Fly reel

[Jacob]

I am looking for a 7/8wt reel for around $200-$300. I will be using it for steelhead for fall, winter and spring, as well for bass, pike and carp during the summer.

The ones I am considering are:

Sage 4200

Lamson Guru or Litespeed

Orvis Hydros

I will also be purchasing two extra spools for extra lines.

 

If anyone has any experience, good or bad, with any of these reels or another suggestion it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Jacob

[Sharkbait22]

I have the 3.5 Guru for spey. Nice real and I got it cheap. The Sage is likely the better reel.

[cuzza]

I'd go Lamson from that list - I have the cheaper Konic and it's great, the drags are the same on all models, I believe and mine is very smooth.

 

I was going to buy spools too, one for my steelhead line and one for the bass/carp/pike one - it takes about 10-15mins to swap them over, including cleaning the line and re-tying the needle knot so that's what I do instead.

[Djeep]

Ive thought about just swapping lines as I need them but then I figured I might be shortening the fly line a lil too much cutting the nail knot off repeatedly. also interested in peoples opinions here as Im speculating a 8 wt reel for spring pike.

[cuzza]

Most fly lines are 90-100ft long - taking half an inch off once a year isn't going to hurt. I guess if you're swapping a lot, it's not practical but as a seasonal exercise it works for me.

[Djeep]

thats a very good point that the line is long enough to take a couple snips!

 

hows the konic in the cold? I had my greys reel freeze up on me which I was pretty displeased about but the drag isnt sealed on it

[cuzza]

The Konic is great in the cold (and the heat!) - with the sealed drag I've never had a problem with it. The higher end Lamsons are nice reels but you're paying for the materials they use - the Konic is just painted cast aluminium. Another good on is the Loomis Eastfork - they don't make them any more but i picked one up last year secondhand and the drag is excellent on there too, thecarp in my avatar << was taken with the Eastfork.

[Jacob]

Ive thought about just swapping lines as I need them but then I figured I might be shortening the fly line a lil too much cutting the nail knot off repeatedly. also interested in peoples opinions here as Im speculating a 8 wt reel for spring pike.

 

If you're going to get a rod/reel specifically for pike i'd go with a konic, the only reason i'm going with a higher-end reel is because i will be moving to BC for school in a few years and need a reel to handle the big salmon and steelhead. Also if i was getting one rod for spring pike i'd go with a 10wt as your chances of hooking a 40+ fish in shallow water are high and it's nice to have the extra power of a bigger rod. It also makes casting a 12" feather duster easier.

[Djeep]

unfortunately I use my current 8 weight for many applications but i do agree it would be nice to have a 10 wt for casting the big "feather dusters"

 

the only reason Im considering an upgrade is because i lost a piece off my pflueger supreme in the drink when the spool fell off randomly

 

I see the konic on sale at some places. definitely will give it a second look.

[bare foot wader]

lamson are alright reels, I have a guru and 2 purists...but from your list, the sage would be the top pick, only because I haven't handled too many orvis products, they both have sealed drags and carbon drags....hardy also has some options in your price range

 

I assume you're fishing a 7 or 8 wt rod? I wouldn't hesitate to match up a 9/10 reel, very little weight increase (and usually helps to balance the rod) and will have more drag and faster line pickup (increased spool diameter).

 

If you're concerned about losing a few inches of fly line swapping lines, and to make line swapping easier, use a loop to loop setup between fly line and backing