New 8wt Reel????

[northern_outdoorsman]

Ok, when I was Salmon Fishing this past weekend a decent Male that decided to run downstream busted off my little crank handle on my Pleuger 8wt Reel...Man did ya ever try to reel in a Salmon with no knob on your reel? What a Blast!

Now my question. This was a cheap $40 Flyreel. I had a Cheap 6 wt and it did the same thing and I bought a more expensive one and I love it...What brand/Kind should I get? I would like to spend no more that $100 if possible and have a good reel that will last. I really like "Palming" the Reel to slow the fish down, so one without that capability wouldn't be fun to me...Any Suggestions?????

[HATCHBOMB]

If you can go a bit over $100, look at the Tioga reels made by TETON. A very good reel for the money. If you want to stay under $100, I've seen some reels made by Okuma that look decent...

HATCHBOMB

[HATCHBOMB]

Here's a quick link to some info as well...

http://www.flydepot.com/?ref=overture&keywords=960100

[northern_outdoorsman]

Thanks I will Check them out!

[Foxy Carp]

In the bargin cave at cabelas web site, there are some teton trinitys on sale for somewhere around $100. However, I'm not sure if there is an 8 weight model avalible still. I would recomend finding a reel on sale though. There are so many websites out there that if you find a reel that you like, you can probably find it on sale. Check basspro.com, ebay.com, cabelas.com, overstock.com and my favorite, sierratradingpost.com.

Good Luck:)

[Foxy Carp]

sorry, forgot this. Hatchbomb brought up okumas. From what I hear, these are great reels, and not just for the money. In a fly fishing review magazine I have they compared many large arbor reels for salmon and steelhead. The okuma integrety, which retails for $82, beat the pants off of nearly everything including reels costing up to $600. It has one of the best drag start up presentages, nearly the highest maximum drag setting and of corse, the cheapest price. It makes you wonder, who is okuma hireing.:confused:

[Texas Fly]

Check out ebay...I have seen redington large arbors going for around 100 and there are tetons as well.

[reeldeal3]

I have a tioga and I love it, the drag is awesome and unbeatable. It will set you back 140 bucks, trust me it is worth it. I went to the little man. and hooked up with some really fresh fish and boy did my drag SCREAM!!!

[sideshow]

Its all about the amount of ching you wanna lay down to get a better reel... in my opinion it kinda maxs out at the ross canyon as far as features go. Sorry if this isnt the best post Im way tired got up for work at 4:30 this morning to head to the shop and had been up until midnight writing a paper for the class I had after work until 9:30 hour drive home... and Im off to bed after telling you to buy a harris solitude III great reel!! How much abuse are you going to put on a reel as far as use. My buddy has had a few okumas and doesnt really like them.. cause he only bought one and has tested out their warrenty a couple times. Uhm harris is a great step up from tiogas but if you dont wanna get that high in price its a good one. But again... Harris.. they are awesome... I like them I have one hell Ill admit it I push them at work! Its all about what I like.. Im poor as a trout bum can be but I still would rather set aside a couple more weeks worth of pay and get something that I dont have to worry about testing out the warrenty.. ever seen the movie tommy boy? Brake pads baby brake pads... a box a warrentied.. oh well look at the time.

sideshow

[northern_outdoorsman]

thanks for all the replies! Some great Info here as I expected!;)

[JWF]

I checked out an okuma integrity last weekend and it seemed like a nice reel for the money. The difference in price is probably becasue the okuma reel is cast, while a Harris, Tioga, or Reddington is machined from bar stock aluminum. Machining is suuposed to result in a more durable reel built to tighter tolernaces. I would recommend the Tioga for $140.00, but the Harris does seem to be a great reel. I think the Harris goes for about $260.00 or more.

[sideshow]

harris III solitude goes $245

[reeldeal3]

I know someone who has a okuma and they see to like it, though the drag gets pretty tight. I think if you spent a little more money you could get a really nice reall for under 150 bucks and you wont regret it!!!

[steelslam]

hey northern,,,,i have a ross cimaron 8 # great reel goes for 155. but the quality an the garentee is one of the best. buy a good reel an have one for life. take a look at rossreels.com an decide for your self. good luck

[northern_outdoorsman]

Thanks again! One more question...you all are mentioning "Great Drags"....Can you have a Drag and still "Palm" the Reel or is "Palming" for a Dragless Reel?...Did that make sense?

[Sturgeon-man]

All of the above mentioned reels are sweet. Something that wasn't mentioned was Large Arbors. You can pick up line a lot faster with LA's than with normal reels. As far as the drags mentioned, if you enjoy palming, just loosen the drag up all the way, and palm away! But if you want to pick up line fast, go with the LA reel. I don't know if you can get a click/pawl (for palming)reel in LA. Here's my two cents ... I've got three Redington LA/AS. They work fine for me. About $159 at Jay's.

[northern_outdoorsman]

Yep, I know about the Larger Arbor...my last one was a cheap Pheuger with a large arbor...Thanks I will check that reel out too!

[riverboy]

Hey NO

A couple of months ago or so in there monthly newsletter Orvis was selling the Redington RS2 7/8 for $50. Redington sells them for $150. Why so cheap your thinking right! Well here's is the story I was told when I called Redington one day. Orvis used to own Redington, They split with bad feelings and Redington went on its own. Orvis had a bunch of redingtons products yet and sold them for next to nothing just to upset Redington. The reel has no warranty but for $50 bucks you cant go wrong. I ended up buying two of them. I have used one of them this year for salmon fishing and I tell ya it has a excellant drag and it has the wide arbor so it picks lineup rather quickley. I cant say one thing I dont like about it yet but I have only used it so far this fall. I have had 20 plus battles with kings this year and it hasnt failed me once. I dont think I have that newsletter anymore but I will look as soon as I get home from work. Maybe try calling the main Orivs store in Vermont. They might be able to help you. At the time I was ordering my reels I ask the Orvis guy how many of these reels he had. He said around 2000 of them they may have some left. Better check it out now!

[JWF]

Hey NO,

As far as palming the reel goes, I do it too. I tend to set my drag on the light side and palm as I see fit (not always correctly I might add). I still think a smooth drag is important becasue of the start up inertia. Alot of break offs occur on the first part of a blistering run, so I ususally let the drag take over and palm once the fish slows down a bit. Some guys advocate not touching the reel at all, but I can't help myself.

I think all of the reels mentioned above will allow you to palm the spool for drag purposes. Palming just adds additional drag when you want it. The only reels I don't think you could palm is an anti-reverse reel, which are usually expensive (i.e., Orvis Vortex). Let us know what you get.

[northern_outdoorsman]

I am going shopping Friday so I will let ya know what I get...Riverboy I will check the Orvis Shop by me, the one in Rochester...Not sure where this vermont one is at...

[riverboy]

Naw you cant get that deal in their shops. Its a special purchase by mail order only! I will look at lunch time for the newsletter. I'm thinking I might still have it. I will let ya know!

[riverboy]

Don

Check your PM's

[reeldeal3]

no you can palm it just fine with or without drag, I also have a ross c3 and that has a good drag system also that works good for salmon as well!

[northern_outdoorsman]

Ok everyone...I found out my "Local" selections were very few...I have an Orvis Shop and Bass Pro Outdoor World... So I ended up with a White River Gold GC III 7-9 Wt Reel. It is made for Bass Pro's Lineup. This baby can Handle Salt Water too if I ever get down there. I can "Palm" it if I wish, but man this Drag goes from Nothing to almost "Too Tight" and after using it last night on the Fish I caught I am REALLY Enjoying the Drag! Thanks all for your help, I may not have ended up with one that you all suggested but got great ideas of what to shop for...