I'm new to fly fishing (but not new to fishing) and I recently bought 2 of the discontinued Sage DS2 6wt rods (for my husband) for large and smallmouth bass fishing in Ohio. Now, I'm trying to figure out what to buy for a reel. I've been spending too much time researching this I've been to the local shop and I liked the Bauer and the Ross reels. Initially, I was going to spend under $150 per reel, but I'm the type who would eventually be looking at and lusting after the more expensive stuff.

I'm very partial to the Bauer for its smoothness and the peaceful silent retrieve, but I like the light weight of the Ross Rhythm and Evolution models.

I know all I probably need in terms of line capacity for a 6wt is about 100 yds for bass, but I wanted, if possible to get a reel that we might be able, in the future, use with an 8wt for steelheads. The Ross Rhythm or Evolution 3.5 at 5.2/ 4.5 oz with a 205 yd capacity for WF7 sounds ideal for this. What do you all think -- would this be clumsy on a 6wt? Is it worth the extra $100 for the 0.7 oz difference for the Evolution? I could also buy a reel now for bass and another one in the future for steelies (Cimarrons), but why?

I would prefer, the silence and smoothness of the Bauer, but, it can't compare in terms of weight to the Ross. I've heard good things about the Lamson Force (Force 3/3x at 3.7 oz and capacity of 150 for WF8), but they don't seem to have the consistent excellent customer service Ross seems to have (unless I'm wrong). Also, I would be looking at spending over $800 for 2 Lamson Force reels.

And, to think, initially, I was just going to spend under $300 for to outfit our rods.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Liz

I'm a fan of the Teton Tioga. Rock solid reel, good price, life time warranty.

Worth a look.

Regards

deleted

In my mind the best buy for under 210 bucks is the lamson velocity.
Nothing can go wrong on them. It has a completely sealed drag.
Mine looks like it went through World War three it has been through so much. I have submersed it for over 10 minuites once and nothing happened. Much more stronger and reliabiable drag system then the bauers in my mind. They have great custermer survice too.

Liz,

I have 4 Bauers and 2 Ross Evolutions and 2 Rhythms. I'd go with the latter. The prices and weights of either of the Ross reels is lower than the Bauers. The start-up inertia is also lower on the Ross reels. And, having dealt with both companies for warranty work and repair, I can say that Ross' customer service is beyond compare.

Good luck,
Keith

OK Team,

How about the Galvan Open Backs?

Never touched one in the flesh but after doing a little homework, they sound hard to go past.
About the same weight as the Rythm, Ball bearings, Solid As, and with a silent retrieve if I read right.

Whats are the experiences with it?
I seem to remember a post about the reel seat foot a while ago. Has this been sorted or was it ever a problem?

Mohaka.

If you scoped this site last year you would've seen what amounted to a free Ross ad. The Evolution is beyond compare for any light line reel in it's price range. Call ANY store that handles lots of reels and the Evolution is usually the first one mentioned. Check Ebay. It's the barometer of "popularity". You'll never see an Evolution go for a "fire sale" like price. They're the gold standard for a large production trout reel. Service is top shelf too. The Rhythm is the same as the Evolution except for the weight and porting. Weight may not be too big a factor on a 6wt. (you could save some cash...).What GRN (Greg) says is true: you shouldn't try to find a reel that would handle both a 6wt. and 8wt. Too big a distance in size and applications. Drag is an issue too. For the 8wt. reel I'd suggest looking at the Galvan products. They're very solid and the new Rush Series looks quite promising for a reel at it's price.
PS; you did good to get the DS2s Lizo!

i've got a galvan OB3. love it. i got a great deal i felt i couldn't pass up and have not been sorry i did. it's a little big for my needs, an OB2 would be even better. quiet, smoooooth, relatively light. black for that slimming effect. made in california, just like me! ;-)

for some reason, probably because it's a bit smaller, i use my lamson radius 1.5 as my main reel. but then i only fish for trout in streams.

yeah, a bit overboard on drag systems for what i fish, but then i chose them for other reasons. personally, if i needed something a little bigger, i'd look into the lamson velocity based on my experiences with lamson's products so far. hopefully this helps.

eric
fresno, ca.

You need to try the different reels you are considering on the rod itself to see how it balnces. Take your rod to the shop and they should let you mount the reel to see what you think. I prefer Bauer and Galvan reels.

Many thanks for all the input. The Lamson Velocity/Litespeed 3.0 or 3.5 is beginning to look very attractive. It seems that the added ounce (compared to, say, the Ross Evolution), according to some, doesn't really make a difference.

According to the Waterworks website the Velocity and Litespeed are the same weight and have the same capacity. I guess for what I'm planning to use it for, a Velocity should do? It's difficult to justify spending the extra $60. Should I get the 3.0 or 3.5 for my 6 wt Sage DS2? Would I be able to use the 3.0 comfortably with steelhead in the future? I'm considering ordering the Lamson to see how it feels (no dealers in my area).

I feel like I'm inching closer to actually fly fishing. (My next purchase will be for waders -- at least I know what I want to buy!)

Hello Liz,

If you are getting the Velocity, I'd get the #2 due to the weight being almost 5.5 oz on the #3. Considering that high-end reels in these sizes weigh only 4-5 oz, an ounce difference one way or the other can make a relatively big difference in feel and balance.

I use a Ross Rhythm 3 on my 6 wgt, which has a lower start-up inertia and is 3/4 oz lighter than the Velocity #3.

If you want to use your 6 wgt for bonefish or steelhead, it's nice to have over 100 yds of backing. Also, you're getting a faster retrieve.
I know a couple guys who even use the Evolution 3.5 on their 6 wgts.

YMMV,
Keith

Mark Longmire brings up a point i've always wondered about - - putting a reel on a rod to check balance - - now at what point is balance really important ? - with the spool full, or with 30 to 40 feet of line stripped of, simulating actual fishing conditions ? - putting a new reel on a rod in a shop, with no backing/line on the reel has got to have a different feel, balance wise, than actual field conditions - -

just curious what you guys do -

and we still have snow !! =:-/

GRN -

you've just spelled out what i've always thought - i began to wonder if i was missing out on some important aspect of the calling

however, "geeking" IS part of the fun, IMO !!

Hello,

I am totally biased for Bauer... so I would recommend Bauer of course!

I did what you say... I started with a Pfleuger Medalist and slowely lusted my way to owning a Bauer. Now I have so many Bauer's I can't keep count.

I think you are better off with two reels. I would get a size two Bauer for the 6wt and a size 3 for the other stuff.

If your 6wts are 9 footers the #2 Bauer is a good weight for it and the lighter reels may actually be to light. You will have to decide which feel you like. If the rods are shorter, like 8', you may like the feel of the lighter weight reel.

I have owned both Ross and Bauer. I used Ross service once and it was the best customer service I have ever received.... bar none!!!!!!! They turn your reel around in two days, amazing.

The thing I didn't like about Ross reels is that the reel has a slight amount of spool movement, rocking back and forth, between clicks. The Bauer is more like an instantaneous anti reverse which I prefer. The rocking is common to Ross and most other reel manufacturers and is no problem; I just don't like it.

If you are into ultra-light stuff - 1wts and 2wts and 7' rods or less all the Bauers seem to heavy; but this doesn't apply here just a side rant.

Can't speek for performance under repeated runs from large fish cause I don't do that kind of fishing... well have tried for carp but have had no luck.

This is all under the assumption that you are looking at the MSL series... I don't know anything about the Z series which is a different reel/drag/weight configuration.

HTH,

CG

PS

How do I get my girl away from the jewelry counters and clothing racks and into shopping for expensive fly gear for her guy???

CG

QUOTE (CycleGuy @ Mar 16 2005, 11:01 AM)

PS How do I get my girl away from the jewelry counters and clothing racks and into shopping for expensive fly gear for her guy??? CG

lol I hear that.

Personally I reccomend you go on ebay and get a CT series reel from Redington. I don't see many people using them . There new stuff is sub par, but I love their older stuff. A nice CT series reel is like 70ish bucks and you get a lifetime warranty, and no fear of banging it up. At the end it comes down to fishing and the best reel isn't going to make the best fisherman imho.