Best Reel...Ross, Van Staal, Abel, Bauer, Other

[mahaney]

Well, I've been watching the best reel poll and hardly anyone is answering. I really could use some opinions on who makes the best reels. Now I imagine that each company has it's niche where it excels, but someone must be on top for the all round best reel. Please post your opinions or links to articles on reel comparison.

Thanks,

-Jim

[Shimanoman]

Jim;The question u pose is more complicated than u realize, and some of the benchmarks are subjective. There are a lot of quality reels out there as well as a number of outstanding ones. At the end of the day a lot comes down to personal choice,brand loyalty,and past experiences. Are you going to learn to fly fish? Are you going to learn on absolutely the best tackle? Or do you want to have something to look forward to as you progress? Is money no object? What type of fish do you want to stalk?-- There are a number of variables that really ought to be considered before you get a really good answer to such a broad question. Scientific Anglers & Orvis are two good American firms who were not even mentioned in the poll. Where do you live? Do you have any specialty fly shops in your area? If so, go,hang out and ask the staff-despite the fact that they sell tackle, they are no doubt, accomplished fly fishermen/tiers and enthusiastic about welcoming another to the"brotherhood". You will find,in most cases,their information,freely given, is invaluable and worth rewarding the shop with your custom. The result of a poll with only 10 respondents is probably just enough information to confuse you. BTW- you can usually arrange for lessons through one of these shops as well. Sometimes, you may find you are learning from a "master" in the art,they won't tell you themselves(I would be very leery of one who proclaims him/herself a master),though other fishermen will let you know the bona fides of the person who inculcates you into the mysteries of the art. Hope this helps u in your quest for knowlege. Regards,- Shimanoman

[formula1]

For my money, Abel and Tibor top the list, however, there are a lot of great reels that won't let you down, including Bauer, Sage, Ross, Lamson, etc. There is also Charlton but they are difficult to get timely service on now and they are very expensive so for that reason I'd go with Tibor and Abel - these two reels set more flyfishing records than any other reels in recent years and when I go with guides in the Keys they invariably use one or both of these reels. When I balance price against performance and reliability it's Abel and Tibor that I use day in and day out and they've performed flawlessly for me on tarpon and sharks up to 140 lb. (still hoping for my holy grail, the 190 lb. tarpon...).

Again, other reels work great too but I think these two are a cut above the rest. I don't buy Ross BG because they don't use ball bearings, I don't get Bauer because it's the same price as the Tibor and Abel, and Sage's drag is enclosed - which means if there's a problem I can't service it myself. Van Staal has had some corrosion problems with some anglers so that was crossed off my list as well although they are beautiful and fish nicely. Orvis's top of the line Vortex is *way* too heavy for my tastes (their 12 wt is about 4 ounces heavier than my Abel Super 12...that's a lot of weight), and I don't trust their lower priced reels for big fish (Battenkills...drag is too small) and I had a bad experience with the drag on their old DXR line as well...

[abacodan]

I agree completely with Formula1. I have used and abused fly tackle for the past twenty years in salt water almost exclusively. I've sent Bauers back to the factory to be remachined, and just gave my MX4 away to a guy, warning him about it. I started with the Scientific Anglers System 2, which for the money starting out was great, but don't drop it.
I watched an Orvis DXR completely disintegrate in the hands of an Orvis dealer on a trip to Casa Blanca Lodge on Ascencion Bay, with only an average size bonefish pulling on the other end. I agree that the top of the line Orvis reels, although apparently pretty well machined, are heavy.
I've got old Billy Pate reels(TIBOR) that are still flawless, after years of King Mackeral, Bonito(Little Tunny, False Albacore) etc. I've fished Abels, but until recently, the lack of an outgoing drag, and slightly less reel diameter kept me away from them. You just can't beat a Tibor. Don't know much about the light series, which I gather is targeted more at the fresh water crowd.
Waiting on my new Tibor Everglades Quick Change to arrive right now. Leaving for a Bahamas Bonefish trip next weekend.
I also can't believe they didn't mention Tibor in the survey........

[RojoKayako]

I am going to second Shimanoman on this one - this "Which is the best..." question is really to broad to be answered unless there are a lot more application specifics known.

I will say this about the whole Trout Reel industry though - it's an industry built on a lot of smoke and mirrors - of companies trying to convince fishermen they should be buying high-dollar, exotic reels they do not need. For example, I saw a fly reel advertised recently that had a drag so fine because it was built to protect small tippets (i.e., 7x, 8x, 9x). Nice...but I can't imagine too many fish that take offerings on such small tippets, and yet are large enough to run into the backing!

Thanks.

RojoKayako

[Pikopath]

Hi
I cant say which reel is the best either, but would like to mention this reel:
http://www.backwinder.no/
It atleast looks alittle different

Michael

[gq]

I talked to my buddies at work. They were telling me Islander is a good reel. never used it never seen it. But it is coming from some respectable fly fishermen

[formula1]

Islanders look very nice, I've had them in hand but never fished them, I thought about buying one as they are not too expensive but what held me back was a couple of flyfisherman I talked to who had them before. They told me service can be spotty on them.

Do want to add to my prior comment however. Since then I've talked to a lot of people and at least for light to heavy saltwater, I think the best is Charlton. Sci Anglers has good service on them since they own the name, and because of their drag system, they have more big fish world records in proportion to the numbers out there than any other reel including Blue Fin Tuna (197 lb) Blue Marlin (297 lb) etc. I went out and purchased 2 Charltons and some spare spools last year and I don't regret the purchase...they're phenomenol reels, exceeding my expectations in every way. I prefer them to my Abel's and Tibors although you won't see me selling them either...I still love those reels too, they're great reels - the Charlton is just a notch above IMHO.