Reel recommendations for Ross Reach 6-7 wt, 12' 6" spey rod?

[TonyMuljat]

Any recommendations and information would be greatly appreciated

[Rye_Tyler]

Hey Tony, A Ross cla4 or 5 might be perfect match on your new rod. Congrats!!

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Any #8/9 line fly reel would work.

The Echo 'Solo' #8/10 fly reel @ $99.99 new is our top selling bargain reel.

[TonyMuljat]

Any #8/9 line fly reel would work.

The Echo 'Solo' #8/10 fly reel @ $99.99 new is our top selling bargain reel.

Do I need to have multiple spools?

[Mark Kranhold]

No need to Tony if you are going to throw a scandi/skagit head! You can just swap out heads off your running line, if you venture into the long belly further down the road you may want one. Congrats with the new stick!

[Dan LeCount]

I like a good old click and paw with a nice and loud drag and a rim to palm. If its English, that's a bonus.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I like a good old click and paw with a nice and loud drag and a rim to palm. If its English, that's a bonus.

We started out years ago with mostly old Pflueger Medalists and Hardy Brothers (England) click-n-pawl fly reels.

As I mentioned before, swinging flies for steelhead is just cooler with a loud ratchet reel.

__________________________________________________ _________________________________________

Story # 213:

In 1975 we went to Santa Cruz around Thanks Giving for the opener of the Silver Salmon season in the tide water of the San Lorenzo River, right near the ocean and board walk. We got there in the dark and there was already hundreds of anglers there.

Before the sun came up we could hear the Hardy reels screaming out in the corner where a depression was holding some salmon.

It was a learning deal for me because I showed up with a 9' #9 line fiberglass fly rod with a ST10S type II (Fast) and a type III Hi-D (Xfast) sink heads because I had been fishing the American, Klamath and Trinity with moving water.

After talking with some locals we learned they use an 8'6" #7 weight glass rod with a WF7I (true Intermediate) SA "Fisherman" fly line that was extremely slow sinking and worked well in that lakey, almost not moving, shallow tide water. It was a lot like lake fishing where you actually stripped the fly to keep it moving so it would not just fall to the bottom. They used a small black wooly worm fly too.

The conventional anglers where throwing lures or drifting night crawler under a bobber.

After that trip we went on to fish the tide waters of other coastal rivers like the Eel River, Gualala and Garcia. We were way more prepared for that type of slow water fly fishing.

.

[Dan LeCount]

I grew up in Lahonda, fishing Pescadero and San Gregorio. At first it was ultra lite spinning rods and Spoons/spinners. Then I started using fly rods and slow sink lines with egg sucking leeches, or maybe a popsicle or blind eyed comet. Pflueger Medalist was my first reel from my grandfather. Fly rods were less effective then spinning rods but the casting was something I had to think about doing. I couldn't just go on auto-pilot and have the rod do everything for me. Besides fly tying allowing me to make exact imitations of food forms, casting staying interesting to my mind is one of the main reasons I stick to the fly rod.

[TonyMuljat]

Would the Echo Solo #8/10 or a Ross CLA4 be best? I am thinking the Ross, simply since it is brand matched to the rod, and I have owned and had good experiences with Ross. But of course the Echo is less expensive. So, leaving price out of it, which reel would be a better match for the rod?

[ricards]

Would the Echo Solo #8/10 or a Ross CLA4 be best? I am thinking the Ross, simply since it is brand matched to the rod, and I have owned and had good experiences with Ross. But of course the Echo is less expensive. So, leaving price out of it, which reel would be a better match for the rod?

The Ross is a comparatively light large arbor reel. I am using the CLA 5 on my Echo 6-wt. Try both the CLA 4 and CLA 5 to see which reel better balances your outfit.