The Reel Deal | Reels for Bamboo Rods

Lets face it fly reels are pretty addictive as far as collecting is concerned. I would be a liar if I said I don't have my eye on a reel this very minute! In all seriousness they are obviously an important aspect of every bamboo rod especially when considering a well balanced outfit. I will go out on a limb and say many of the modern fly reels that you see in all the fly fishing catalogs are really not always the greatest pairing for most cane rods and I will tell you why in this entry. 

Now I'm not saying you can't use a modern fly reel on a bamboo rod, what I am saying is that you need to be mindful of the actual weight of the reel itself. Many of the “modern” reels now are really made for carbon fiber and glass rods. I will not get into semantics about the actual weight of these rods nor the weights of these incredibly light weight reels. Instead I'm sticking to the topic at hand, reels for cane rods. Cane rods are heavier than their polymer counter parts period. If you own a hollow built cane rod this may or may not apply. In general there is a wonderful heft to a bamboo rod. In order to create a comfortable fulcrum between your wrist and the rest of the rod you need an adequate counter balance. This is where the right choice for a reel comes into play. I have had dozens of clients in the past ask me about reels and I always have recommendations and very open conversations. I always preface it by saying “you need to purchase a reel that suites the rod” you may already have one, but its important that it feels right with the rod and creates an intuitive fulcrum as stated above. The topic of where the common locale of the fulcrum is a sticky and thorny one and quickly becomes a subjective decision making process, within reason I might add. That being said there's a lot of room for experimentation, personal preference, and yes personal taste.

Think about the foot of the reel, a very important connection point when considering the multitude of different cane hardware including the spacers mortised or un-mortised. All of this is discussed upfront when a rod is ordered from me. As a scenario many Hardy reels have heavy profiles on the foot, Peerless and Bellinger reels probably less heavy but still beefier than most aircraft aluminum modern large arbor reels. Again I am strictly speaking in general terms there are always exceptions especially when considering alternate swappable feet on a Peerless for example. Now pick up a Hardy Perfect then pick up a aircraft aluminum alloy large arbor reel taking into consideration what they are both lined for. Yea, a huge difference in weight between the two reels! Sure you can use a large arbor aluminum reel on a cane rod but make an intelligent decision by trying both, a more “traditional” hefty reel and a similar line weight reel and diameter in something more current. Regardless either the reel or the foot (if it isn't a reel I already have access to) is sent to me for final measuring of the hardware to ensure a proper fit. This is a step I always take my clients through, its critical to their needs as well as my own.

I do however have a half dozen recommendations of different reels for my rods that I stand by. All of my custom hardware fits this specific reel list as well (there are about a dozen other manufacturers included). Here is my short list of recommendations:

Peerless Reels

Bellinger Reels

Hardy Perfect

Hardy Bougle Heritage

Hardy Lightweight

Hardy Marquis

JD Wagner Reels

Ted Godfrey Classic Reels

Finally lets talk about casting, casting all day, the casters experience, and how a well balanced rod influences these factors. Well it makes a huge difference lets say if your casting a rod with a reel that is far too heavy for the rod you can potentially develop some interesting habits as well as wrist issues. The rod will have a tendency to lean backwards at rest as well in motion. On the other hand if you have a reel that is too light for your cane rod its going to have a tendency to “cascade” on the forward stroke, meaning your rod is going to feel like it leans awkwardly forward which ultimately will influence your casting stroke one way or another. Its these subtleties that honestly make a big difference in enjoyment, frustration, or fatigue while fishing. This may seem insanely obvious to many but you can only imagine the breath of people I have talked to over the years. A 4wt. rod paired with a 3/4 wt. reel easy peezy? I have had people insist on using their 8wt. reel filled with 4wt line on a 7' rod lined for a 4weight, crazy right? Yea...its crazy stuff. Many fly shops will give you the scientifically balanced diet tribe coupled with a lot of brand bias, but honestly after making rods year after year for well over two decades I tend to be a bit more empirical. There are no rules in fly fishing, but the limitations of rod and reel are simply common sense, i.e. don't pair a 4wt. rod with a Penn 11/0 deep sea trolling reel because you may need to call an orthopedic surgeon after fishing such a rig! Anyway you get the gist and one way or another I have always had a positive, productive, and open conversation when it comes to getting somebody into the perfect reel for one of my rods.

           thanks for letting me share~ Clint Bova   www.cjbovarods.com