Custom Shop Reels in stock

Gorge Fly Shop continuelly orders in custom shop color fly reels. Stock changes all the time. Of course we can also order any custom reel from names such as Abel, Tibor, Ross and Nautilus. 

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Stillwater Gear Roundup

It is no secret that I love stillwater/lake fishing, both for trout and warmwater species like bass, musky and carp.  I think many fly anglers are intimidated by lakes, or have a bit of a chip on their shoulder about it, but I can tell you it is an absolute hoot, and a totally different challenge than flowing water.

The testing station, complete with wind tunnel

Locked & Loaded

This blog was intended to be the second installment of my lake line review, (please check out last year's Lake Line Shootout here) but as I saw the number of new items I wanted to test I decided to make it an overall stillwater gear overview and review.  I tested most of these items intensively during our annual spring lake extravaganza.  I took new setups and combos out each day to put them to the test.  I also have spent countless days casting in my yard and in the Columbia River to get a better feel for what is truly different about each rod and line and to dial in the best rod/line matches.

Before I get too in depth, here are what have become my go-to favorite stillwater setups for 2017:

Dry Fly Setup: 

This setup should be able to handle everything from midge adults/cripples to damselflies and Callibaetis dries.  The rod/line needs to be accurate and make long casts, but most importantly be delicate, as stillwater fish are pretty wary of their surroundings.

Rod: Winston BIIIx 590-4 or Winston Air 590-4

Reel: Tibor Tail Water

Line: Scientific Anglers Sharkwave Ultimate Trout or Rio InTouch Gold WF5

Chironomid Emerger Dry Fly Action!

Why I chose this setup:  Winston rods are known for their dry fly delicacy, and I make no bones about my love for Winston trout rods.  The SA Ultimate Trout is an excellent line.  It shoots like crazy, floats like a cork, and presents a dry fly as light as you could set it on the water with your hands.  The Ultimate Trout and Gold lines are slightly more aggressive than the other SA Trout lines which helps bite through the wind and load the slightly faster BIIIX.

Trout Spey Reels

Trout Spey Reels

Does one need a special reel for a trout spey rod? Absolutely! We must always be in pursuit of the perfect match of rod, REEL and line!

So what makes a perfect reel for a two hand trout spey rod outfit? While line capacity, drag performance and weight account for most of the answer ultimately we still get to make our own decision based on pure personal preference. It's hard not to like all fly reels. Machined aluminum, anodized colors and precision movement, what's not to like! If you're tired of standard issue offerings you can always spring for one of the many custom options including colors and engravings offered by many fly reel manufactures including Abel, Nautilus, Tibor and Bauer.

Just like in my previous line article (Trout Spey Lines - No Perfect Answer!), I'm not going to go into every little detail about fly reels but instead review the reels I have used, what I like and don't like about them.

Bauer CFX4 Spey

While CFX #5 and #6 spey reels are not new the Bauer CFX #4 size is new. Brand New! I bought the first two to ever ship from the Bauer factory. Summer 2014 over lunch with Jon Bauer on my travels through southern Oregon an idea came to me that I instantly shared with Jon. I told Jon that current spey and switch specific reels are too large for my trout spey rod needs and most of today's single hand fly reels are too light to properly balance my two hand rods. Not to mention they just don't have a soulful look. Now I'm not a retro reel enthusiast but I do love the look of a solid back reel and the extra metal adds the weight needed to balance a two hand rod. Jon Bauer understood my needs and agreed to do a run of CFX #4 with solid backs like the #5 and #6 CFX spey reels. He has some inventory of them and because the spool is the same as the standard CFX all color options are available including the inner drum and drag knob colors. At this time of writing we are currently the only Bauer dealer with this CFX #4 spey option on our website.

Solid!

Bauer reels are smooth operators with undetectable start up inertia.
It's one of the few reels that still uses hardwood handles, something that I like and find lacking on most modern reels. On the CFX model you will find the drag knob located on the crank side of the reel. This is an age old argument as popular as which hand should you retrieve with. I like the drag on the crank side, why would I want to reach around the reel to adjust drag and have to think about which way to turn the knob to adjust. Having the drag knob on the crank side makes it easy to adjust when needed and the design of the knob lets you reach in with two fingers to make an adjustment so as to avoid getting your knuckles whacked by the crank.

Specs - Bauer CFX #4

• Diameter 3.75"
• Weight 6.6 oz (scaled 6.6 oz) 
• Capacity 330gr Airflo Switch Streamer + 100yds/20# backing
• RIO Scandi Short VersiTip 320gr #5 + Rio Powerflex 0.024 running line + 100yds/20# (lots of room to spare)

The CFX #4 should handle any 3 and 4 weight spey/switch rods and lines and maybe have enough capacity for some 5 weight rods depending on your line choices.

Note about spey reel specs
There are so many variables in two hand reel specs that you really should take in consideration when choosing a reel size. How much backing do you want/need? What length and diameter of running line do you intend to use? What line or head system will you choose; (I.E. Skagit, Scandi, integrated or other)? I start out with 100yds of 20# backing. I consider that to be more than enough for the trout angler. Running/shooting lines are a pretty big variable. Are you going to use mono or a standard level line? How long do you need? 100' running lines are pretty much overkill and you could easily gain some reel capacity by trimming off the backing end to 70' or 80' and still have more than enough. Skagit heads need more space than Scandi heads...So you can see the many variables with reels. I generally find reels in the 6/7/8 weight category to be sufficient for 3/4/5 weight trout speys.

Tibor Light Back Country CL Wide

Not a "new to the scene" reel the Tibor Light Series of reels have been around for quite awhile. Modern in design but yet I feel they possess a look missing in so many of today's new reels.

I originally purchased my Back Country reel for my Sage Bass Series Smallmouth Rod but I had to try it out on my Winston 4110 Microspey. It is a perfect marriage! Balance, capacity and the soulful look is hard to beat. I'd like to get another in a different color and return the bass red to the rightful place on the Sage Bass II rod but until I need it for that purpose it's found a home on my Winston.
The drag is silky smooth and has done an excellent job of protecting lite tippet. I like the adjuster on it too. Do note that I retrieve right hand and that puts the adjuster on the forward end of the reel. This would be reversed to the rearward end for left hand retrievers. I've had various different 3 and 4 weight spey lines on it with no capacity issues. I have also run a mono shooting line on it and never once did it slip out of the frame.

Specs - Tibor Back Country CL

• Diameter 3 5/8"
• Weight 5.5 oz (scaled 6.5 oz) 
• Capacity Rio #5-320gr Scandi Short VersiTip + Rio Powerflex 0.024 running line + 100yds/20#.

Sage Domain

Sage Domain - Full Caged Frame

I paired a Sage Domain reel to my Sage ONE 4116 with the idea that it would be lined with a mono running line and a scandi head. The full cage frame would keep the mono tamed and the weight would be a good balance. I did a risky gamble going with the 5/6 size but it worked out perfect! The stealth black look goes great with the Sage One. The drag has functioned flawlessly just like I have come to expect from all my Sage reels. If I had any complaints it would be that the spool is hard to remove but that's not really an issue considering I don't intend on having extra spools for it. The Domain is a nice mix of modern features such as large arbor and precision drag while including important two hand functionality such as full caged frame and enough weight for rod balancing. Capacity seems generous to the point that I was able to make the Size  #5 work for me with a mono running line and a scandi head but you would want to get the #8 if level running line and/or skagit head is in your plans.

Specs - Domain #5

• Diameter 3.60"
• Weight 6.2 oz (scaled 6.0 oz) 
• Capacity Rio #5-320gr Scandi Short VersiTip + S/A 0.021" Mono Shooting line + 100yds/20# backing

Lamson Litespeed #3

If you're seeking lightweight it's hard to beat a Lamson Litespeed. While lighter than I prefer I have used a #3 Litespeed to do a lot of different line testings and it just works and looks great. Reliable effective smooth drag and large arbor for fast retrieves has given the Litespeed an incredible reputation as a highly effective fishing tool. I really have no complaints about any of the Lamson reels I own. Lamson actually has many great choices for the two hand enthusiast including the Speedster HD, ARX and Guru HD which are all full frame caged reels.

Specs - Litespeed #3

• Diameter 3.75"
• Weight 4.63 oz (scale 4.5 oz) 
• Capacity - Rio #5 Scandi Short VersiTip + Rio ConnectCore 0.026 running line + 100 yds/20# backing

Lamson Speedster HD

Lamson Speedster HD #3

Modern, great looking, reliable and high performance are the words I will use to describe the Speedster HD Series of reels. Sure I love the soulful look of solid backs and hardwood handles of the more traditional style reels but you've got to respect the modern advancement of technology that comes with the Lamson Speedster. It's like comparing a 60's muscle car with a modern day Corvette. Both deserve our respect and what you choose is your choice and no choice is wrong! You certainly can't go wrong with the Speedster. I only wish they made it in black, (Hello Lamson: Hint! Hint!). While on the lite side of two hand reels I found my Speedster HD #3 to be in the ballpark of balance with the Winston 4110 Microspey.

Specs - Speedster #3 HD

• Diameter 4.0" 
• Weight 5.3 oz (scale 5.4) 
• Capacity - Rio 325gr Skagit Max Short + S/A Textured Shooting line 0.032" + 100yds/20# backing...NOTE: This combo really packed the speedster but most of the line overkill comes from the S/A 120' of shooting line. You could chop that back to 90' and still have more than enough running line and get back lost capacity

Full Cage vs. No Cage

Caged (Lamson Speedster HD) vs. No Cage (Lamson Speedster)

Why use a full cage reel? The best reason to utilize a full cage is to help tame mono running lines. Mono running lines can be a love / hate relationship, you either learn to love what they can do for you or you end up hating how they can treat you. The advantages you get with mono such as longer casts have to be weighed out with the disadvantages such as tangling and coiling. One way to help tame mono is incorporating the use of a full caged reel. The cage part of the frame acts like a line guide and therefore removes some of the freedom a mono line has to coil around things or sneak out between frame and spool. In some cases a full cage reel can have an added benefit being that they usually weigh more than cage free designs thereby helping balance your two hand rod. So even if you never intend to use a mono running line you still might find a caged reel to be a weight benefit. An "easy to see the difference" example of this is the Lamson Speedster which is made in both caged and cage free models. The Lamson Speedster #3 (cage free) weighs in at 4.7 oz while the Lamson Speedster HD (caged) weights in at 5.3 oz. Although 0.6 oz is not a huge difference it is a noticeable difference in where your rod will balance.

To further this conversation about rod balance I'd like to point out a couple details of interest. First is,  I find reels that are too heavy to be more annoying than reels that are too light. When a reel is too heavy you are constantly forcing the tip of the rod down. Personally I find it easier to fish a rod that I have to pull the tip up. Second item is you can always add weight to a reel but you can't remove weight. Weight can be added to a reel simply by adding some tungsten sink tip or lead core line to the arbor of your spool. 200 grains of sink tip material is almost 0.50 oz. Keep in mind to feel the actual balance of a rod you will need to have a loaded reel attached with the line strung through the guides and the head part of the line outside the tip top just as if you are fishing to get an accurate idea of how the rod will balance on the stream. Balancing a rod is not an exact science. Too many variables exist that change the balance points such as where do you grip the handle or how much running line is out the tip as well as what type of line are you fishing with. You really are just trying to get in the ballpark with reel weight and as long as you're in it you will have a comfortable effective fishing tool. When an outfit balances well you won't even notice it but offset the balance and it will become quite clear on the stream. I have tried a couple popular 8 weight large arbor salt type reels on my trout spey rods and while the capacity is great the balance was way off particularly to the annoying side of heavy whereas reels that are on the "too light" side of balance seem to lean on the side of acceptable.

My guess is if you are getting into trout spey you are probably already a seasoned angler. You probably already have some reels in your collection that might work great or they might help you to determine what weight or capacity you need for your rod. Send me your pictures and tell me what you like. I really enjoy hearing about your experiences. Thanks for reading.

Lines I use on these reels - Trout Spey Lines - No Perfect Answer!

My two hand trout adventures - Trout Spey Chronicles

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

Tibor Signature Fly Reels (Hubba Hubba)

To many Fly Anglers the art of Fly Fishing is a form of expression. It says a lot about who we are or who we want to be. With today's innovative technology reaching into the Fly Fishing retail world we have more ways to customize products than ever before. 

Cook goes Bassin'

I got an email the other day from George Cook (Northwest Sage/Redington/Rio and Tibor Rep). Seems that he found himself in the Southeast side of the country and took in some Bass fishing along the way somewhere in the Carolina's. George knowing the Bass fanatic that I am, kindly shared his experience. It's not very often you find George wielding anything but a two hand rod but make no mistake about it, Georgies prowess with a single hand fly rod is a tough act to match as witnessed here.

Bucket Mouth

The Crimson Red Tibor Back Country reel really glows with the Sage Bass II Series Smallmouth Rod. While all Sage Bass II series rods are serious big-bug, big-fish weapons if you could only choose just one let it be the Smallmouth for its all out versatility with all species of freshwater bass to Bonefish on the flats. The action of these rods impresses me every time I fish one.

Read more on the Sage Bass II Series rods...Not just for Bass!

8 Pounder

Also in the quiver was a Sage One 790-4 equipped with a Sage 3880CF fly reel loaded with a Rio Grand Fly Line and a Redington Vapen Red 890-4 lined out for big big bugs with a Rio Power Fly line also on a Sage 3880CF fly reel. I have one of the Sage 3880CF reels I use on my Sage One 4116 Switch rod and carry extra spools for the different lines I use for two hand trout fishing. These reels really perform great and the minimal price of the extra CF spools make it a great choice when multi-lines are needed.

George's fly arsenal included Solitude's Bass Master in Black and Crayfish Orange / Jawbreaker in Black and Orange / Walt Cary Popper's in Fire Tiger. Black Bee, Yellow Bee and Frog.

Pictured here in perfect fashion sportin' his Sage trucker hat is George with an 8 pounder taken on a Solitude Bass Master in Crayfish Orange color. Is it really 8 pounds, I guess we'll never know but I do know George isn't a small guy and that's an impressive Largemouth so I'll give him the benefit of doubt.

Thank you George for sharing your fishing adventure. We look forward to the next one!

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

NEW: Tibor Signature 5/6 Fly Reels

For 2014 Tibor has added to the popular Signature Series line. A new 5/6 weight reel that is "Saltwater Tough and Freshwater Light" According to this highly respectable reel company. At the heart of the 5/6 is the same legendary sealed silky smooth micro grain cork drag system also found in the larger sizes in the Signature Series reels.

Water proof seal

Founder and Fly Fisherman Ted Juracsik explains the sealed drag system of his Signature reels. An innovative sealed drag system that’s waterproof, self-maintaining and still the strongest in the industry. A drag system that constantly applies seal pressure while in free spool so the reel will never overrun while stripping line. Legendary silky smooth micro grain cork that is constantly lubricated. On the rare occasion that maintenance is necessary, the system can be easily disassembled, yet still remain under warranty – unlike many other sealed drag reels currently on the market.

Ted Juracsik explains the internal workings

Like all Tibor Signature reels the 5/6 comes in the standard colors of Jet Black, Champagne Gold and Royal Blue and is also available in custom colors of Crimson, Moss Green and Graphite Grey for an additional charge. The additional charge is base on the retail price of the reel plus 10%.