Selecting a Reel

Selecting a Reel

With all the choices there are for reels, it’s important to find a reel that compliments your rod. Heavy reels may not balance correctly with your rod, making it feel heavy at the base of the rod and the tip less sensitive. Too light a reel will make the tip feel making the act of carrying the rod feel awkward. Before checking out at the anglers shop, put the reel on the rod and hold the rod to check its balance. This is also a good chance to check the balance of the reel. Try turning the crank. The reel should feel smooth and solid, not wobbly and shaky. This goes for any type of reel selection, baitcasting, spincasting, trolling gear or even flycasting.

Quality Reels

Quality is less of a factor for flycasting reels, since it simply houses your line and doesn’t have a function for casting. For all other reels however, quality plays an important role. A cheap reel will cause more headaches than a cheap rod. Good casting performance in the reel alleviates the burdens of backlash, tangles, kinks and drag. For fly reels, a cheap reel might get the line caught in the reel, but this imperfection can be avoided by acquainting yourself more with the reel.

Cheap Reels

Cheap reels are also made with cheap parts, fewer ball bearings and degrade rapidly. If you must go with a cheap reel, just be sure to clean it after each use using the manufactures cleaning guide to prolong its life as much as possible. Otherwise, plan on spending a few extra bucks for a decent reel so you can spend more time fishing than fixing your line.

Performance Reels

The pricier the reel, the smoother it will function. The drive mechanism will have more ball bearings. I recommend selecting a reel with at least 4-6 ball bearings. The With a spinning reel, look for a long wide spool over a small one as this type of spool has a larger line capacity and will minimize line kinks. Also, check for a front drag system in the spinning reels as this produces a smoother drag than a rear drag system since they sport larger, multiple disc drag washers. Rear drag spinning reels are often easier to use, but they have a tougher time with the bigger fish.


For best performance, selecting a large-capacity spinning reel minimizes kinks and holds more line.

Trolling Reel

If you’re looking at a trolling reel, find one with a line counter. This display will make it easy to reset your line to drop to the same distance you caught your last fish at. Without one, you’ll either be marking your line or have to count the passes of the level-wind bar. You’ll also find high speed reels with gear ratios that for each turn of the crank will spool in several more revolutions of line. A gear ratio of 6 to 1 is a good choice and allows you to quickly take in several hundred feet of line.


Trolling reel featuring a line counter.

Reel housings are typically made of either anodized aluminum or graphite, each having its own advantages. Reels composed aluminum are usually stronger and more durable than their graphite counterparts, but usually weight more. Graphite reels are resistant to corrosion and are light, but don’t offer the same level of strength and durability.

Resources:
Fishing reel products

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