinking on the spare. Swap out in 5 seconds.

I have a Lamson Litespeed and it will definitely meet your criteria. Abel is another company that will have something to fill the bill but they are also really expensive. I fish my Abel reels probably 90 percent of the time I fish and rarely fish my Litespeed, though there is nothing wrong with it.

I fish salmon here in AK with Ross reels and Galvan reels. I think the toss reels are nicer than the galvans I have. I have 2 of the animas reels, one for my 5wt rod and another set up for 8wt which is also great for pike fishing. I have a new evolution LRX but have not used it yet. I’ve been a Ross guy for over 20 years and still have my gunnison and commaron reels. When I’m looking for new reels, Ross is on my short list.

That being said, there are lots of good companies out there and a few that I choose to stay away from. Loop makes a good reel, the galvans are solid. One that I prefer to stay away from though is Abel reels, not because they aren’t good but because they seem to me to be very overpriced for what you get. I’m sure quality wise they are good and they make some cool graphics on their reels if you are into those but it seems like their cheapest click and Paul reel is like 500 dollars (I could be off on that).

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
I’ve been a Ross guy for over 20 years and still have my gunnison and commaron reels. When I’m looking for new reels, Ross is on my short list......................



That being said, there are lots of good companies out there and a few that I choose to One that I prefer to stay away from though is Abel reels, not because they aren’t good but because they seem to me to be very overpriced for what you get. I’m sure quality wise they are good and they make some cool graphics on their reels if you are into those but it seems like their cheapest click and Paul reel is like 500 dollars (I could be off on that).

Ross is hard to beat. As i said, I have a Cimmarron. My nephew/fishing partner scours fleabay in search of used ones

I believe that they own Abel as well. Their finishes are crazy. You can double the price of a reel with just the finish. I'm not your flyshop pretty fisherperson. My gear gets used hard.

Fly fishing for Pike? That sounds fun! I might try that!

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Fly fishing for Pike? That sounds fun! I might try that!

It is a blast. I got a pike fly set from Alaska fly fishing goods a year or two ago, I’d caught a lot of pike on my spinning rod so I figured it was time to try something different. It’s pretty cool when you get them at the peak of the season and they have a lot of energy. You’ll also need some steel leaders.

Don’t expect it to be nice and graceful like casting dry flies with a 5wt though.

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
I’ve been a Ross guy for over 20 years and still have my gunnison and commaron reels. When I’m looking for new reels, Ross is on my short list......................



That being said, there are lots of good companies out there and a few that I choose to One that I prefer to stay away from though is Abel reels, not because they aren’t good but because they seem to me to be very overpriced for what you get. I’m sure quality wise they are good and they make some cool graphics on their reels if you are into those but it seems like their cheapest click and Paul reel is like 500 dollars (I could be off on that).

Ross is hard to beat. As i said, I have a Cimmarron. My nephew/fishing partner scours fleabay in search of used ones

I believe that they own Abel as well. Their finishes are crazy. You can double the price of a reel with just the finish. I'm not your flyshop pretty fisherperson. My gear gets used hard.

I believe you are right that Ross owns Abel. I think Abel makes a good reel, like I said though, they seem to be 75-100 dollars more than their competition without delivering more. Nothing wrong with them though.

I fish with a Ross Gunnison on my 8 weight, Nautilus on my 6 weight and a vintage Hardy on my 4 weight. They are all great reels.

I am in the Bahamas right now chasing bonefish, take a look at Abel reels. I have several, the reel I fished with yesterday has been all over the world. Still going strong after 10 years of hard use. Saltwater is especially hard on gear and this reel still looks new.

Like Outfitter33, I chase bonefish 2-3X per year and there's not much that will tax/test equipment harder than saltwater and the fishes there.

Take a look at Tibor - excellent, oversized drag and performance. Two of my reels are Tibor and they have performed flawlessly for 15 years.

Personally, I'd drop the requirement for interchangeable spools. That just adds to the bulk of the reel. Besides, changing a line is only 120' of fly line if you set your reels up with loop to loop connections. I have changed lines and leaders in about 10 min in a running boat. Was ready to fish at the next flat.

Just my $0.02.

Andrew

Wish I could have been of more help on this, Brad. Your Steelhead are bigger than what I normally fish for, so I’m out of my element.
Looks like others have some great suggestions.

Tibor are the class of the big fish world, imo. Amazing reels. Price tag to go along with it. Nautilus and Galvan have rashly good drags that compare well to Tibor. The Orvis Hydros is a really solid reel for an 8wt, too.

Sage Pulse paired with a Hardy Cascapedia.
Throw on a black cowboy hat and you could be
that fly shop pretty-guy.

Thanks all. Lots to look at. The Nautilus CCFX2 sounds pretty nice and those Tibor's look built to stop anything.

Looks like $5-600 for a reel is not to be unexpected. Whatever I end up with, it will last the rest of my fishing years

Greg, I appreciate that you fish for a different type of fish. But you catch some really awesome fish.

lbsid, I'd blow that image as soon as the pack of Red Man came out. If the ratty wool fishing sweater and the lack of Simms waders didn't already tip them off