Greatest flyreels - ever

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adrien schnee
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#81

Post by adrien schnee »

jeffkn1 wrote:About thirty years back a friend asked to borrow an Asia-made generic copy of the Medalist that I had picked up for ten bucks for bass fishing. My friend declared he was headed up to NY's Salmon River, which made me wince for several reasons, not the least being that I expected him to return home vanquished, with either a sack of reel parts or tales of woe. Or both. I wasn't actually worried.
At our next meeting he handed me the reel, none the worse for wear, while explaining what bruisers those salmon were and how much fun he had. See, even cheap copies of the Medalist are reliable as an anvil.
It's true! I bought a few Japanese made Medalists in the mid 80's. They served me extremely well and are more or less in the same condition as when I bought them minus minor surface wear. I played a Chinook salmon in the 30 pound plus range which inadvertently took my swung wooly bugger on a 6 wt rod and a 1495 about 25 years ago. The reel did fine, although the big fish eventually rubbed my fly off on a boulder. I then played the boulder and river current for quite awhile after that :)

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Mataura mayfly
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#82

Post by Mataura mayfly »

jeffkn1 wrote:About thirty years back a friend asked to borrow an Asia-made generic copy of the Medalist that I had picked up for ten bucks for bass fishing. My friend declared he was headed up to NY's Salmon River, which made me wince for several reasons, not the least being that I expected him to return home vanquished, with either a sack of reel parts or tales of woe. Or both. I wasn't actually worried.
At our next meeting he handed me the reel, none the worse for wear, while explaining what bruisers those salmon were and how much fun he had. See, even cheap copies of the Medalist are reliable as an anvil.
Jeff, for every true Medalist you can find here, you will find 30+ of the Olympic badged clones. Many of the clone reels saw service back in the day on the big North Island Lakes and rivers, world famous for big trout as well as on the braided rivers and lakes of the South Island. While I have found plenty of owner neglected reels of this type, I have never found one failed because of faulty/poor manufacture.
We had some strange import tax laws here back in the 60-70's and it was easier to import from Asia than the States (that is why Fenwick glass rods found here differ from American rods, they were made up here from blanks as they did not attract the same import taxes as parts) and there are a LOT of the Hardy or Medalist clones here that while not as perfect/classy as the originals, they have served very well filling a real niche in the market for a dependable affordable no nonsense reel.
Does that qualify them somehow for the best ever? Probably not, but the feature pretty highly here in a nation well known for it's fly fishing history.

Jeff.

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#83

Post by lil_man72 »

my vote goes to hardy reels. take your pick, old or new there are several models of hardy reels that have there own following so to speak. here's the order i like the hardy reels.
st. george
bougle
marksman
perfect
angel

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#84

Post by bvandeuson »

Since the OP didn't specify vintage reels, my vote is for the venerable Ross Gunnison, which is fast becoming a cult classic. It has everything a fly reel needs, is practically bullet proof, and will be gracing fly rods long after I'm gone.

I'm thinking that with the resurgence in bamboo, we will be putting aside the airy, super-lightweight mechanical marvels in favor of more beef to balance heavier rods. The Gunnison strikes a nice balance between weight, modern materials and tough construction.

Just my two cents worth.

BB

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#85

Post by bamboofool »

Great topic - a chance to consider a whole host of great reels.

I have a strong preference for vintage reels, reels that have proven their worth over time. Having said that, my greatest reel ever is a newer one but one derived from a design dating back to 1904 - the Hardy Bougle Perfect Mk IV.

This particular version of the Bougle is made in England (tradition has value), and is a direct decedent of the 1904 original. It's architecture is the proven Hardy Perfect three piece reel with the addition of an iconic raised pillar style. A spool running on ball bearings, left hand spool locking screw and timeless spring and pawl regulated check mechanism. I'm partial to the Mk IV because Hardy left the backside of the spool solid (no perforations) and that keeps most all sand and grit away from the works.

Its beautiful, runs exceptionally well and looks great on any rod.

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#86

Post by bvandeuson »

Bamboofool,

I don't see any grease on the pawls or bearing. Do you actually fish this gorgeous reel, or does it live on the shelf? Just wondering.

BB

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BKill
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#87

Post by BKill »

Orvis CFO circa 1972 - 1992

It's the Hardy Lightweight improved. More than many of the reels mentioned ... it's an accessible classic.

Of course ... I have a bit of a bias.

Mike D.
http://therustyspinner.com

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Boris
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#88

Post by Boris »

RyanAK wrote:

Now... as for what I enjoy fishing......... Heddon Imperials.
Shame you sold it.... to someone other than me!

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Shoeless Joe
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#89

Post by Shoeless Joe »

BKill wrote:Orvis CFO circa 1972 - 1992...
Mike D.
http://therustyspinner.com
I love my Hardys and I love my Medalists, but when it comes to light trout reels, I wholeheartedly agree with Mike D.

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ubbi 2
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#90

Post by ubbi 2 »

another vote for Hardy's reels , but i like the old ones before war.
in this order :
Bougle
Perfect
St.George
St.John
Uniqua
Sunbeam
Also i'm in love with the old Farlow's Perfect style reels and Dingley ones of course..

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#91

Post by bamboofool »

bvandeuson wrote:Bamboofool,

I don't see any grease on the pawls or bearing. Do you actually fish this gorgeous reel, or does it live on the shelf? Just wondering.

BB

bvandeuson,

If you look closely, you will see grease on the bearings and 'right hand' pawl. There's not much, just what the reel needs to run properly. And, I usually clean and re-grease the reel during the season two or three times.

The photo was taken just after I cleaned and re-greased it for this year's fishing. The reel is usually paired with a vintage Pezon et Michel Sawyer Nymph bamboo rod (8'10") and all rigged for small to medium size nymph fishing, with a Sawyer Pheasant Tail pattern being a favorite.

I've been looking for a proper spare spool for the reel so I can set it up with a silk line and use it for dry fly fishing. But, for some reason, the spools for a 3-1/2" Mk IV seem to be difficult to find.

bamboofool

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#92

Post by Serpentine »

Hardy take the title in my opinion
The Perfect
The Saint George
The Bougle


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Steelman
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#93

Post by Steelman »

reading through this thread on a lazy Sunday morning.....I agree with most of the comments here regarding Hardy and Pleuger reels.

But it would be remiss not to mention the modern reels of Jack Charlton. Jack's reels are engineering marvels and finished like the proverbial Swiss watch.

If I had but one reel to fish for the rest of my life it would be the Charlton configurable 8450 with all 3 reel spools.

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Brian K. Shaffer
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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#94

Post by Brian K. Shaffer »

I got to meet Jack at the 1998 IFTD Show at his booth, where I was drooling all over the set of gleaming silver titanium 8550's before my eyes.
Had a set of 5 if I remember. He sold one there too. He was a super neat guy.
I was lucky to get to talk reels with him for a little bit.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer

Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#95

Post by uniquafly »

I’ll have to say the CFO series is my favorite reel which, as everyone knows, was manufactured by Hardy but designed by Stan Bogdan a true visionary of fly reel design. As far as greatest manufacturer, I would have to say Hardy because of the enormous lineup of popular reels they have manufactured. Just not enough room or time to list them all.
“He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#96

Post by jim royston »

Fin-Nor Wedding Cake which single handedly changed flyrodding in the salt!

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#97

Post by dublhaul »

Given it is likely the reel that introduced most of us to fly fishing, it's hard to not nominate the Medalist.

Given the history and longevity of the company, and the stories it could tell if it talked, the various Hardy models.

Aesthetically, for a bamboo rod, perhaps style like the EVH, Godfrey, Walker, etc. helps "set the mood".

But as Steelman and others pointed out, for overall design & engineering, machining, finishing, and end-product functioning and beauty, my vote would be Charlton (and Jack's subsequent Mako models produced after selling Charlton). Details like a sealed drag, composed of a stack of alternating stainless and carbon fiber disks, using a patented self-calibrating system (so that the drag setting at any point remains the same), or the "turbine blades" on the larger reel spools, to pull air through to cool the drag - - - well, they may not be absolutely necessary (certainly not for trout), but just show the attention to detail of the reel.

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#98

Post by Brooks »

dublhaul wrote:
03/29/21 11:21
...my vote would be Charlton (and Jack's subsequent Mako models produced after selling Charlton). Details like a sealed drag, composed of a stack of alternating stainless and carbon fiber disks, using a patented self-calibrating system (so that the drag setting at any point remains the same), or the "turbine blades" on the larger reel spools, to pull air through to cool the drag - - - well, they may not be absolutely necessary (certainly not for trout), but just show the attention to detail of the reel.
+1 ..and to think many of his designs were sketched out on cocktail napkins on the ferry ride back to his home, while sipping a highball ! The only reel where I feel Jack missed the mark were his 8350’s ...but light trout were not really his bailiwick.

For light ported trout reels I would add the early CFO’s ,the Hardy JLH which I’ve always thought superior to it’s progenitor (the Sage 500’s).And the Ross Gunnison. And I’ve always loved the classic cast two-screw LRH’s & Princesses.

And....

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#99

Post by Brian K. Shaffer »

rooks wrote : and to think many of his designs were sketched out on cocktail napkins on the ferry ride back to his home, while sipping a highball ! The only reel where I feel Jack missed the mark were his 8350’s ...but light trout were not really his bailiwick.

Excellent stuff. Genius works in whimsical ways.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer

Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.

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Re: Greatest flyreels - ever

#100

Post by Webfly »

Ari Hart's. Form, function and beauty. Oh, and quite durable.

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