The ultimate fly reel

Hey guys, sorry Ive been so quiet.  Ive still been trolling around here from time to time.  I recenlty got back from Farquhar which was pretty cool, managed to tick off the Bumphead Parrot and Golden Trevally.

There is something that has been bothering me for years now and ive been forced to compromise.  Which in this day and age shouldnt really be necessary....and its a fly reel compromise.

Our indian ocean fishing is quite different from anything else and is extremely hard on reels.  Most time is spent wading with multiple rods.  On spotting a fish, you drop the other rods in the water (or in the sand) and proceed.  Reels just dont handle sand well.  Also, a lot of time is spent fishing alone... where you end up leaving your reel in the shallow surf getting washed around by the waves.  Fishing for GT's means that your drag is locked as tight as possible. 

I have come a full circle, from Tibor to Abel, a few smaller companies in between and then back to Tibor.  I never had drag failure on an Abel but the ported back means that laying it in the sand is a problem.  The Tibors solid back is great but they do suffer constant bearing failure.  The side of the bearing gets sand in which eventually works its way under the seal and into the bearing itself.  So im at the stage where I have just accepted that I need to replace the drag plate two or three times a year.  Not ideal.

Some hatches were put to the test this last time.... 3 drag failures out of 4 reels in a week.  All three of those fish were lost and made for some pretty angry anglers.  Shiltons have done well but the anodizing isnt up to scratch. 

I have not yet tried a Mako, but I would struggle to put one of those beauties through the abuse that we do.  So my question is.... What do you guys think the best reel is for the job? 

Oh ya, the other problem with the Tibors is the two screws on the handles.  They have to be fastened every few days if youre GT hunting.  The drag isnt enough so you need to palm (more like hold) the reel.  The vibration is pretty brutal.

What about a Nautilus Pete. My CCF No. 8 is going strong after ages - it even did a bit of GT hunting on that first Farq trip. I hear the new NVs are awesome. Any body fishing with them for the big stuff?

im worried about sealed drags Fred.... Ben has used the CCF and has had issues with water getting inside. 

 

Interesting. Mine worked stupidly hard in the Seychelles - daily in saltwater and very often dropped in the sand while fish where being photographed and released. The drag is still smooth - its going away for its first service ever (in four years) next month. Obviously it had it daily wash and rinse. I found that with my 'open' drags, I often ended up with sand on the drag/cork plate. 

But ultimately I would like to test a NV against a week of GTs. The telling of the pudding is really only in the eating...

I have been fishing sandy beaches for awhile and have never needed to lay my reel in the sand?? I use a stripping basket and take it off once the fish is on the reel and lay the rod in basket once fish is landed. Am I missing something???

Have you tried van-staal? I've used them in montuak and the south shore beaches seems to do find with sand curious to see how it will hold up on those GT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oysterbreath 

I have been fishing sandy beaches for awhile and have never needed to lay my reel in the sand?? I use a stripping basket and take it off once the fish is on the reel and lay the rod in basket once fish is landed. Am I missing something???

Scenario: Walking down a beach or over a sand flat (we do 90% of flats fishing on foot). You've got a #9 rigged up with crab for Perms and big Bones AND a #12 with an 8/0 brush fly for the GTs... When the GTs cruise down beach, they move at a fair pace - not like a bone or perm - as they hunt, and you don't waste time taking rods off and putting onto packs etc. I dump the #9, in the sand or on the coral if necessary and get into position ASAP to present to the Geets.

If I'm on flat with no dry ground, I have a carabiner with a small yellow bouy that gets clipped onto the rod to get dumped (the bouy is for easy location) and get on and catch the fish.

I find the basket gets in the way. If in surf it fills up and becomes a risk. I also end up bruising my knuckles when retrieving really fast.

I know this may seem strange, foreign and crazy to most but Indian Ocean fly fishing (especially for GTs) can get rather combatish! But hopefully it gives you an idea.

This may help you visualise!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdavis 

Scenario: Walking down a beach or over a sand flat (we do 90% of flats fishing on foot). You've got a #9 rigged up with crab for Perms and big Bones AND a #12 with an 8/0 brush fly for the GTs... When the GTs cruise down beach, they move at a fair pace - not like a bone or perm - as they hunt, and you don't waste time taking rods off and putting onto packs etc. I dump the #9, in the sand or on the coral if necessary and get into position ASAP to present to the Geets.

 

If I'm on flat with no dry ground, I have a carabiner with a small yellow bouy that gets clipped onto the rod to get dumped (the bouy is for easy location) and get on and catch the fish.

 

I find the basket gets in the way. If in surf it fills up and becomes a risk. I also end up bruising my knuckles when retrieving really fast.

 

I know this may seem strange, foreign and crazy to most but Indian Ocean fly fishing (especially for GTs) can get rather combatish! But hopefully it gives you an idea.

SPOT ON!

Well I think it depends on what you call a fly outfit. I would NEVER carry more than one outfit, I actually have only one "real" outfit

and I'd use it for everything, except for those things on flats or beaches. But then my outfit is a little bit different from a NORMAL fly outfit.

The reel in use is a, lets not get radial over this, Penn 49LMariner and it loaded with a Mono system, like Platypus Lo Stretch backing, and

both are geared and pretty big. They fit on DH rods. And the 49L fits on my fly rods,under the rod, and it works fine. Extremly well in fact.

I have discovered, by having a good read about fly reels in Wikipedia, and found out that fly guys of the 1600 era, well before our time did

use multiplying reels, which seems to indicate that today's views are pretty old hat really. I do know that DD LA reels, like current type fly

were used in china in 1100. There is a very old painting of a guy using one out of a boat.

I know this is a bit silly but I have hooked up on a few very large GT's, one in excess of 100lb, man was than something, and 9 foot sharks,

and I do know that if you want to hook up on one off a rock, get a reel vastly different from a DD thing. Go back to the 1600 era and start from

there.

MaxG.

PS It gives me an idea, but its an idea that I've had in my head for a long time. I have banged things off rocks on fly gear many times over the years

and what I have now it what I wanted years ago. I only wish I had been a bit smarter, or not so full of that "traditional fly fishing" junk that was laid on 

thing I tried to use.

Today, I just put my finger up in the air and give it a bit of a push. Then I continue fishing. VBG.

MaxG.

Max,

Peter is playing a different game.  He has no alternative but to carry two different rigs.

Hi Max, thanks for the response.  as Roger said-We have no option but to carry multiple rigs.  The setup for a Permit or Trigger will mean 15lb (9 or 10wt) at the business end and we use 100lb straight fluoro (12wt)  for the geets.

 

Peter, another forum member mentioned the C-vex, my understanding is that they're no longer in production but mine has performed flawlessly for 4 years of fishing chest high surf for tarpon. No factory service, and zero incidents.

Another vote for the C-vex. I treat my gear like crap and it works flawlessly. The thing also has more drag than any other reel I own.