Fly reels designed for fly fishermen to be used when trout fishing have been essentially unchanged since 1874, when Charles Orvis patented the first ever American-ventilated, narrow-spool model.  Sure, advances have come along such as palming rims, better metals/machining, and more sophisticated drag systems, yet even more modern reel designs have been nothing more than a handle attached to a deep, narrow spool revolving on a spindle.

Now there's a new breed of fly reels on the water, a design so interesting and popular that in a few years you could be hard pressed to find traditional trout fly reels.  Large arbor fly reels are the hottest thing in fly fishing since the stunning introduction of graphite rods in the 1970s.  They won't help you cast farther, but they will help you fish with greater ease which is a requirement of all fly fishermen.

LESS REELING

The most important attribute of a large arbor fly reel’s design is the greatly increased retrieve rate.  Check out this example: My standard 5 weight trout reel has a naked spool diameter of about 1/2 inch.  If I start cranking when it's empty, I'm barely retrieving at 1.6 inches per crank.  With one of the new 5 weight large arbor fly reels with a core (arbor) diameter of 2 3/4 inches, on the other hand, I'm getting a whopping 8.6 inches per crank.  That's more than 500 percent faster retrieval over the older model fly reels!

The difference between a large arbor reel and the old conventional fly reels is huge due to the fact that fly fishermen constantly strip off long lengths of slack line for casting, then reel it in again while playing a fish or when moving to a different location.  What used to be a frequent, aggravating chore has suddenly been made very easy and enjoyable by the simple functions of large arbor fly reels.

Other advantages of large arbor fly reels include bigger coils of line coming off the reel, which allow easier casting with much fewer tangles.  Also, drags are more consistent because as a fish pulls out line, the effective spool diameter remains almost constant unlike older model fly reels.

SHOP CAREFULLY

Some large arbor trout models have been designed as trout fly reels from the ground up; others are simply downsized versions of larger saltwater models.  This can pose a couple of problems.

First, trout anglers don't need a powerful drag saltwater fly reels offer, but they will need one that's impeccably smooth and with a wide adjustment range at light settings to protect fine leader tippets.  The Pflueger President #8 Fly Reel 2078 is an example of a light, elegant large-arbor trout reel suited for light leader fishing.

Second, reels with fresh and saltwater origins can vary greatly in their overall weight.  For instance, the Vortex reel is a superb large-arbor saltwater design, which the company has also shrunk to a 5/6-line-size reel that hits a whopping 9.6 ounces.  The Okuma SLV78 Fly Reel, built from the start as a trout reel for similar line sizes, weighs only 5 1/2 ounces.  The heavier reel would be great on a bonefish set up, but putting one on a light trout fishing rod would be the same as towing a pontoon boat with a Ferrari.

In general, a satisfactory large arbor reel for 5 weight trout rods will be in the 4 to 6 ounce range with an overall diameter of about 3 ¼ to 3 ½ inches, and with a capacity of 75 to 125 yards of 20 pound test backing plus fly line.  You'll see a few variations on both sides of those specs, but that's enough information to start your shopping, which is exactly what I'm doing myself.  After some 8 years of service, my fantastic traditional British fly reels are going on the shelf, its large arbor fly reel time!

In closing, there is absolutely no reason why you should be using old model fly reels when such great and new technology is available.  It is time to get out of the Stone Age and join the new breed of elite trout fishermen.

Do you have any fishing tips or recommendations you would like to share with other anglers? Please leave a comment below on the outdoor news section and find all your fishing sporting goods at PoorFish Outdoors.