Affordable saltwater reels?

[Sheepdog8404]

Looking for some affordable options for a saltwater reel. My brother is wanting to put together a surf fishing rig and he’s been asking me for most of the advice. Not trying to spend upwards of 200 bucks on a good sealed drag reel. I haven’t really been able to find anything with a sealed drag and salt resistant finish that I would be comfortable exposing to the sand and corrosion often found when fishing for perch and halibut. If anyone knows of something for a 6/7wt rod that’s sub $200 bucks that would be great!

[Idadon]

Might be that in your quest for an "An Affordable Saltwater Fly Reel" you've created an OXYMORON. NICE! My advise, never use a reel in the salt that can't be discarded after a few seasons. Saltwater is certain death, IMO, to most all reels. Wash'em faithfully after every use and keep it lubed good and a person can prolong the inevitable. Even those $400+ reels will go bad if nicked or neglected. I fished east coast beaches for Stripers years ago. I used pflueger medalist mostly and took good care of them but they went fast. They were affordable though!

[Tony Buzolich]

Sheepdog,

Use your real name and you might get more responses. (No insult intended)

Now here's my response and I think you'll like what I have to say. Johnson's Bait & Tackle in Yuba City is selling his store and the new buyers don't want any fly fishing stuff. All of their fly fishing stuff is 40% -50% off list price. And yes, they do have a bunch of saltwater and spey reels.

Our fly club has been hitting it pretty good but most of our guys are "trout" guys and the bigger stuff has just been sitting there gathering dust. Last week, I stopped by there just to see what he had left. I "needed" a back-up reel for a redfish trip I'm going on next week. and I talked with Bob Bouke (the selling owner) directly and picked up a Redington Rise 9/10 for a $100.00 OTD.

I wouldn't call him and try to shop it over the phone, but it would be worth a ride to Yuba City to see what he has left and plan on at least 40% off anything there. And remember, cash money in hand talks.

There were also a lot of larger fly rods there too. Mostly older stock but still new.

Now having said all this, you still should stop by Kiene;s first, and see what he has in stock that he'd like to get rid of. Older models, or slow movers always need to be turned before new inventory can be brought in. Go in and talk with those guys first before you buy anything some where else.
Tony

[Carl Blackledge]

Looking for some affordable options for a saltwater reel. My brother is wanting to put together a surf fishing rig and he’s been asking me for most of the advice. Not trying to spend upwards of 200 bucks on a good sealed drag reel. I haven’t really been able to find anything with a sealed drag and salt resistant finish that I would be comfortable exposing to the sand and corrosion often found when fishing for perch and halibut. If anyone knows of something for a 6/7wt rod that’s sub $200 bucks that would be great!

Mr Sheepdog,

* * *I agree with Idadon some what. Sometimes in life and fly fishing you have to have something that isn't just right or is somewhat junk to know what you're looking for when you lay out the big bucks to improve what you have. But if you're planning*to be going on a nice semi-expensive trip to, let's say, Mexico, don't screw around with a so called "bargain reel." My advice is to try to borrow or rent a top-end reel from a friend or a fly shop for the trip. Another thing to be aware of is a sealed disk drag - what happens if it screws up? If that happens then you're toast. Go with a cork drag like the Tibor or Abel for saltwater and use the sealed disk drags for trout and stripers. I use my Abels and Tibors thirty days in a row in salt water, and I don't wash my reels at all until l get home. Then I tear them down to the bare bones and wash them in hot, soapy water using*a tooth brush, spray them with WD-40, then re-lube them and that's it until the next trip. I have never had any kind of reel failure.
* * *When shopping for a reel, go into Kiene's. They have the expertise and I'm sure they'd pull out all the stops to set you up with the best equipment for your destination.

Carl Blackledge

[Tony Buzolich]

Good advice Carl. We all start out with something less than we want, but is only what we can afford at the time. Like Carl I've been using Abels and Tibors for a long time and I'm so glad I have. Heavy duty strength and reliability requires a quality reel. When and if you go "cheap" and then something happen, you wind up kicking yourself for not going that next step better. You'll never be sorry if you go good.

There are a lot of "decent" or "just okay" reels out there that will work in the salt, but like Carl said, If you're on an expensive trip, now wouldn't be the time to go cheap. If you live near the ocean and can get to a store often enough, then maybe some of these less expensive reels will do the job for you. Though, you might even consider a used or traded in reel of a better quality. Some fly shops even have loaners from their hosted trips that they would like to discount an get rid of. Check these out before you go shopping on Amazon or Ebay.
Tony

[mems]

Sounds like you want a general saltwater setup. Check the classifieds, Jay M is selling a 5 piece 8wt BVK rod for a good price. You can pick up an inexpensive saltwater reel like a lamson on Steep and Cheap or Seirra trading post. If you want full service and advice, plus loading the backing and fly line, go to a shop like Keine's. They are there to help you out. No nail knots. Like Carl said if you are going to get into the salt and want some dependable season to season gear, Abel, Tibor and Charlton are the way to go. But you will pay the price up front, but down the road it will work out, because these brands are bulletproof. Good luck, Mems.

[Carl Blackledge]

Mems-Tony

Very good advice, however I would only buy Tibor or Abel "CORK" drag reels. The Mako are super reels ( carbon-disk) however when they break and they do, there is an 8-11 month waiting list for repairs, No thanks

In the salt I only use loop to loop for all line connections and braided Power pro for backing to insure top performance and total dependability.

Another trick I use for the salt is always start the trip with new fly lines for surface fishing and site fishing, underwater lines don't matter. Soon as you come home and install the new line you won't believe the difference in the old line compared to the new one, the old line after being stretched a thousand times is like an old dish rag.

Buy whatever you want, however if I was starting my saltwater trips over I would only buy Sage rods and Tibor reels with cork only drags........My 2 cents

Carl Blackledge

[Baja Fly Fisher]

Having lived on the Monterey Peninsula for 40+ years, I fished the beaches 5 days a week. When I retired, I was at the beach pretty much every day. Putting in 3 to 5 hours a day is tough on equipment. In the past, I have fished with high end and medium price rods and reels. When I first got into fly fishing, my first rod was a 8' Martin fiberglass rod and reel that I got from the blue chip stamp store. The reel didn't last that long due to it was constructed from tin. Even washing it daily and greasing the reel ( not much too grease ) would keep out the corrosion. Later down the road, I started using the Ross Gunnison reels. They had a coating sprayed on the reels, not a fancy drag system but it worked. The G3 and G4 can handle pretty much anything in the surf, even stripers. I loaded the reel with Cortland teflon coated dacron backing, 100' of clear Amnesia and a 30' type 3 shooting head. What would I use today, probably my Ross Gunnision reels. I do have all the expensive reels but there's no need. Now if I was fishing off the beaches in Baja with a possibility of catching a rooster fish, dorado or any thing with a bad attitude, I would go with a reel that has a good dependable drag.

[Sheepdog8404]

Thanks for all the advice. I guess I wasn't very clear in my original post about where my brother would be fishing. Obviously if he/we were on a trip to baja, we wouldn't be looking for cheap equipment. If we could AFFORD to even make that trip, we could probably afford the appropriate gear.

My brother lives in Monterey, maybe 5 min drive from the beach. So I imagine it would be the occasional fishing trip of all of a couple hours maybe 2-3 times a week. No big angry rooster fish there. Probably just some Surf Perch, a halibut and maybe even the occasional Striper thrown in the mix. Probably a TFO BVK paired with a lamson of some sort is more in line with his budget.

[Larry S]

Sheepdog,
Sounds like the surf treks that we do down here in Sun Diego 2 -3 days a week. I use a 6 and 7 wt rod(s) and Orvis Battenkill
reels. Retired in 2000 and used the old Battenkills - 4/5 and 7/8. Now using the Battenkill Bar Stock; Rio
and AirFlo sink tip lines. Wash everything after each trip; actually strip off all the line I used in the sink. Periodically,
use WD-40 or Salt-X on both rod and reel. Once or twice a year, will do a more thorough job with a lube. Perch,
3 kinds of croakers, rays, shovelnose, halibut, leopard sharks and some other species have all been caught. Still
looking for a striper; they do show up down here on occasion.
Best,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[Darian]

Sheepdog,.... I've fished Abel and Tibor reels for many years now and agree with others that they're top of the line and far out of the price range you described in the first post. Also, like Jay mentioned, I wouldn't use them in the surf zone, here.

Lamson, Ross and some models of Orvis reels will work just fine. If you can find Redington discontinued, used or new models (Brakewater, CDL or Delta), I'd highly recommend them. The Brakewaters had a cork drag, the CDLs/Deltas had composite drags. I've owned/used each model for Black Bass and Striper fishing in the CA Delta, the Brakewaters and CDLs in Baja for some Roosters, Dorado and a couple of Tuna without problem. Still in use after 13 years. Not sure what the used price might be but the price when they were new was mid range ($350 to $400). Good reels if you can find one.

[Baja Fly Fisher]

Sheepdog,
Monterey? I would start fishing the beaches from the Old Navy Grad school, del monte beach,the apartments, the sewer plant, the old sand plant. It's a long walk but the Salinas river state beach can be good as well as the beaches around Moss landing. Like I mentioned I lived in the area for many years, covering many beaches. Late March, April, May can be the months to find the bigger perch along the Pajaro Dunes area ( my favorite place ). Too help you cut the learning curve, learn about tides, learn how to read the
waters and be careful of those rogue waves.
My equipment: 9' 7wt rod, type 3/4 shooting heads, mono backing, dacron running line, 7' leaders 8#, flies - rusty squirrel, micro shrimp, orange ruffy, 10/40, wooly buggers, small white clousers.

Good luck on your adventure

Jay

[dynaflow]

Unfortunately this thread went waaaaay off track (as they often do)..the man is asking about affordable salt water reels,and I'm surprised that the tried & tested Redington Behemoth hasn't rated a mention.I use a 7/8 for Bonefish and a 9/10 for GT's, and at $109.99 and $129.99 respectively nothing comes close.No,the drag is not "sealed" but then none are really,with only Abel's SDS,Ross's EvoR and a couple other of high-end reels getting close.Did I mention that the Behemoth also has up to a 30lb.drag? I've dunked mine occasionally,but do your best to keep any reel out of the salt,and always rinse them after each outing....oh yeah,and don't use WD40.
Cheers

[Larry S]

Sheepdog,
Should clarify my use of WD-40 on a reel. I use it as a cleaner; it's definitely not
a lubricant. I occasionally see some salt buildup even after the daily freshwater
rinsing. I know lots of WD-40 haters out there; but, it works for me.
Had an amazing sight this morning at the Farms/Blacks Beach. Tons of bait just
outside the breakers and the pelicans and seals were going wild. The seals were doing
dolphin imitations. Quite a show! Always something to look forward to.
Best,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[dynaflow]

Thanks for the clarification re WD40 Larry, as it's basically a petroleum based water dispersant rather than a lubricant.
I only use one thing for lubrication and cork drag maintenance on my fly reels....Cal's 2 Speed :cool:
Cheers