Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Let's See Your Fly Reels

We have had threads about rifles and everything shooting. How about your fly fishing equipment.

I like the elegance and simplicity of Abel reels, not to mention they are made in America...

I have more fly reels around here but these are my favorites.

Like you I love my Winston rods but I built my own on their blanks.

Here is a 9' 4/5 line I built back in the days

Hardy makes a decent reel or two...

Im usually pretty good on my ipad but dang if
I can figure out how to post a pic on this site. I follow the simple instructions but my image gallery never posts.
Nice reels men.

Not all of them but the majority.

Still love the old Lamson from the late 80s and early 90s and their silent retrieve and light click drag

Well, if we want to go with beer and reels.

Left to Right:

Abel Classic trout spey goes on T&T DNA 11.5' 4 weight trout spey
Abel Vaya 5/6 goes on T&T Contact 2 11'2" 3 weight euro nymph
Abel TR 4/5 Native Brook Trout goes on Scott G Series 8'8" 4 weight dry fly rod
Abel TR 1 Classic Brook Trout goes on Scott F2 6'6" 3 weight fiberglass
Ross Colorado 4/5 goes on Scott G Series 8'8" 5 weight my wife's set up
Ross Colorado LT 4/5 goes on Scott G2 8'4" 2 weight beaver pond rod
Ross Evolution R 7/8 that goes on 2 different rods. Part time on a Scott Centric 9' 6 weight and part time on a T&T Exocett SS 250 grain streamer rod.

Only have a few, mostly older.
Pflueger Medalist from about 1952, my mothers. Ross Gunnison G-2, mid ‘90’s. Old Florida #55 for the denizens of the deep. 😂 Last my new Galvan Brookie. Great minimalist reel.

What is this spiny thing?

I think it’s a striped Burr fish. But to be truthful I don’t know. It is a weird one for sure.

Puffer fish?

Day on the steelhead river

Ah, 'twas a good day a-stream that day, Pugs.

That's a section of Pennsylvania's Big Spring Creek, a renowned limestone creek. That stretch was known as The Blue Hole way back in the day, and was where Charlie Fox took a state record Brown immediately post-war. I was blessed to have fished it damned near every weekend from 1988-1990 - when it was still a place of enchantment. Now the PA Fish Commission has seen fit to have wrecked it in an effort to "restore" it to something it never really was.

My most-used reels.

Top row, L-R: 70's-vintage Hardy Marquis #5, 60's-vintage Orvis Flyweight (made by J.W.Young, England), 40's-vintage Weber (a kinda clunky reel but it was my Dad's so I keep it around for nostalgic reasons, and fish it occasionally for the same reason).

Bottom row, L-R: Bill Ballan Light Trout, Hardy Perfect 2 7/8" (probably gets the most use).

Where are all your "automatics"? I bet you guys have only cars with 3 speeds on the column or five on the floor, wheelguns, and single shot rifles and shotguns! Just so sadly 19th Century....

Actually I only had one "automatic" fly reel back when they were sort of popular, I think it was a "Martin" make. It sucked up the slack line when I didn't want it to, and didn't when I did! In short it sucked. So I went back to one biggish Pflueger "Medalist" and one tiny one and that's where I've been for MANY decades of popper and hopper ploppin'! Not much of a fly fisherman, but I sure respect the skill. Unlike golf.

And what IS that "spiny thing"! Looks like Hell and perhaps is something that came from there....

Abel TR2 On Tom Morgan Rodsmiths 5 weight...

Heres my crew. I am mostly saltwater only one freshwater 5 wt. You boys dont tease me about my pink Ross reel. My girlfriend picked it out for herself. Thanks Cheesy forvthe posting help.

Nice group of Tibors