Dropped pole

[SouthOutdoors]

Do I need to worry about my reel? Or not a big deal. First fly rod, so I’m still learning.

 

[Aducker]

SouthOutdoors wrote:
Do I need to worry about my reel? Or not a big deal. First fly rod, so I’m still learning.

Depends on what size fish you're going after. If it's avg. size trout in the PA area then in my opinion > No. Spend more money on the fly rod and get a simple avg reel for your rod. For fish in the PA area the reel mainly just holds the fly line on. You can normally fight the fish without using the real at all in some cases or reel in the line while holding the fly line against the rod.

If it's larger fish, well someone else can chime in on that.

 

[dryflyguy]

My take here, is that maybe the OP dropped his "pole"

If it happened in the water, no big deal.
Remove the spool and dry it out when you get a chance.

If it happened on dry land, I'd remove the spool and see if any grit got inside. Clean it out before using again.
And check for any possible damage

 

[Tigereye]

Rods and reels are tools. I am pretty rough on them. They get banged around climbing over rocks, falls, drops, bushwacking etc. I have 2 reels that get used 90% of the time. A 30 year old aluminum Sage reel and a ~15 year old plastic cabelas reel. Both have more nick's dents and scratches than i care to admit to causing. They function fine.

As has been said above, reels are just line holders for PA trout. Little need for strong drags. I put all my fish on the reel and dont ever recall a problem other than occasional sand or dirt. You notice it right away and a 2 minute on stream cleaning is all that is needed.

 

[Tigereye]

https://midcurrent.com/videos/choosing-the-right-fly-reel-with-kelly-galloup/

 

[Swattie87]

In general, fly reels are pretty tough. Can't say I've ever actually broken one by dropping it. The most frequent case for me is I slip, and realize I'm going down, and the rod gets tossed to free up my hand to catch myself. I think I've done more damage to my wrist, than my reels, by doing this.

One time on an el cheapo Cabelas house line reel I bent the rim of the spool a little doing this. Just bent it back out with pliers so it would clear the reel housing and not rub. Had some cosmetic blemishes as a result, but it still worked fine after that. (I tend to think fly reels look cooler once they're scuffed up a bit anyway.)

Other than that, the mechanical issues I've had in response to dropping reels have all been from getting fine gravel or sand in them, as others have mentioned. This causes the spool to not spin freely sometimes. This can also sometimes happen inadvertently just setting your rod down to unhook a fish...Try to avoid setting the reel in sandy areas when you can. When this happens on the stream, I usually just take the spool off and rinse everything good in the water, put it back together, and keep fishing. Fly reels (as opposed to spinning reels) usually deal with getting their internals wet pretty well. They don't usually bind up when you get them wet. (Though I try to avoid it, I know many guys just freely dunk them in the water when letting a fish off.) If I ever dunk the reel, when I get home I just take the spool off and let it sit open and dry on my work bench for a few days before putting it away.

 

[laszlo]

I think if it operates without and grinding or rubbing you're OK. Like others said get the grit out is there is any. This won't be the last time you dropped your rod and reel.

 

[springer1]

I don't baby my reels either. If it gets grit in it somehow, I just remove the spool and wash the reel & spool in a clean flow of creek water, put it back together & keep fishing.

When I get home, take it apart and let it dry out, use a Q-tip to remove any visible stuff, put a small bit of grease on the spindle and put it back together.

About every 2nd or 3rd trip I spray one-step car wax on a rag and use it to wipe down the rod & reel - especially around the guides. Then wipe /dry it off with another rag,