# Dream Reel



## Alexander Wilcox (May 15, 2020)

If you could buy any reel without worrying about the price, what would you get? I think mine would be a Mako 9500


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## erikb85 (Jun 13, 2014)

Ross San Miguel. The original. The new one would be fine also.


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## Ferrulewax (Mar 19, 2018)

Titanium Charlton


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## fatman (Nov 23, 2012)

just got mine....less than you'd think...


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## Tailingpermit (Oct 11, 2020)

The Winston Perfect reel set, I believe I was year late before working there. Mako reels are over hyped and over priced, the majors that are fishing them are getting it at a discount.


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## numbskull (Jan 30, 2019)

It would be nice to own a piece of genius.


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## Alexander Wilcox (May 15, 2020)

erikb85 said:


> Ross San Miguel. The original. The new one would be fine also.


I have one of the new San Miguel’s and holy crap is it a nice reel. Stupid expensive but worth it


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## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

I have a number of ATH reels. They were ahead of their time, always get a "wow what is that reel" comment. Still use em occasionally.


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## erikb85 (Jun 13, 2014)

@Tailingpermit those are sexy. I’m a sucker for non-ported classics.
@fatman I dig that one for sure.
Great thread. Interesting to see who likes what.


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## Tankerfly (Jan 22, 2021)

@Tailingpermit I'm fortunate to have a 3 1/8 paired with a 5wt Winston LT as my primary trout rod. Love that combo. Will say I find the reel a bit heavy in the drag. I have it all the way light and even bent springs and still too much (especially on startup). That said, I still fish it all the time and wouldn't change because it fits the rod and has a lot of memories!


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## Tailingpermit (Oct 11, 2020)

@Tankerfly My first Winston (which I still have) is a 5wt ‘9 LT 3pc. Would love to have that reel to pair it with, I’d like the whole collection and box. I believe they made even smaller quantities of the box set, it was for their 70th anniversary if I remember correctly.

Do you have the 3 or 5 piece LT?


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## jay.bush1434 (Dec 27, 2014)

Mine would probably be a Mako 9550 or 9600. I've got a couple buddies that have them and I've fished with one. The quality of the reel can be felt and appreciated when you hook into a fish that will truly test the reel.


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## Tankerfly (Jan 22, 2021)

@Tailingpermit I have the 5 piece 8'9" I think. Yeah, the box set would be a nice add! They looks so awesome in that color. I've got a few honest war wounds on mine from 20 years of use.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

I like my Fin-Nor 4. It's a tank, still use it. I've had it about 30 years


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## MOUNTAIN-OCEAN-TROUT (Sep 17, 2020)

All my reels are Ross F1s. No issues and are great for my saltwater fishing in Charleston but are a little overkill for my fishing in mountains of NC. Smooth, stout drag, and dependable. Have had all for 10 years now. Don’t need anything else happy and pleased with what I have.


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## Tankerfly (Jan 22, 2021)

Ok, here's a dream: Tibor everglades with the Abel redfish finish


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## Alexander Wilcox (May 15, 2020)

Tankerfly said:


> Ok, here's a dream: Tibor everglades with the Abel redfish finish


I have an Abel super in the redfish finish and it's absolutely gorgeous


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## Mdees88 (Jun 23, 2021)

Seigler MF for me. Will have one sooner than later.... (probably an SF though). I exclusively run all lever drags now so having a fly reel with a preset drag would be pretty awesome.


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## Alexander Wilcox (May 15, 2020)

Mdees88 said:


> Seigler MF for me. Will have one sooner than later.... (probably an SF though). I exclusively run all lever drags now so having a fly reel with a preset drag would be pretty awesome.


Gordy and sons had a Seigler MF recently for 40% off cause they were going to stop carrying them. I’d give them a call if I were you to see if it’s still around


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## Mdees88 (Jun 23, 2021)

Alexander Wilcox said:


> Gordy and sons had a Seigler MF recently for 40% off cause they were going to stop carrying them. I’d give them a call if I were you to see if it’s still around


Checked their website and showing $1000. I will call them when open though. Thanks


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## Alexander Wilcox (May 15, 2020)

I saw it in person less than a month ago, they typically don’t post their massive sales on their website. I got my NRX there for pennies 6 months ago and it wasn’t advertised 



Mdees88 said:


> Checked their website and showing $1000. I will call them when open though. Thanks


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## scrapiron (Jun 13, 2020)

Kineya Cavoucha. Yeah it’s a 3/4 wt reel, heavy, old school, but something about it just hits me right.

Handmade in Japan in super small batches.


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## Miles813 (Jul 1, 2021)

Mdees88 said:


> Seigler MF for me. Will have one sooner than later.... (probably an SF though). I exclusively run all lever drags now so having a fly reel with a preset drag would be pretty awesome.


You won't be disappointed, although you might want to consider ordering one directly from Seigler if you are interested in it having a clicker, as they are about to start offering them as upgrades. I have an MF, love it, and can't wait to install the clicker upgrade as I have always felt that was the one thing it was missing.


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## Mdees88 (Jun 23, 2021)

Miles813 said:


> You won't be disappointed, although you might want to consider ordering one directly from Seigler if you are interested in it having a clicker, as they are about to start offering them as upgrades. I have an MF, love it, and can't wait to install the clicker upgrade as I have always felt that was the one thing it was missing.


I just bought one and it is a nice reel. I'm going to take it offshore this weekend and try and catch some spanish and Bonita on it. It had the wrong cam in it (came with two right hand retrieve cams). It turns out it's a pretty old reel #91. I talked to Liz and she said they're on 360 something I think and she said they've made a few minor changes since then. She assured me that the reel will still work great but she said I could send it in when Wes gets back in town and he would go through it and see if anything needs upgrading.

It doesn't have the teeth on the blue thrust plate for a clicker and doesn't say MF on the hub cap. The AR bushing is a different shape too and there was no washer between the AR bearing and thrust plate. Will be interesting to see what they swap out. I told her I would really like to have the most refined version of the reel and if it's not possible to upgrade this one I would probably sell it and buy a new one from them. They seem like good people.

How much backing did you get on yours. Their capacity appears to be way off. It said it would hold 400yds of 50lb braid with a 10wt line. I put 270yds of 60lb braid and my 8wt line wouldn't fit. I now have 270yds of 40 and my 8wt line fits but not sure if a 10wt line is going to fit or not....

Going to fish it as an 8wt right now but can't wait to put it on a 10wt rod and catch some snapper, ling, bull reds, and jack crevalle.


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## Miles813 (Jul 1, 2021)

Mdees88 said:


> I just bought one and it is a nice reel. I'm going to take it offshore this weekend and try and catch some spanish and Bonita on it. It had the wrong cam in it (came with two right hand retrieve cams). It turns out it's a pretty old reel #91. I talked to Liz and she said they're on 360 something I think and she said they've made a few minor changes since then. She assured me that the reel will still work great but she said I could send it in when Wes gets back in town and he would go through it and see if anything needs upgrading.
> 
> It doesn't have the teeth on the blue thrust plate for a clicker and doesn't say MF on the hub cap. The AR bushing is a different shape too and there was no washer between the AR bearing and thrust plate. Will be interesting to see what they swap out. I told her I would really like to have the most refined version of the reel and if it's not possible to upgrade this one I would probably sell it and buy a new one from them. They seem like good people.
> 
> How much backing did you get on yours. Their capacity appears to be way off. It said it would hold 400yds of 50lb braid with a 10wt line. I put 270yds of 60lb braid and my 8wt line wouldn't fit. I now have 270yds of 40 and my 8wt line fits but not sure if a 10wt line is going to fit or not....


They are good people and I am sure Wes will get your reel squared away once he returns from his fishing trip. Yeah they are a little over-zealous in their backing specs. I can't remember exactly how much 50# I have on there but I know we started with 400 yds and it was too tight. Although most modern line manufactures lines are heavier than a true to grain line weight. I cannot fit my 11 wt tropical titan on there (of course that is 2 sizes overweighted), I just let 10 feet hang out of the rod tip, we'll just call it being at the ready for the next tarpon. I guess I need to grab one of those XBFs once they are available to us plebs.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Looked up Seigler fly reels. Looks like their from $750-$1,000. They have a lever drag system. I had a reel from 'LL Bean that had a lever drag that I thought was cool at first but the lever started to get lose and didn't work so I sent it back. This reel looks more substantial so we'll see


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## Miles813 (Jul 1, 2021)

permitchaser said:


> Looked up Seigler fly reels. Looks like their from $750-$1,000. They have a lever drag system. I had a reel from 'LL Bean that had a lever drag that I thought was cool at first but the lever started to get lose and didn't work so I sent it back. This reel looks more substantial so we'll see


Yeah the BF is $1,500 and who know what they will list the prototype XBF for, they are all 35 pound drag systems and are exceptionally well built. I do not think you will have a similar issue with a Seigler. Their motto is "Our word is our guarantee", they stand behind their products. I think the MF is plenty for almost all but the big pelagics.


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## Mdees88 (Jun 23, 2021)

The lever drag is the biggest reason I chose it but not for the cool factor, for the repeatability factor. Most people don't even understand the benefits of a lever drag but they are huge.

Basically you test your weakest connection in your line, then you preset the max drag on the reel below where your knot fails. This way when when you push the lever to the Full drag position you are only getting what you preset your max drag to (not the full 35lbs). This means you can't over tighten your drag and break your line.

So if my knot breaks at 20lbs I'll set my max drag to 13lbs (for some wiggle room). When I need the maximum amount of drag I push the lever to full and I get 13lbs of drag so I never have to worry about tightening the drag too tight and breaking my knot. I have 8 lever drag conventional reels for bottom fishing and don't even own a star drag anymore. The lever drags are far more versatile.

It's even better for fly reels IMO. If you are attempting a line class record and you want to use 8lbs of drag you would have to set your drag to 8lbs and never touch the knob again. Well you can barely strip your fly line off the reel to make a cast with 8lbs of drag. And every time you touch the drag knob you would have to retest your drag with a scale.

On a lever drag I move the lever to freespool and strip line off the reel effortlessly. When I need more drag I push the lever forward. Once the max drag us preset it never changes so no need on checking with a scale.


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## HelthInsXpert (Jan 24, 2018)

I've got a Seigler SF and so far I havn't loved it really. I've had line get caught under the lever and strip the fly line down to the backing. The cap that cover the spool release is held on with an O-ring. Just a matter of time before that is lost. And don't find that moving the lever all the way forward really releases the drag enough to strip line off easily. 

I also wish it had a clicker...............Nothing like a redfish ripping line off to dead silence................

Maybe I have an early one also and need to send it in for some updates.


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## Miles813 (Jul 1, 2021)

HelthInsXpert said:


> I've got a Seigler SF and so far I havn't loved it really. I've had line get caught under the lever and strip the fly line down to the backing. The cap that cover the spool release is held on with an O-ring. Just a matter of time before that is lost. And don't find that moving the lever all the way forward really releases the drag enough to strip line off easily.
> 
> I also wish it had a clicker...............Nothing like a redfish ripping line off to dead silence................
> 
> Maybe I have an early one also and need to send it in for some updates.


I have not had an issue with line getting stuck under the lever or that cap coming loose. I also find it very easy to strip line off when in the open position, maybe yours is in need of lube/grease? They just announced that they will be selling a clicker update in the near future.


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## Alexander Wilcox (May 15, 2020)

I think that the Siegler line is one of the most interesting reels out there, looks super cool and the lever concept is awesome. My main two issues when I've played with them are the lack of sound and the spool cap/spool release system, and those issues together were the deal breaker for me. Very happy @Mdees88 managed to get one on the crazy discount though.

I will vouch for the Siegler owners though. I stopped by their factory in VB while I was in town a year or two ago cause I thought it was a fly shop and they offered me a behind the scenes tour of their facility and let me play with a bunch of their reels. I even told them my main concerns and they said they'd look into it


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## Mdees88 (Jun 23, 2021)

Yeah, thanks for letting me know about that great deal.

I do agree that there is a little too much drag at the freespool setting for my liking which makes stripping line off a little more difficult than normal. Also removing the spool is practically impossible in the field with the e-clip but it will never accidentally come off either.

I was skeptical of the hub cap when I first saw it but there's a groove that the o ring rides in so I do not forsee the hub cap falling off. The SF came out after the MF, not sure if they changed anything on it. I don't expect my reel to feel any different when I get it back but we will see. She basically said Wes would give it a good look through and see if there's anything that wasn't right or needed updating. My only gripe so far is the gap between the handle and the spool. Looks like a good place for the line to get stuck, but we will see.

I bought it to break a few line class records and being a lever drag it should work great for that. It is a good looking reel and I'm hoping to test it out this weekend on some spanish and Bonita.


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## mro (Jan 24, 2018)

that's one sexy looking reel fatman


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## finbully (Jan 26, 2013)

Mako 9500 (camo)


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## Capt.Ron (Mar 5, 2014)

@fatman bought mine lol billy pate direct drive


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## Capt.Ron (Mar 5, 2014)

but this is one of my prized possessions.


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## fatman (Nov 23, 2012)

Capt.Ron said:


> but this is one of my prized possessions.
> 
> View attachment 178571


I think I've seen that one in action...


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## Capt.Ron (Mar 5, 2014)

fatman said:


> I think I've seen that one in action...


you have....... a Long time ago


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## redchaser (Aug 24, 2015)

More Tibors, with the old school mid sized hub and old school porting.


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