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My son just picked up a st Croix imperial 8 wt and needs a reel...he will more than likly be chasing steelhead ...which has the best drag? Or is this the only consideration?

A drag is not paramount if one has an exposed rim that can be palmed. Room for lots of backing (like 150+ yds) would be good. When one gets into some 12-15+ lb fish, they can peel a lot of line. Typically ones tippet is the weak link. When the really big boys take off, one simply has to let them go. I have several reels with drags, and they are mostly set to prevent over run/backlash when something takes off.

When it comes to drags though, one pretty much gets what he pays for. A well sealed unit like a Winston/Ross is a plus if one is out in freezing conditions. Even those reels will freeze up, however, simply from icing between the frame and the spool.

What about salt water? Could be exposed to some coastal cutthroat....
We looked at several a bass pro and all the 150dollar plus reels look really nice

Even an outfit that claims to be a saltwater reel is going to get the same treatment from me. At the end of the day, strip the line into a bucket of warm fresh water and pull it through a towel to dry. Hose the frame, spool, and backing with warm water at the sink. Lube friction points and reassemble. I've used my Sage reels for bonefish, and from appearances, one would never know.

Like firearms, they are taken care of at the end of the day before I take care of myself.

I bought a couple of Allen large arbor reels,,the price is right and they worked just fine on some good size fall fish here on the Copper.

Allen.....humm don't think we saw any of those....

1 minute thanks and point well taken..living and fishing puget sound taught me early about gear care around the salt. None the less it still seems to corrode stuff...

I looked up those Allen reels....they do look like nice reels.. There is a dealer close so we need to take a look
By chance any one know where they are made....USA??

This is a copy of an email I received after a guided steelhead trip in MI Upper Penisula.

As far as reels go - I would strongly suggest a sealed drag reel and go with a Sage 2210 - this would be a 9/10 weight reel. You need the large capacity to hold the larger Switch Chucker fly line. You may never think you are going to fish in below freezing conditions - but I can tell you the forecast for my trip next weekend is below 30 degrees for Saturday morning. And the fall steelhead season is just beginning. You need to fish in below freezing conditions if you want to fly fish for steelhead most of the time. we just had some abnormally warm weather this past weekend.

So I spent the day today with my son and grandson looking at reels...at cabelas they wouldn't even talk to us so went to bass pro. The were somewhat helpful but still walked away with no thought as to what reel would work best...so off to sportsman's warehouse. They are usually the last stop as they actually usually have someone knowledgable in their respective department and have better prices..
Not today......teen age girl working the whole fishing dep..and too busy texting to bother with us....disappointed and frustrated we decided to check out the gig harbor fly shop. SCORE.......what a nice guy and plenty knowledgeable He knew the ins and out of every reel there. No junk in his shop...he set us up with a Lampson....and it balances prefect....

Great! Now show us the results from your first outing. Good luck,

Don't hold your breath.....lol this is his first fly rod and he is going to try steelhead??....took me 3 years to hook my first with rod and reel... His father in law is helping him...maybe he will have more success than I....
I recommended him to go after some local Sea run cuts we live in the heart of the action......

Have a Lamson Konic on my steelhead/smallmouth rod. Dig it much.

With all the help from gig harbor fly shop have no doubt it will be great...I'm thinking I might want one myself.....

I used to view reels as a good place to keep my line but have come around. Now I run Lamson's on everything. Made in Idaho and they have a great sealed drag.

Here is a link to a great review of fly reels:

http://www.tridentflyfishing.com/blog/2013-8-weight-wt-challenge-fly-reel-review

The only knock on the Lamson is that it doesn't develop enough drag force to effectively combat the big salt species. However, for what I fish for, it is plenty sufficient.

Nick. Thanks for the link...surprised how they all stack up...

If you're on a serious budget or want a reel that might serve as a backup someday, take a look at the Grey's G-Series. They will take a beating for very little money.

If you go onto the Yellowstone Anglers website, you will find some great reviews of reels. These guys really test reels, both freshwater and saltwater.

Based upon their recommendations, I now own two Temple Fork reels, one a 375 and the other a 425, for my 8 wgt. and 10 wgt. flyrods. I really like these reels. Not horribly expensive, but smooth and reliable.

Thanks I will check that out..