Reels for short, lightweight bamboo rods

[OnTheBrink]

Great pairings and photos Darrell. Don't make us wait too long for one of your well written stories to go along with those.

A Godfrey GBI 212 (2.12" diameter) on a T&T 7' 0" Paradigm.

[flyrod]

Sewell Dunton 6' #13 Pack Rod and Hardy Featherweight Golden Reel:



Orvis 6 1/2' Rocky Mountain Rod and Orvis CFOIII Reel:



Orvis 7' Battenkill Rod and Orvis CFOIV Reel:



Orvis 6 1/2' Fly & Spin Rod and JW Young Pridex Reel:



Orvis 5'5" Clone (three piece) Rod built by Jim Ifert (kentuckyjim) and Pflueger 2 1/2" #80 Reel:



Orvis 4'4" Banty Rod and JW Young 2 1/2" Pattern #1 Reel:



I really like short Orvis Rods and old English Reels

[Bee]

I have always used a early production SA/Hardy System 4 on my Leonard 36. Guess it is not commonly preferred among you folks.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

flyrod, thank you for sharing. Bee, show us some photos! OnTheBrink, normally I shy away from silver aluminum reel feet and dark reel seat hardware, but your combination doesn't bother me in the least.

[munsey w]

Some of my favorites: Hardy Flyweight, Hardy system 3, Orvis CFO, Pflueger 1492 the rods are all my builds.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Thank you for sharing munsey w, I freely like the classic looks of the Medalist in the xx92 size. It just screams COOL!

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

bumping this up with some backside shots added to my original post. I have a Duchess 2 3/4" in route and should be getting my Young Flyweight back soon, so I'll add them to my original post soon.

Cheers,
Joe

[reidrods]

I'll stick with my Richard Bradley 2 1/4" reel. Chris Bogart was right. I should have ordered more of his reels.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

I'll stick with my Richard Bradley 2 1/4" reel. Chris Bogart was right. I should have ordered more of his reels.

I hope you fish silk, otherwise I suspect that you are a fan of tiny coils, or tiny streams where you only see a foot or two of line anyhow. Please share a photo.

[Kenneth]

Show and Tell, I'll play!

Thanks much for the beautiful combos shown so far.

Now I've shared the photos below before, but most are no longer visible no thanks to Photobucket, so here they are again, thanks to Google Drive.

The lines are all 3 or 4 weight DTF. To wit:

The most classic of combos, CFO III and 6-1/2' Flea 2oz:


Made in Albion, R. Sealey Tudor Lightweight 7' 3wt and a 1st. generation Beaudex:


Still made in Albion, same Sealey rod with a 1st. generation Orvis Battenkill LA I:


Medalist 1492, just looks good on any rod. First, the Flea then a Cottengim 6' 3wt:




Hardy Prince 5/6 on an Orvis '99' 7'


Hardy Marquis 4 on a Robert Gorman Green River Mettowee 4-1/2' 1pc


Thanks for looking and keep safe,
Kenneth

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Kenneth, thank you for sharing. To my eye, the Marquis 4 looks too big on the Mettowee. What is the diameter of the Marquis? But, then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you be holding the Metowee, not I.

[Kenneth]

Thanks for the kind remarks.

To answer your question, the Marquis 4 has a diameter of 2-3/4", and is the smallest reel I own.

It's actually smaller, for example, than the Beaudex 3" or the 1492 (2-7/8") in my photos above.

Keep safe,
Kenneth

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Thanks for the kind remarks.

To answer your question, the Marquis 4 has a diameter of 2-3/4", and is the smallest reel I own.

It's actually smaller, for example, than the Beaudex 3" or the 1492 (2-7/8") in my photos above.

Keep safe,
Kenneth

Interesting. Would you mind sharing the dimensions of the grip and reel seat? That would be the same size as the Featherweight, and JLH and they just seem smaller. Maybe it is the color combination that makes it look larger. All good.

Cheers,
Joe

[Kenneth]

Joe, I'll get you the dimensions you asked for when I get back to Rome this Sunday.

Buon weekend, as they say here,
Kenneth

[Flykuni3]

Sometimes reels look large, when they arent: depends on angle mostly. My sm 1492 Medalists and St Geo jrs can look like 1494 or 3”-ers.

[cdmoore]

Robert's grips on these Mettowee rods from his "Brush" series are quite short, about 4 1/2" depending on the model. His later uplocking seats are a bit shorter and bring the reel forward to the grip. I have enjoyed 2 1/2" to 2 3/4" reels for these short grips and / or rod lengths 7' and under. Beautiful rod.

[Vaughanwilson3022]

I like original Ross San Miguel One with 2-3/8” long reel foot for small rods with that require short reel foot.

[trouterbass]

This reel is the Hardy Sunbeam 2 3/4 inch, war time version, weighing about 4.6 ounces lined. It is actually too light for this Sewell Dunton model 156, 7 ft.

Ooops, sorry no photo, didn't realize I had to upload to the web first.

[Kenneth]

Joe, getting back to your question about the length of the grip and reel seat of the Gorman rod:

Grip: 4-1/2"

Reel seat: 3-1/2"

Regards,
Kenneth

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Thanks Kenneth. The reel seat, as cdmoore pointed out, seems longish compared to the grip, but it is just an 1/8" longer than my Sweetgrass "tourist" handle's reel seat. I'd like to see this set up in person in the future as I find it hard to believe that a 2 3/4" reel looks big on that rod, but to my eye, it does and I think that it is just the angle of the photo placing the reel closer to the camera than the seat. Sort of like the effect that of holding a smallish fish with your arms extended to make it look bigger!

Cheers,
Joe