I never had a drag on a reel until last year. Click and pawl has always been fine as I can palm the reel for added resistance. Now that I'm fishing steelhead and bulltrout, I'm happy that I have a drag for large fish in powerful water. The Redington Rise 111 I just picked up has a good enough drag system for use in saltwater. I went with a slightly more expensive reel because I knew I could use it later on in Salt Water. I would not' have spent as much if the reel was not so versatile. Of all my years of fly fishing, I think I've only cranked my drag up a few times. I keep the drag set for comfort when pulling line off the reel rather than keeping it set thinking of fighting a fish. 99.5% of the fish I've caught, the reel was just holding line.
Warning: many or most clicker reels these days have either the cog or the pawl, or both, made of some variously named plastic. I never had to replace any part of a clicker mechanism in old reels that had just metal parts, but In my experience with clicker reels with some plastic in the clicker, all wore out in well under a year of frequent use. In other words, the clicker no longer provided enough drag to prevent backlashing overruns. My reels with such problems: Cortland CG, Redington Zero, Echo Shadow. Might reels with part-plastic clickers be made to last for years? I don't know, but I doubt it. Beware.
I agree with most of this. Reels that are getting worked like a horse should maybe be higher level machined reels or drag reels. Most of these models.arent meant to be beaten up for more than a few seasons on big fish. I have. A few battenkill and some st. Joe reels that have taken a beating but they have metal click systems.
Thanks for the advice. I agree that plastic clickers, and in fact plastic parts on reels in general, just don't feel right after having owned and used all metal reels. I bought a not so inexpensive Lamson disc drag reel the other day, and did notice the plastic clicker mechanism, but was surprised the sealed drag system was plastic too. The premium Lamson reels are the same. This is strange to me, because the reels are so light - and in some cases feather light - that you would expect the plastic parts could easily be replaced with metal without affecting the reels' weight much at all, while providing the owner with a much greater sense of value and confidence in the reel. The reel I have is beautiful, strong, and light, but the fact it's got plastic in it is always in the back of my mind, annoying me to death.
@@PaulTenenbaum Most non-load bearing pieces that are polymer shouldn't worry you, honestly. Just like in most cars now, injection parts make up the majority of our world now with great benefits and fewer compromises than ever before. Would it be cool to say my entire mid-high end reel is all CNC aluminum? You bet! But it is advantageous to mold some of the intricate, less-essential parts in some circumstances if applicable. I love dialogue around this stuff! Good luck out there! Tight lines!
Oh so i can palm my click and pawl reel that has a crap drag when hooking bigger fish like Salmon.This is a great idea i got to try this now with bigger fish on my cheap reel and light fly rod.I was thinking about getting a disc drag but wud rather make do if i can with what ive got
Definitely can. It isnt ideal with bigger game fish, and requires some finesse and a good knowedge of your reel's limitations but PNW steelheaders have used click and pawl reels for decades
I never had a drag on a reel until last year. Click and pawl has always been fine as I can palm the reel for added resistance. Now that I'm fishing steelhead and bulltrout, I'm happy that I have a drag for large fish in powerful water. The Redington Rise 111 I just picked up has a good enough drag system for use in saltwater. I went with a slightly more expensive reel because I knew I could use it later on in Salt Water. I would not' have spent as much if the reel was not so versatile. Of all my years of fly fishing, I think I've only cranked my drag up a few times. I keep the drag set for comfort when pulling line off the reel rather than keeping it set thinking of fighting a fish. 99.5% of the fish I've caught, the reel was just holding line.
Agree for most freshwater applications 👍
Warning: many or most clicker reels these days have either the cog or the pawl, or both, made of some variously named plastic. I never had to replace any part of a clicker mechanism in old reels that had just metal parts, but In my experience with clicker reels with some plastic in the clicker, all wore out in well under a year of frequent use. In other words, the clicker no longer provided enough drag to prevent backlashing overruns. My reels with such problems: Cortland CG, Redington Zero, Echo Shadow. Might reels with part-plastic clickers be made to last for years? I don't know, but I doubt it. Beware.
I agree with most of this. Reels that are getting worked like a horse should maybe be higher level machined reels or drag reels. Most of these models.arent meant to be beaten up for more than a few seasons on big fish. I have. A few battenkill and some st. Joe reels that have taken a beating but they have metal click systems.
Thanks for the advice. I agree that plastic clickers, and in fact plastic parts on reels in general, just don't feel right after having owned and used all metal reels. I bought a not so inexpensive Lamson disc drag reel the other day, and did notice the plastic clicker mechanism, but was surprised the sealed drag system was plastic too. The premium Lamson reels are the same. This is strange to me, because the reels are so light - and in some cases feather light - that you would expect the plastic parts could easily be replaced with metal without affecting the reels' weight much at all, while providing the owner with a much greater sense of value and confidence in the reel. The reel I have is beautiful, strong, and light, but the fact it's got plastic in it is always in the back of my mind, annoying me to death.
@@PaulTenenbaum Most non-load bearing pieces that are polymer shouldn't worry you, honestly. Just like in most cars now, injection parts make up the majority of our world now with great benefits and fewer compromises than ever before. Would it be cool to say my entire mid-high end reel is all CNC aluminum? You bet! But it is advantageous to mold some of the intricate, less-essential parts in some circumstances if applicable. I love dialogue around this stuff! Good luck out there! Tight lines!
Oh so i can palm my click and pawl reel that has a crap drag when hooking bigger fish like Salmon.This is a great idea i got to try this now with bigger fish on my cheap reel and light fly rod.I was thinking about getting a disc drag but wud rather make do if i can with what ive got
Definitely can. It isnt ideal with bigger game fish, and requires some finesse and a good knowedge of your reel's limitations but PNW steelheaders have used click and pawl reels for decades
Click and pawl reels don’t have a drag at all