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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Old Florida Fly Reels
Reviewed by Terry Lawton
Fish and Fly has been looking at a new range of fly reels, now available
in the UK and Europe, manufactured by Old Florida Fly Reels. These are
quality disc drag reels available at competitive prices.
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We all know of the school of thought that says a fly reel is nothing more than an easy way of storing and handling a fly line. But there is more to a good reel. A well designed, precision engineered fly reel can be a thing of beauty and a pleasure to own and fish with. A new maker of quality fly reels is an American company called Old Florida Fly Reels (founded in 1996) that is represented in Europe by Purely Fly Fishing.
Old Florida Fly Reels are manufactured from aircraft-grade bar stock aluminium, cold extruded in the USA and, according to the company, not exported outside the USA. All parts of the reels – apart from the bearings – are made in-house. The reels have a natural cork, disc draw bar-type drag system, with the exception of a small trout reel with a simple click pawl drag. The reels are claimed to be the lightest cork disc draw bar-type, fully-machined reels in the world. I say claimed as that is the claim made by the makers and I am sure that if I said that another reel was lighter, somebody will tell me that the specification of the lighter reel is different. I have included the weights of all reels so that you can make up your own minds on this issue. I still have a sneaky feeling that there are competitive reels that are fractionally lighter. But anyway, what is a gram or two between friends?
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The reels are available in a range of four different colours so that you could, for example, choose one colour for river reels, one for stillwaters and a third for saltwater. The three different sizes of spool – standard, large arbor or super arbor – will fit on one size of housing. All reels are supplied in neoprene pouches. The reels are well designed and made with no rough or sharp corners or edges that could cut or damage a fly line.
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While it is not difficult to change spools, do take care not to loose the tiny screw that holds the drag knob. Removing the screw is best done over a sheet of paper. If you have to take a reel apart on the river bank, make sure that you do it over a plastic bag or piece of cloth in case you drop that little screw. When replacing a spool, there is a flat on the drag shaft that has to be aligned with the hole in the backing plate of the reel.
Good-size chunky drag knob
All reels are fitted with a good-size, chunky drag adjuster knob that makes tightening or slacking-off the drag very easy. Each reel features three stainless steel, machine-grade roller bearings. All reels have a lifetime warranty.
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It’s no reflection on the design or quality of these reels – excellent on both accounts – but doesn’t a standard arbor now look odd when compared to a large arbor?
How much do these reels cost? Not as much as one might imagine. For example, the Number 4 standard arbor reels retails for £155 (spare spools £96), the 44LA silver reel for £184 (spare spools £105), the 6SA £252 (spare spools £176) and the 456SA trout reel for just £132 (spare spools £60). Standard reels are available in black or silver and the SA reels in silver, black, blue and gold. While the spare spools may look relatively expensive, it is not surprising when you consider the amount of work that must go into making a spool and the spool is very nearly half the reel.
For any angler looking for a well designed and manufactured bar stock reel with a solid disc drag system, these reels from Old Florida Fly Reels are well worth a good look. To find out more, visit the company’s website or contact the European distributor.
Purely Fly Fishing www.purelyflyfishing.com
Old Florida Fly Reels www.oldfloridareels.com