On the Reel or Not

[jbewley]

In a recent thread here, I saw where a beginner was told that the reel was just to hold line and not to worry about buying an expensive one.

Well, this has always been my thought as well and I don't think I have ever had a fish on the reel. Maybe because I have never caught one large enough, I really don't know, but reels now have really fancy drags and large arbors for fast retrieving. I remember when some reels had a multiplier, so one turn of the handle was two turns of the spool. Don't see them anymore.

I always thought that if you were suppose to actually use the reel, it would be in a better location.

Any thoughts on this??

Jim

 

[dryflyguy]

I usually try to get the fish on the reel.
It's just nice to get the slack line spooled up and out of the way IMO.
Even smaller fish can be surprisingly spunky, and I want to play them from the reel

But when I hook a dink, it's quicker to just strip the line in by hand, and get it released.

If you fish a lot, I think a quality reel is worth buying.
They're smoother to operate
And if you do hook a big one, a good drag is worth having

 

[Swattie87]

Assuming we're talking PA Trout, a lot of it has to do with the tippet you're using...The lightest I regularly fish is 5x...I might have some 6x laying around somewhere, but can't remember the last time I used it. Tiny, winter BWO's maybe? Anyway, 5x is generally roughly about 5lb test, give or take a little. 99% of the Trout you catch in PA will not break 5lb test no matter what you do. Assuming you've tied a decent knot, and the tippet isn't damaged, you realistically probably need a fish in the 15"-16"+ range before you even need to worry, no matter how much like a donkey you fight it. Are there places in PA where fish this size are more common than 1 in 100, yeah definitely, but not that many. And many times I'm fishing 4x or 3x for Trout, which are roughly 6.5lb and 8lb test respectively. You need a fish into the 20's to worry about breaking 8lb test...Not many of those exist in PA, anywhere.

I strip nearly all of my fish in, and don't remember the last time a Trout broke me off. I had a large Brown on Pine break me off of 5x this year, but I think a junky knot or line abrasion had something to do with it as I wasn't pushing the tippet all that hard when it failed. And I was repeatedly getting stuck in rocks while nymphing that spot.

Even if you do hook into one that you want to put on the reel, a fairly simple drag will do the trick nearly all of the time. Sure, if you're fishing HUGE water like the D or Lehigh all the time, where you need to control where a fish runs to, it might be worth investing in a higher end reel. For 99% of PA Trout fishing, a decent $100 range reel (or less in many cases) is more than you need. My most expensive reel is an LLBean Streamlight for instance...roughly $100.

For Bass or WW, I'm just using 10 or 12lb mono. No need to worry.

In the end, I think it's more fun to strip them in, so that's what I do. I recognize though, that even a fairly simple drag can manage a big fish better than my hand can, so if I hook a big fish that I'm concerned about landing, I do put it on the reel. It just doesn't happen that often is my point.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Little fish no.

If you at all target bigger fish i recommend a good reel and drag.
I fish with 1 or 0x with streamers. Im not so worried about the line breaking as iam the hook pulling out depending on how well it is hooked.
A good drag has enough give to avoid this.

 

[Bamboozle]

It's funny, before I started fly fishing I thought the coolest thing would be to play a fish while holding the line...

Then I had the pleasure & good fortune of chatting with Vince Marinaro on a several occasions and he insisted (correctly) that a reel is for playing fish, not a rod.

These days, I TRY to get my fish on to the reel for Vince reasons and because tangles around my wading staff and other protrusions in my fishing kit are more likely to happen with loose loops of line than when I am on the reel.

However, I try to play my fish as fast as possible and yanking them in via the line is typically faster than working to get them on the reel.

Go figure...

 

[jifigz]

I generally don't put any fish on the reel. If the situation calls for it or the fish takes all of the line I have out then my left hand acts as the reel and I feed the line to the fish until it actually gets to the reel. I feel that one's non-casting arm should easily be able to allow the line to slip through their fingers as the fish requires.

 

[MarkC]

I remember the first time I got a big Delaware rainbow on my then new Abel reel – it felt like I was cheating after having fished a paw click real for 20 years prior.

Mark C

 

[afishinado]

Small fish, no I strip them in.

Bigger fish, yes I fight them on the reel.

As Bamboozle said, reel in the slack and take care that the loop in your line doesn't tangle on something.

A word of advice, I see many beginners and even some experienced FFers so intent on reeling in the loop that they give slack to the fish and lose it.

 

[moon1284]

I get big fish on the reel. Disc drags are nice but not necessary. I dont use one on the delaware (or the lower niagara). I'd rather have a good solid click and pawl with tight tolerances than a disc drag reel with larger tolerances and a large arbor.

To me, clickers are a lot more fun, especially on big trout and steelhead.

 

[Canoetripper]

I always try to get a trout on the reel as soon as I can. I have caught some larger trout on my two trips to Alaska and a few on the Frying Pan River in Colorado. A good disc drag was necessary there.

During my lifetime I have caught many more smaller trout that I could strip in to land.

At the R&G club where I fish in the Poconos for stocked trout, I can catch larger trout that will strip line off of my reel.

I think that with all of the experience I now have catching larger stocked trout "on the reel," I will be less intimidated on my next trip to Colorado or Alaska when line starts burning off of my reel.

I will know what to do.

 

[Prospector]

I catch about 500 PA trout per year and I never use my reel during the fight. I’ve done it my whole life so it works for me. I don’t necessarily think it’s better but fighting off reel is definitely not required. Even when I was up at Oak Orchard this fall, I instinctively fought a 17lb king and a 7 lb Brown without using the reel for quite a while before I realized it. Then I switched them to the reel to be safer and also see how my drag performed.. But I fought them for a long time just by controlling tension myself. The pressure you apply to the line must be uniform and smooth. I guess it helps that if I lose a fish I don’t care.

 

[ryansheehan]

Being able to get a fish to the reel quickly is a good skill to have. Most fish you catch it won't matter but you will be thankful when you need it. If I'm really concerned the fish is going to make a powerful run I will spin it with my palm to improve pick up time. It's not so much that I'm concerned about being able to apply smooth tension it's more that things can get wrapped around the line when it's not on a reel. If I'm on a drift boat almost every fish gets to the reel as soon as possible.

 

[BrookieChaser]

A fish that needs on the reel will put itself on the reel.

 

[Swattie87]

BrookieChaser wrote:
A fish that needs on the reel will put itself on the reel.

That’s great! The thread’s over after that one, might as well lock it mods.

 

[shakey]

i usually like to get trout,steel ,stripers,and salmon on a click and pawl reel with rim control.

very often with warm water fish,i just strip them in.

 

[redietz]

BrookieChaser wrote:
A fish that needs on the reel will put itself on the reel.

That's pretty much my philosophy.

OTOH, I did lose a good fish in Big Spring last month because I had such a jumble of line at my feet that I couldn't net it, not that it matters for a fish I'm going to release anyway.

 

[moon1284]

The fish will either put itself on the reel or make a mess of your line and break off or break your rod - I've had both happen to me. When I swing streamers I try and have the line on the reel during the swing. I lost a huge fish on the delaware last year (24"+ my biggest of the year if not ever) because I had a mess of line and when the fish took off it tangled at the stripping guide. I'd chalk that up to a mix of poor line control and the ratio of beers to fisherman on the boat being too high.

 

[bigjohn58]

Here on most PA streams there is no need to get a fish on the reel. Honestly I've seen a lot of people lose a fish because of trying to get it on the reel. When you are trying to hurry up and pick up that slack line the rod tip is bouncing around and next thing ya know you lose the fish. Now if you are fishing for larger fish on larger bodies of water a reel with a decent drag is nice to have but for PA trout 99% of our waterways do not require a high end reel. I hand strip all PA trout in. If a trout gets on the reel where I fish I might as well kiss it goodbye because there are often too many things to get it hung up on.

 

[bigjohn58]

BrookieChaser wrote:
A fish that needs on the reel will put itself on the reel.

Honestly thats the best response!

 

[kobalt335]

I put the majority of my fish on the reel. I find it nicer mainly because if I try to strip them in, the line gets tangled around everything. Plus when I'm using lighter tippet, the drag will have enough give to break it.