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Thread: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

  1. #1

    My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    Hi Guys (and girls)
    I'm a complete novice to fly fishing so the following must be viewed in that light.

    I like to have good gear and I don'y mind paying for it.
    When I decided to build my first fly rod, I selected top quality components.
    Batson graphite blank, fuji titanium guides, etc. As I build a lot of rods, I get these at a reasonable price, so the cost is not anything like the store bought version.

    When it came to a reel though, I baulked at spending big bucks until I know I like this fly fishing stuff.

    Coming from an engineering industry background, I'm quite able to recognise quality in a product, but I'm also not one to buy on name alone.

    After looking around I decided that one of the pelagic reels was worth a look.
    IF it was a piece of crap, I'd lost little.

    So I outlayed about $50 including postage for a 10-12wt model.

    It is my custom to strip ALL new reels and properly oil & grease them.
    You'd be surprised how dry many top name reels are as they come from the factory!

    So here's my initial thoughts on the reel.
    I have no affiliation with Pelagic and have never handled one of their reels before.


    ***********************************************

    The reel is machined from 6061 T6 aluminium stock, so the frame should be plenty strong enough.
    The unit that arrived is silver anodised and is about the same quality as your window frames. The anodising doesn't sparkle (that requires expensive pre-polishing), but it should provide good anti-corrosive protection.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  2. #2

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    The unit has a quick release tab for changing spools, though I don't know what the price of spare is.
    Be careful pulling this off as the spring can easily fly out.
    Everything gets a coat of grease inside.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  3. #3

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    The anti-reverse can be swapped around for left or right handed operation.
    There is some signs of corrosion on the pins, so these are likely steel.
    Everything else inside appears to be stainless.
    These little springs are just dying to fly off into the sunset, so take great care when removing.
    To re-assemble you must remove the housing from the spool and put all the anti-reverse together before ataching the hole assembly to the spool.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  4. #4

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    On the other end we have the drag assembly.
    The main shaft (stainless) must be removed to access this. Note it is LEFT HAND THREAD!
    The schematic says the washer is nylon, but on this unit it turned out the be carbon fibre.
    The drag housing is only industrial nylon (plastic) though, so that's a real dissapointment.
    If this was brass, I'd have been very impressed.

    [EDIT] This part is actually aluminum that is anodised. see correction below! [End EDIT]

    The drag knob operates a threaded "pusher".
    This has three feet wish apply pressure to the steel drag washer which in turn clamps against the carbon fibre unit.
    The "pusher" is also plastic, so durability remains to be seen.

    I applied a liberal coat of Cal's drag grease before re-assembly.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  5. #5

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    Whilst there was no grease on exposed inside surfaces, there was at least a liberal amount of oil on the bearings as delivered.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  6. #6

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    A little more grease on anything that might corrode and she's back together.

    OK, so it's no rolls royce.

    It delivers about 9 pounds of drag quite easily and about 12 pounds if you lean on the drag knob (heavier than I'm comfortable with).

    The drag probably wouldn't survive the sustained run of a wahoo or something given the plastic parts, but I'm pretty confident I'll be able to boat impoundment barra here at awoonga and a few mac tuna out th efront without exploding it.

    And if it explodes??

    Well, I lose lures to fish that are worth as much as this reel, so I wont be broken hearted I suppose.

    By then I'll probably be hooked and lining up for a $500 replacement
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  7. #7

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    So in summary.

    This thing is worth what I paid for it.

    The plastic parts in the drag assembly are a damn shame and an obvious achilles heel.
    It remains to be seen if it's up the the task at hand.
    I'll keep you posted on that!

    I'd like to hear some honest appraisals by people who are familiar with higher end fly reels.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  8. #8

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    hi there owen ,well you have to start some where and it will catch some fish,that antireverse system will give out eventually and yes the drag houseing will probably score and spread,but when it blows up then you get bragging rights ,i would keep your hand close to the spool when chaseing those speedsters so you can palm it if those needle rollers dissengages under load and starts free spooling and as you are just starting out if you see any one ealse fly fishing ask them what reel they have and what they have caught on it and if you can cast there rod too find out how they feel you will find a big difference in medium fast to fast tapers it makes a big difference in line speed any way have fun with it,fly fishing is a learning curve just like when you built your first rod you learn what to do better next time.

  9. #9

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    I need to make a major correction.

    I stated that the drag contained a nylon gear/washer.
    THAT IS NOT CORRECT.
    The part is actually aluminium that has been anodised and for all the world looks like plastic!
    I had to scratch it to tell!
    I sincerely apologise to pelagic for this silly and embarressing mistake on my part.
    The reel has just jumped up a peg in my estimation.
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

  10. #10

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    where did you purchase it from for $50 sounds good to me, might have to give one ago myself, thanks for the report.

    ...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy. ~William Sherwood Fox.

  11. #11

    Re: My thoughts on the Pelagic fly reel

    Benny,
    Do a search on e bay
    Cheers,
    Owen


    The whole world's mad save thee & me (but I'm not too sure about thee)

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