What type of reel to complete all round float set - up????

[theoriginalpikeflyco]

I need some steering towards the best reel for my needs...

Excluding Centrepins as I dont have the budget for even a half decent one at the moment...

What do you recommend as a good allrounder to complete a light float outfit to cover some river trotting & small stillwater float fishing...the usual open faced fixed spool or a closed face reel of some sort???

I have read some great thoughts on closed face reels for float fishing but Ive no experience & havent a clue on which are good uns & bad uns???

I will be chasing Roach, Rudd & Perch & highly unlikely to be casting floats to the horizon anytime soon.

 

[S-Kippy]

For all round fishing a straight forward open faced fixed spool reel in [say] 2500 size is the best choice IMO. Far more versatile than a closed face reel and any half decent one will come with a spare spool. Shimano,Daiwa,Shakespeare,Okuma all do good reels...exact model depends on your budget.

 

[soffit]

For all round fishing a straight forward open faced fixed spool reel in [say] 2500 size is the best choice IMO. Far more versatile than a closed face reel and any half decent one will come with a spare spool. Shimano,Daiwa,Shakespeare,Okuma all do good reels...exact model depends on your budget.

But those Abu closed face are so, so, sexy!

 

[S-Kippy]

They are...the old ones anyway but a f/s is a better allrounder.

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

Shimano Catana 2500, decent all rounder at about £30.00

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

or if you can spend a bit more exage with fighting drag

 

[sam vimes]

If you want a genuine alrounder get a standard (open faced) fixed spool reel. Unlike others here, I'd not even contemplate going less than a 3000 (Shimano) sized reel for any coarse fishing task. While there's a slight weight difference with the smaller reels, it's not enough to worry about. Most ranges of different sized reels actually have the same sized reel body, just the rotor and spool size varies (occasionally the handles are slightly different lengths too). You are better off with a spool of greater diameter. Line isn't so tightly coiled on a bigger diameter spool so it casts better and is less likely to coil up. It's also the case with Shimano reels that they do the shallow match spools (usually indicated by an S in the model code) on 3000/4000 sized reels. Therefore, actual line capacity can be the same or even less than the smaller reels.

Here are several examples of the above.
Shimano Nexave
Shimano Exage
Shimano Super GT-RC
Shimano Stradic
Shimano Twin Power Ci4

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

Stradic, oh we used to dream of a Stradic, there were 48 of fishing in a shoe box in the middle of the road using one Black Prince

 

[flightliner]

If you dont mind going "retro" have a look at a mitchell match-- iconic reel-- will do all you ask and maybe more.
From around twenty five pounds upwards on e - bay depending on condition.

 

[theoriginalpikeflyco]

If you dont mind going "retro" have a look at a mitchell match-- iconic reel-- will do all you ask and maybe more.
From around twenty five pounds upwards on e - bay depending on condition.

Retro would be a very attractive option for me.

Its funny...my Grandfather is in his seventies & enjoys using the lastest technologies at the bankside...I dont know how he does it on a pension, yet I have just arrived in my early thirties, and have a real liking for the older stuff.

However, I am not just as keen on some of the really old stuff....for example, I am not sold on cane rods as most people are. I have a beautiful Hardy Palkona fly rod (think Ive named it correctly)...everyone but me seems to be in love with it, yet I find my little Hardy Glass (bought in 2010) to be much more enjoyable to use. And I used to have an 11 ft allcocks cane float rod that I bought in a professionally restored state....an old friend who was a fanatical river trotter, borrowed it & fell in love with it immediately....yet I found it quite 'dead' to the point that I came to really dislike it. Needless to say I gave it to him for a Christamas present after he had a tough year. He still uses it for everything from waggler fishing on the lakes & trotting for coarse fish & trout.

Anyway, Im getting off track here. I used to have a few ancient mitchell reels as a child & they coped with Pike to 24 ish lbs so I would be happy with that maker.

Thankyou all for your help so far. I appreciate you all taking the time to write a few comments.

 

[S-Kippy]

A final thought from me. Sam is right about there being not much to choose between 2500 & 3000 but it will depend [to a degree] on how it balances your rod of choice. In short...make sure whatever reel you decide on "goes" with the rod & method you'll be using most often.

And retro is fine but reels have come an awful long way over the last 20-30 years. Mitchell is not the brand it once was though their latest offerings are perfectly respectable reels if a bit uninspiring. I have a couple...they are OK but that's all they are.

 

[little oik]

The only other thing you need to look out for is what line you will be using.I have tried some lines on 2500 that just do not work.Maxima is one.I find if you are float fishing it is differcult to get any tension on the line when reeling in (unless you remember to run it through your fingers ).After perhaps a half dozen casts the line has a tendency to loop off the spool giving you a birds nest .Most frustrating. Limper lines do not tend to do this .

 

[monclerkids]

Thank you, I have recently been searching for information about this topic for ages and yours is the best I have discovered so far.

It turns out we had the same taste in movies. Lorelei liked Action movies and Science Fiction thrillers. She wasn’t into Chick Flicks. That’s really good, because I’m really not into those kinds of movies. Everyday life was boring enough, thank you very much. Lorelei and I became inseparable. We would go to class together, hand in hand.

It's funny how we adopt words and adapt our lexicon to the times. This is a very useful slant on things.

http://www.kvindercanadagoose.com/canada-goose-parka-herre-snow-mantra-parka-c-28_32.html

 

[audi]

For what it's worth, the Drennan 7 series float fixed spool reel is a little cracker. Smooth as silk with 3lb Power Steel. Also check out out a 2500 Shimano Nexave, bonny little thing, cheap and super smooth.

 

[little oik]

Thank you, I have recently been searching for information about this topic for ages and yours is the best I have discovered so far.

It turns out we had the same taste in movies. Lorelei liked Action movies and Science Fiction thrillers. She wasn’t into Chick Flicks. That’s really good, because I’m really not into those kinds of movies. Everyday life was boring enough, thank you very much. Lorelei and I became inseparable. We would go to class together, hand in hand.

It's funny how we adopt words and adapt our lexicon to the times. This is a very useful slant on things.

http://www.kvindercanadagoose.com/canada-goose-parka-herre-snow-mantra-parka-c-28_32.html

Spammer or troll now thats the question

 

[theoriginalpikeflyco]

Ok guys well thanks for all the advice but...

I spotted a little Abu 706 for sale on this forum & just had to try it...and boy am I glad I did.

Used it today for the first time & it is an absolute joy to use on both moving & stillwater with any float set up or method I've tried so far.

I am just about to write a little piece on my experience with it in the tackle section now so please have a little look.

 

[john woody]

i have the preston 3000 whitch as been a good reel so far.

 

[caferacer]

Im a float anorak the Drennan is your reel end of,for heavens sake DONT get a Mitchell match or any of the older stuff-they are unbelievably fiddly.Lovely but fiddly....

For what it's worth, the Drennan 7 series float fixed spool reel is a little cracker. Smooth as silk with 3lb Power Steel. Also check out out a 2500 Shimano Nexave, bonny little thing, cheap and super smooth.

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

For reels I'll not go from Shimano till I'm let down by them

 

[caferacer]

Shimano is a no brainer my man.