Cassette Fly Reel Review And Advice
So why have cassette fly reels become so popular over the last few years? To answer that question we have to look at the design of reels and think about the way in which we use fly reels. Traditionally reels were machined from solid steel or aluminium blocks or cast in iron. The seperate parts including drag, spool and reel would then be assembled. The spool having been cast or machined often cost half that of the traditional fly reel! If we look at the way fishermen use their reels it shows why manufacturers have moved to casette fly reels and shows their benefits.
More fishermen fish stillwaters than rivers, typically stillwater fly fishermen carry at least 2 different fly lines with boat fishermen carryiing often 3 or more lines with floating intermediate and sinking common place in the fly box. This is where the many advantages of cassette reels start to play out. Unlike traditional fly reels which have a cast or machined spare spool cassette fly reels use polycarbon cassette spools which cost a fraction of a traditional metal spool. Modern spare spools often cost from £7 to £10. This can be 20% of the cost of traditional spare spools, so cost is a huge advantage. Modern cassette reels often come with one or two spare spools ideal to carry a floating, intermediate and sinking fly line on suitable for the majority of stillwater fly fishermen. For boat fishermen or competition angers the cost of additional spools making it cost effective to carry the many nes they often carry with different sink rates and midge tips!
The Greys GTS700 fly rel shown in the picture shows why we feel its is currently one of the best cassette fly reels available in 2017, if you look you can see small red 'dots'. These are plastic lugs are actually line identifiers, you simply push them into the line weight and line type sections on the cassette. No longer do you need to remember the line colour or mark the spare spool to identify the fly line on that spare spool. Frankly it is a simple but absolutely brilliant piece of engineering making this a real fly fisherman friendly reel.
Summary of advantages of the cassette fly reels over traditional machined or cast fly reels:
- Reduced weight, with polycarbonate spare spools rather than metal the weight carried is vastly reduced
- Lower cost with spare spools
- ideal balance and lighter weigt for the reel and spool
Check the casette fly reels out today. Manufactured by companies like Greys and Wychwood cassette fly reels are fantastic value and quality.
