Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Fly Guy Reviews: Redington Grande Reel

Fly Guy (Behind the Counter) Reviews:

The Redington Grande Reel

Being a younger guy in the fly fishing game has its pros and cons. Pro: I have significantly more time to learn things. Con: I didn’t have too much to spend on gear when I started. I had to pick and choose my ‘price point’ kit wisely. When it comes to that spectrum of gear, there’s definitely some crap on the market, but there’s also some hidden gems out there.

The Redington Behemoth was one of those hidden gems for me. For 110$, I had a reel that could do most of the jobs I put it up to. The drag was unmatched for its price, strength-wise and when it came to durability. I abused the heck out of my behemoths (still do) and they have held up over the past 2 years. From trout to carp to chinook and chum, these things hold up. Now this doesn’t go without saying they had a flaw or 2. The behemoth has a ‘V’ Style arbor, which means it was quite easy to stack line to one side or another or have backing jump on you if you weren’t paying attention, which could mean trouble if you were battling something that took frequent runs. Now the boys down at Redington have gone and made me fall in love all over again with the new Grande. Picture a Behemoth that got rejected by the hot girl in high school, so it took roids and worked out for 3 years straight. The Grande is everything you wanted from the behemoth and more, with a new stronger drag system, and modified arbor shape to hold up to 2x the backing. It is one bad mofo. If you’re into heavier reels like me, you’ll like the grande. The size intervals come in sets of 3, meaning the 5/6/7 will truly fit comfortably on any of those size rods.

No doubt this reel was made with big fish in mind, with the largest size reel being a monstrous 14 wt. With 3 current color options, these reels come ready to make any rod look prettier. If you’re looking for amazing strength, durability and performance for under 400$, then the Grande is the reel for you.

I hope to get some fish pics with this reel for you guys shortly, until then, if you have any questions about the Grande or any other item, give us a call at the shop or an email.