The Five Best Trout Fly Reels

The Five Best Trout Fly Reels
5 Weight Fly Reels

The perfect laydown. A dragless, short drift under the bank. Suspended emotion as the water dimples and your fly disappears. You pause. Only the big browns take a dry without breaking the surface, so you make sure the fish has turned down before you tighten up. Half an instant longer, then, SET! There it is! Pulsing, constant, and alive at the other end! The stalled world is drawn into motion. Line peels off. You didn't think the hole under the bank was that deep... but the reel's still screaming. This fish could be big, very big. You take your eyes off the water long enough to see your backing appear, bright and startling. Still running. This could be one great fight . . .

Or it could be one great disappointment. What makes the difference? Your equipment, your connection to the fish, your reel! When you're in a situation where all elements count, you want the best. But what is the best? How are you to know what to look for when there are so many choices out there?

1) The Abel Super 5n- $575.00
"The Worlds Finest Trout Reel"

Leland on the Abel Super 5N Fly Fishing Reel

Whether you’re hunting large brown trout in New Zealand or need a light tackle solution for Christmas Island bonefish, redfish or half pound steelies, the Abel Super 5N is the fly fishing reel for you. This newest member of the Abel Super Series is perfectly suited for 5 to 6 line weights and rods and was specially designed with a narrow spool for faster line retrieval and a slim profile. The Super 5N has everything you have come to expect from Abel Fly Reels; a smooth-as-silk large cork disc drag coupled with hard-as-nails anodizing for a lifetime of corrosion protection. Read The Abel Super 5n Review!!

2) The Hatch Five Plus - $495.00
"The Work Horse"

Leland on the Hatch Monsoon Five Plus Fly Reel

Why lose valuable flies just because your drag cannot start quickly enough? The Hatch 5 Plus Fly Fishing Reel has one of the smoothest startups around, so you will no longer be parting ways with those flies, not to mention the fish that are hooked up to them. Slap the Hatch 5Plus on a five weight and find out. The Hatch 5 Plus is a true masterpiece of reel design. These reels are machined from aerospace aluminum and are anodized to be near-indestructible, hence the lifetime original owner warranty. The drag system is sealed, which keeps the water and grit out. The stack of 4 huge Rulon and 3 stainless steel drag washers insure that the drag will not burn out or wear out. When you first see the design you may want to hang this fly reel on the wall, but trust us, fish it and you’ll never go back.



3) The Galvan Torque 5 - $360.00
"Light but Strong- Perfection"
Leland on the Galvan Torque Large Arbor 5

Big rainbows running for the next pool don't stand a chance with the Galvan Torque 5 Fly Fishing Reel. A Silky-smooth, micro-adjustable Galvan drag, with the strength to stop atruck, will still protect even the lightest tippets. This great all-purpose trout reel is one of our biggest sellers for good reason; impressive U.S.A. design and construction at a reasonable price. Your only difficult choice is the color; black, bronze, clear or green? Fish on! The Galvan Torque 5 is a great match for a 5 or 6 line-weight outfit. The uniquely designed cutouts on the frame, spool and drag knob create a distinctive appearance as well as reducing the weight to only 4.8 ounces.



4) Sage 4550 Fly Reel - $390.00
"the ultra light"
Leland on the Sage 4550 Fly Fishing Reel

There's no better reel to match your best indicator rod than Sage's new 4550 Drag Fly Reel, 5-6wt! Designed to handle 5 and 6-weight fly lines, this innovative reel weighs only 4 3/8 ounces so you'll never find your favorite 5- or 6-weight out of balance or difficult to cast. In addition to an ultra lightweight design, the 4550 is equipped with a sealed single rotation, numbered graphite drag system with a beefy, but compact 3:1 gear ratio so you'll have confidence in your drag setting cast after cast, fish after fish. Its bomb-proof finish is available in either black or platinum and spools from the 4500, 4500CF, and past 2500 Series are interchangeable in its elegant frame. If you practice a single handed spey, mends, and roll casts in the back yard with dreams of fast water and big trout, then this is the reel for you!


5) Red Truck Diesel 5/6 - $199.00
"It sounds sooo good"
Leland on The Red Truck Diesel 5/6

“Trout is King.” Fly fishing is synonymous with trout and at Red Truck, they didn’t forget that. To celebrate, they offer their classically-styled Diesel 5/6 trout reel. It’s perfectly sized for a five or six weight line system with plenty of backing, should a large trout head downriver. Not only does this fly reel look and sound like a “true” trout reel, it has all the contemporary performance and crafting you deserve. Fully-machined from solid bar-stock aluminum and anodized for a long life of use, you can rest assured you’ve made a smart investment in your sport.