Recommendations 10 wt. Fly Reel?

I have never fished with anything in this range, but I'm looking for
recommendations on a good 10 wt. fly reel without breaking the bank. Has to
have a good drag system, and hold at least 200 yards of 30 lb. backing.
-tom

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 11:15:06 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

I have never fished with anything in this range, but I'm looking for
recommendations on a good 10 wt. fly reel without breaking the bank. Has to
have a good drag system, and hold at least 200 yards of 30 lb. backing.
-tom

Lamson Velocity 4. I have several 3.5s and they are my favorites.

"Dave LaCourse" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 11:15:06 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

I have never fished with anything in this range, but I'm looking for
recommendations on a good 10 wt. fly reel without breaking the bank. Has
to
have a good drag system, and hold at least 200 yards of 30 lb. backing.
-tom

Lamson Velocity 4. I have several 3.5s and they are my favorites.



Dave, mind if I pick your brains about the 10, for it seems you have a lot
of experience fishing with heavy gear for the king salmon. And thanks to
all about recommendations on 10 weight reels as I will go though the list
thoroughly.

More questions for you Dave:
1. Double Taper or Weight Forward line? I'm used to fishing WF, but may
switch over to DT for the 10. I do have the roll cast down very well, but
never fished with DT line.
2. Backing...what do you think of the sponge gel? 35 lb backing good
enough?
3. How many yards of backing do you recommend for the 10 wt reel for the
king salmon? I heard they can run. I was thinking 200 yards?
4. Setting the drag? Light and palm is what I had in mind and used to,
OR?

thanks for all your help, your info been very useful,
-tom

On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 06:22:25 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

More questions for you Dave:
1. Double Taper or Weight Forward line? I'm used to fishing WF, but may
switch over to DT for the 10. I do have the roll cast down very well, but
never fished with DT line.

Nor have I. I'm a WF guy, but some (Fortenberry, Knight, et al) are
DT kind of guys and swear by it. You can take the line off the reel
and reverse it, getting twice the wear that you would with a WF. If
it was me, I'd stick with the WF.

2. Backing...what do you think of the sponge gel? 35 lb backing good
enough?

I've never used the sponge gel. I always take the word of the guy at
the fly shop at to what backing/weight to put on, depending on what
species I'm going to use the reel for. I took a small King (Chinook
about 20 pounds) on the Saugeen River in Ontario with Peter Charles.
I used an old Orvis 8weight (Bass and Bonefish) with a Velocity 3.5
and wf line. That fish swam down stream faster than this old man can
run and had most of my backing out before I gained on him, finally
landing him after about 15 minutes. I forgot to attach my fighting
butt to the rod, so that made it more difficult. Later that day the
guide sole me a Sage XP 7100-4 (10 ft 7 weight, 4 piece) and another
3.5 Velocity. That is the rod I've used for big rainbows in both
Kamchatka and Alaska. It's only a 7 weight, but it has more balls
than my Orvis 8 weight, and I prefer it. My first trip to Alaska the
lodge owner asked me what rods I was bringing. I said and six for
dries and a 7 for streamers. He recommended at least an 8 until I
told him the 7 was a ten foot XP. It has easily landed many Silvers
in the 12 - 16 pound range, and 10 - 12 pound Bows. It has a WF
steelhead taper on the reel.

3. How many yards of backing do you recommend for the 10 wt reel for the
king salmon? I heard they can run. I was thinking 200 yards?
4. Setting the drag? Light and palm is what I had in mind and used to,
OR?

Again, I would take the word of the fly shop guy. He knows better
than most of us here on roff.

I usually set my drag at the mid point and adjust as necessary from
there. Fishing for Kings, Silver, big Bows, you are going to have 0 x
leaders/tippets. I know palming is the classical way of doing it, but
every time I do it, I lose the fish. d;o( The drag on the Velocity
is very good, BTW. I am reminded of my Bauer. Another great reel
that has the drag on the same side at the handle. You needn't reach
around to adjust it.


thanks for all your help, your info been very useful,

No problem. Better than arguing about politics. d;o)

Where you headed using that 10 weight? Alaska? Kings are early
season - June/July. Have to do that some time.

Dave
Stuck at home on a rainy New England winter's day, dreaming of big
Bows and Brookies.........

"Dave LaCourse" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 06:22:25 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

More questions for you Dave:
1. Double Taper or Weight Forward line? I'm used to fishing WF, but may
switch over to DT for the 10. I do have the roll cast down very well, but
never fished with DT line.

Nor have I. I'm a WF guy, but some (Fortenberry, Knight, et al) are
DT kind of guys and swear by it. You can take the line off the reel
and reverse it, getting twice the wear that you would with a WF. If
it was me, I'd stick with the WF.

WF it is, might as well stick to what I'm used to.

2. Backing...what do you think of the sponge gel? 35 lb backing good
enough?

I've never used the sponge gel. I always take the word of the guy at
the fly shop at to what backing/weight to put on, depending on what
species I'm going to use the reel for. I took a small King (Chinook
about 20 pounds) on the Saugeen River in Ontario with Peter Charles.
I used an old Orvis 8weight (Bass and Bonefish) with a Velocity 3.5
and wf line. That fish swam down stream faster than this old man can
run and had most of my backing out before I gained on him, finally
landing him after about 15 minutes. I forgot to attach my fighting
butt to the rod, so that made it more difficult. Later that day the
guide sole me a Sage XP 7100-4 (10 ft 7 weight, 4 piece) and another
3.5 Velocity. That is the rod I've used for big rainbows in both
Kamchatka and Alaska. It's only a 7 weight, but it has more balls
than my Orvis 8 weight, and I prefer it. My first trip to Alaska the
lodge owner asked me what rods I was bringing. I said and six for
dries and a 7 for streamers. He recommended at least an 8 until I
told him the 7 was a ten foot XP. It has easily landed many Silvers
in the 12 - 16 pound range, and 10 - 12 pound Bows. It has a WF
steelhead taper on the reel.

Nice fight with the Chinook, it's always rewarding when they give you a good
battle, must have been a blast to land one with a 7 wt, great skills,
something I need to work on


3. How many yards of backing do you recommend for the 10 wt reel for the
king salmon? I heard they can run. I was thinking 200 yards?
4. Setting the drag? Light and palm is what I had in mind and used to,
OR?

Again, I would take the word of the fly shop guy. He knows better
than most of us here on roff.

I usually set my drag at the mid point and adjust as necessary from
there. Fishing for Kings, Silver, big Bows, you are going to have 0 x
leaders/tippets. I know palming is the classical way of doing it, but
every time I do it, I lose the fish. d;o( The drag on the Velocity
is very good, BTW. I am reminded of my Bauer. Another great reel
that has the drag on the same side at the handle. You needn't reach
around to adjust it.


thanks for all your help, your info been very useful,

No problem. Better than arguing about politics. d;o)

No thanks to ROFF drama, I saw something similar on CBS Survivor, guess they
can't vote you off the island here.

Where you headed using that 10 weight? Alaska? Kings are early
season - June/July. Have to do that some time.

I'll be on the Arolik River from July 2-10 for the king run. No home cooked
meals, but lots of fish I hope.


Dave
Stuck at home on a rainy New England winter's day, dreaming of big
Bows and Brookies.........


Thanks again Dave for your help,
-tom

On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 11:50:28 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

I'll be on the Arolik River from July 2-10 for the king run. No home cooked
meals, but lots of fish I hope.

Look forward to your trip report. Remember, bears **** in the woods
AND on gravel bars. d;o)

Tom Nakashima wrote:
2. Backing...what do you think of the sponge gel? 35 lb backing good
enough?


Tom,

Be aware, gel spun backing is much thinner, and slicker than regular
dacron backing. Pluses are you can put a lot more backing on a reel with
limited(or not)capacity. Drawbacks are, it'll slice and dice your
fingers if you're not careful. It also needs specialized knots to hold
at 100%.....learn to tie bimini loops. Regular knots just don't hold as
well.

brians

"briansfly" wrote in message
news:WpOEf.48$DV2.11@trnddc07...
Tom Nakashima wrote:
2. Backing...what do you think of the sponge gel? 35 lb backing good
enough?


Tom,

Be aware, gel spun backing is much thinner, and slicker than regular
dacron backing. Pluses are you can put a lot more backing on a reel with
limited(or not)capacity. Drawbacks are, it'll slice and dice your fingers
if you're not careful. It also needs specialized knots to hold at
100%.....learn to tie bimini loops. Regular knots just don't hold as well.

brians


Thanks for the tip, think I'll stick with dacron backing.
-tom

On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 06:22:25 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:


"Dave LaCourse" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 11:15:06 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

I have never fished with anything in this range, but I'm looking for
recommendations on a good 10 wt. fly reel without breaking the bank. Has
to
have a good drag system, and hold at least 200 yards of 30 lb. backing.
-tom

Lamson Velocity 4. I have several 3.5s and they are my favorites.



Dave, mind if I pick your brains about the 10, for it seems you have a lot
of experience fishing with heavy gear for the king salmon. And thanks to
all about recommendations on 10 weight reels as I will go though the list
thoroughly.

More questions for you Dave:
1. Double Taper or Weight Forward line? I'm used to fishing WF, but may
switch over to DT for the 10. I do have the roll cast down very well, but
never fished with DT line.
2. Backing...what do you think of the sponge gel? 35 lb backing good
enough?
3. How many yards of backing do you recommend for the 10 wt reel for the
king salmon? I heard they can run. I was thinking 200 yards?
4. Setting the drag? Light and palm is what I had in mind and used to,
OR?

thanks for all your help, your info been very useful,
-tom



Good choice about the Lamsons as I had a few and they worked fine.
They are honest about the 250 yards of 30 lb. Dacron for a WF-10-F.
I've been able to get a spey line on one with about 175'.

Some words of caution though. The drags are sealed until you remove
the spool. Don't remove it where it'll get wet and don't remove it in
a sal****er environment. You will get rust on the drag otherwise.
Putting a squirt of good reel grease in the spool will make the spool
easier to remove and help keep things in good working order.

For a bit more money you could get a Danielsson (formerly Loop) but
these are only available through the factory in Sweden or the factory
rep in the USA. Not sold in stores. Genuinely sealed drag and
beautiful design. They used to sell for up to $700 under the Loop
name but now sell for half that. Danielsson made all of Loops reels
at one time and were the originators of the large arbor.

http://www.danielsson-flyreels.se/us/start.php

I'd recommend the LW 8-twelve for your usage. Sells for $310 plus
shipping.

Peter

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On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 11:15:06 -0800, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

I have never fished with anything in this range, but I'm looking for
recommendations on a good 10 wt. fly reel without breaking the bank. Has to
have a good drag system, and hold at least 200 yards of 30 lb. backing.

I used to have an SA System 2 8/9 that I used mostly as a backup reel, but it
had a good drag and I'd say it was a good value, so you might want to take a
look at the System 2 1011.
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com