Fly Reel School

By Paul Conover

Lesson #1:  Capacity Truths

Fly fishing is a very unique sport. It is mostly mental with coordination of mind and body. It’s been described to me as “Zen” like. If you are a beginner, it can be terribly intimidating and very frustrating. Everybody you talk to has a different idea as to how to do it. Saltwater fly fisherman are the worst when it comes to imparting information to new fliers. All of fly fishing comes down to common sense.

If you fish freshwater (trout, mostly Ed) all your reel has to do is hold line. How much capacity do you need if the fish never gets into your backing? 25yds, 50yds., zero yds.? Saltwater is an entirely different animal. Most of the fish you encounter will get into your backing, therefore, the amount of backing becomes very important. Now it comes down to where you intend to fish and what is really sensible as yards of backing. Do you really know how much backing is on your reel? Don’t believe reel manufacturer’s capacity claims. All backings are different in weight, diameter, etc. The price of braid, or gel spun, is ridiculous and in most cases, you will never come close to using all the backing on your fly reel.

I personally recommend Dacron. I have used it for over 65 years and never broke a line. Dacron will not cut you or tear up your guides like gel spun and some light braids. Its far less expensive. Most it will never come out of your spool.

If you are fishing on dry land, like a beach, how much is enough? This is the only place you would need greater capacity, but I doubt from experience that you could handle more than 250 yds of line plus your fly line, and the fish. A 60 lb. Tarpon, plus the current, can spool you unless you have a heavy drag and leader. Can you actually reel in 250 yds (1/8th of a mile) of line. Good luck. You are talking about hours of fight. So, does it does it make sense to have that much capacity? More sense to have heavier leader and less capacity. More than likely, you will kill the fish, not to mention yourself.

If you are fishing from a boat, large capacity is not anything that is going to help you. Your reel spool outside diameter is far more important. The boat should be able to follow the fish. The pickup line rate is paramount. When a fish is first hooked, it may run directly at you. You better be able to pick up line in a hurry. Capacity of more than 100 yds should never see daylight.

Keep in mind, 100yds is a football field. Manufacturers use capacity as a selling point, it is really just a larger arbor for the fly line.

To summarize,

Freshwater, look for a light reel, largest diameter, anti over-run drag (can’t stand clickers). You don’t want your spool to over run when you pull line off the reel before casting. I have no drags on my personal reels but I use my forearm to slow the line pull off.

Saltwater, look for a strong reel, largest diameter spool, just keep in mind where you will fish. Most 10 wt., or more, rated reels are suitable for the beach or dry land fishing. In a boat, don’t worry about capacity as long as you have at least 100yds.

Narrow spool is always better than a wide spool. When fighting a fish, you have to put the line back on the reel evenly, the wider the reel, the harder this is to do.

Next time, I will address weight and “large” arbors.