Addiction?

It may finally be time to consider myself a "collector" of reels, rather than an angler who buys reels to meet specific needs or rods to one who buys them for their inherent beauty, functionality or some other aspect that interests me.

With this rationalization, I can now live with the fact that I have more reels than rods to use them on. Funny part is that I know where it all started. I was Winter steelheading on a centerpin for the first time. Don't be a hater. Below the bobber, my pin rig is not very different from an indy fly set-up. I hooked a very large fish. And now I get to find one of the greatest challenges of the pin - no drag. It's just your palm and your brain trying to figure out how hard you can push 8# tippet. In the end, I landed a VERY nice brown trout. And without a triple-sealed, carbon unobtanium, Space Shuttle grade drag system. Since then, though I don't fish my pin a ton (I really mostly use it as a tool for certain situations), I love doing so. Every fish I hook is a direct connection from man to fish.

When I began exploring swinging for steelhead on a two-handed rod, the traditional click-pawl style reels immediately caught my eye. They also caught my ear - I love the sound of a good clicker. It all started with an Abel Spey series reel. I figured my classic Scott ARC 1287-3 was a classic soulful rod, that needed a reel with equal levels of class. Then an opportunity to pick up the new Abel Classic smaller reel. This (of course...) was paired with the addition of a Scott G2 905-4 rod. The penultimate classic dry fly set-up. A second Abel Spey might have slipped in there for my Scott L2h switch rod.


Kingpin Spey "Great Lakes" atop a Sage TCX 7126

Oh, and perhaps the most amazing of them all, a Great Lakes Edition of the Kingpin Spey reel. This bright green beauty is one of only 25 made and looks oh-so-sweet atop a Sage TCX 7126.

This Summer, the sickness added a new dimension - trout reels. I mean, if you think about it a drag on a trout reel is nearly useless. I stripped in a 23" brown this Spring and never touched the reel. In rapid succession, I stumbled upon two "used but new Abel Creek series reels  - an both AC2's in large arbor for my 4-weight and standard for my 6-weight.

 Now, I'm eyeing the newly introduced Bozeman Reels SC Series. Uber retro cool. I'm hoping it will just replace the Abel Classic which is a touch too heavy on the Scott G Series. Or, maybe they'll just go on my bookcase.

I need help.

-Sean-

Product Review Abel Spey Reel

I've got most of a Fall season chasing chrome on my Abel Spey reel, so I thought a review was warranted.

This reel was added to my quiver out of a desire to go a little retro with a classic click-and-pawl reel. While I've had some great reels with traditional drag, I just like the direct connection to the fish you're fighting with a clicker. Plus, there's just a look and feel of these old school line winders that's unique and super-cool.

What I like best about the Abel offering is how they've managed to elegantly update the classic reel with modern materials and machining methods. Anywhere you look this thing is built like a tank - from the burly reel foot to the industrial-strength clickers. They've clearly advanced the state of the click-pawl art to the level of Abel's traditional reels. This thing's a brute.

My two-handed swinging rods are a classic Scott ARC1287/3 spey and a Scott L2h 1168/4 switch. Both have a very traditional look that melds very well with the Abel Spey, in particular the unsanded blank of the L2h. Naturally my reel is classsic black and unported. I suppose if I had one of the "spaceship" sticks like a Sage TCX "death star" or  an ECHO TR I might feel the need to explore Abel's myriad of custom colors and finishes. But on my sticks, I think they'd just look completely ridiculous.

Even the mechanics of the drag (such as it may be) system have evolved. The Abel feature two clickers that can be configured for left- or right-hand retrieve, as well as a "maximum drag" setting. Switching is as simple as rotating one or both of the burly clickers. I've been running mine on maximum drag with no complaints.

Abel offers spey reels in three sizes - Spey, Switch, and the new smaller Classic configuration. One of these should easily balance almost any two-handed rod less than 14'. If you're in the market for a well-built, stylish click-pawl spey reel, I strongly recommend giving Abel a look!

-Sean-