On 7 Mar 2006 14:47:54 -0800, "Erratic Grouse"
wrote:

Hello,

I recently purchased my first fly rod, a 5wt 4 piece. Now I need to
find a reasonably priced reel to go with it. Most of my fishing will be
for trout on small to medium sized streams in the Pacific Northwest.
There will also be the occasional lake and pond fishing for trout and
bass.

My questions a

1.) What is a good reel for a college student on very limited budget?
I'd like to keep the price of the reel under $50. I see alot of
pflueger reels priced inexpensively($30). I've also seen A redington
in my price range. I plan on upgrading at some point, so I can have a
back up rod or one for friends to use. My main concern is to be able to
some serious fishing from now until winter.

Orvis makes a fairly good beginner's reel, The Clearwater, for under
$40. Also, the Battenkill for about 80. The Redington should also be
good.



2) Do I need a large arbor reel? Would you mind explaining what that
is?

A large arbor reel holds more backing than a normal reel. On a five
weight rod, I don't think you need a large arbor reel. (The arbor is
the part of the reel (spool) that holds the line and backing. Also, a
large arbor reel requires fewer turns of the crank (handle) to bring
in the line.)

3) I've read that a good quality line is more important than the reel,
is this true?
What would be a good line? I can probably drop another 40-50 bucks on
this.

4) Which type of line would you reccomend? Weight Forward or a double
taper.

Sci Anglers, Rio, Cortland all make good lines for about $50. If you
use a double taper line, you can reverse it and use it twice as long
as you would a WF. If you keep it clean (soap and water) and don't
abrade it on rocks, logs, etc, a DT should last you four or more
years. There are those on this forum that will tell you it will last
longer, but they're cheap *******s to begin with.


Thanks for reading all of this and thanks in Advance for any responses,

Your welcome. Good luck. Post what you decide.

BTW, what rod did you buy? Name/model?

Dave