Hello all,

First off, apologies if this is a numpty of a question. I'm doing a bit of shopping for a 9wt reel and I've seen a few I've been interested in but not always in the right line-weight.

Then I got to thinking - if the reel is used primarily for storing the line, what does it matter what line-weight-rated reel I use? Is there an important difference?

Thanks in advance,

Rich

I'd have thought you need one with enough capacity to get your flyline on it and some backing - that's all !

I think you may find that a little reel maybe just a weeny bit overfilled with an AFTM9# and especially if it is a double taper !

Best wishes

Steve Parton

First off there is no such thing as a numpty question. As Steve says the important thing is ensure that you can get sufficient backing on to hang on to that monster that you are going to catch..........other than that so long as it is not massively big and weighs a ton I don't see a problem...............birdsnest

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Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

I would think that balance would also be a consideration.

Alan

At 9 wt. you might be hoping to catch a fish fiesty enough to justify a drag you can play the fish with - or perhaps not.

Curiously when you read reviews of them, all reels have "good drag systems" - and equally curiously you can find plenty of "How do I fix my...." threads.

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Plusnet/Madasafish > Liars to the internet community

Rich, I think you might be equating the "weight rating" of a reel with the reel's performance characteristics.

Generally, the "rating" of a reel is only a guide to the relative size of the reel and therefore what sizes of lines will fit onto the reel's spool. As the weight of a fly line increases, so does its diameter, so a full 9 weight line won't even fit on a reel rated for say a 5 weight.

There is a rough relationship between reel rating and what size fish the reel is built to handle. Very generally speaking, reels are also engineered to handle the demands of the fish one might expect to encounter when fishing with that line weight. A 4 weight trout reel might have a half-frame design and a relatively small drag where a 9 weight reel will generally have a full frame and a drag sized to handle larger fish. There is wild variation in this, however, some makers simply directly scale the reel so the 4 wt is just a miniature version of the 8 wt and so on.

You can (and many do) "underline" a reel. For example, I have a 6wt reel that I use for 5 wt lines. You can't overline, or at least not by very much. You might cram a 7 wt line onto a reel rated for a 6, but that's about the limit because you won't get much backing on and the line will be very tightly coiled.

Also, there is the issue of weight. There'd be no sense in walking around with a sweet little 4 weight rod and then having a great big 9 weight reel on the seat. Too much weight for no purpose.

Hope this helps.

Grouse

Thanks for the advice guys, pretty much confirmed my thinking. Should make it a bit easier when shopping.

Suppose, regardless what's written on the thing, if it does the job you can't ask for more!

Cheers all,

Rich