"Chosen with care, a reel should balance your tackle, suit your kind of fishing and, if it is good quality, last you a lifetime. But you must pick the right one for the type of fishing you do."
There are three basic types of reel: Fixed-spool, Centrepin and Multiplier. For coarse fishing the Centrepin and Multiplier are highly specialized and the Fixed-spool is the most popular,
all-purpose reel.
Unlike Centrepins and Multipliers, the Fixed-spool Reel has its central axis parallel to the rod rather than at right angles to it. As the name 'fixed' suggests, the spool does not revolve when casting; the line leaves the spool by spilling over the lip instead.
There are two kinds of Fixed-spool reel - Open-face and Closed-face.
It is difficult to tell the breaking strain of a line by looking at it. Put a sticker on the back of each spool giving the breaking strain and date when the line was loaded.
Effortless casting and smooth playing of big fish are tests that a good reel must pass with flying colours. Reel design has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years with the use of strong, light, corrosion-resistant materials. Graphite compounds are a typical choice for the body - as is the case with this Open-face Fixed-spool Reel
With an Open-face Reel the line peels effortlessly off the wider spool. This means that you can cast much farther, with less effort, more accurately than with a Closed-face Reel. This same smooth supply of line also makes the Open-face Reel a tempting choice for trotting on rivers. In this situation an Open-face Reel is better because pressure on the spool from big fish tends to make the line bed-in with Closed-face reels.
However, the Open-face Reel does have some disadvantages. The finger you use to control your line when trotting is in the way when the bale is engaged to play a fish. If you remove your finger from the lip of the spool the fish is briefly given slack line and may come off. Keeping your finger on while snapping the bale down on the line is not much of an answer: the line jolts the fish and it may be bumped off, or the hook hold loosened.
One solution is to have a manual bale so that it can be brought over with the free hand, and most modern reels have these. The alternative is to risk using a Closed-face Reel (whose pick-up pin is inside the housing away from the finger) and hope the line does not bed-in. Your choice finally depends on whether or not you think you will take big fish.
When trotting with an Open-face Reel, a manual bale is useful. It can be engaged with the free hand ready to play the fish.
When there is a facing wind, the Open-face Reel runs into serious problems. The line can blow back behind the bale arm and, if you don't notice this happening, you may snap or tangle it as you reel in. Having to look down at the reel all day to check the line is all right soon spoils your fishing. In this situation, Closed-face Reels are best as the spool is sheltered from the wind by its housing.
For speed fishing, too, the Closed-face Reel is a winner. Its push button line-release makes it fast to use and, even though some Open-face Reel models have automatic bales, the simplicity and convenience of the push button release is hard to beat and might give you the edge in a match.
The Closed-face Reel's push-button line-release makes it very fast but its trotting ability is often questioned on the grounds that it is prone to bedding in. However, many 'matchmen' do all their fishing with them.
Different manufacturers' reels vary in overall design but almost all have at least some of the following features.
All Fixed-spool Reels have a geared retrieval so that, for one turn of the handle, the bale or pin rotates more than once. The gear ratio varies from one design to another, but on fast retrieve Open-face Reel models the ratio is usually 5 or 6 to 1. Closed-face Reels have a lower gearing; 3 or 4 to 1 is typical. In general, this means Open-face Reels have a quicker retrieve than Closed-face Reels.
Nearly all reels are fitted with a preset drag system. This acts as a safeguard against the sudden rush of a big fish. On modern reels the drag is either at the back (stern drag) or, on Closed-face Reels, on the handle. With a preset system, the line is put under pressure, and the drag set so that the spool begins to rotate and give line before it breaks. Good drags can be smoothly adjusted while playing a fish. A characteristic of drags is that they can cause the line to twist as it comes off the spool, weakening it. One way to make sure this does not happen is to screw the drag down tight and play big fish by back winding.
Nearly all reels have an anti-reverse switch which stops the reel from back winding. This can be useful for getting just the right amount of tension in the line when you are quiver tipping on fast rivers, where the flow makes the reel backwind.
Most reels have Quick-release Spools so you can remove them by simply pressing a button. Reels which take spools of different line capacities are useful. It means that you can keep a spool of different breaking strain line for each type of fishing and need fill each spool with only 100m (109yd), say, of line. So, for example, in early summer, Tench might be your quarry - and a spool taking 100m (109yd) of 4lb (1.8kg) line would be ideal. But, in late autumn you may be after roach and need a shallower spool taking 100m (109yd) of 2lb (0.9kg) line.
Some Open-face Reels have automatic bale arms for one-hand casting. These serve the same purpose as the push-button release on Closed-face Reels. The feature is useful when speed is important, as in match fishing, but on some reels the line is apt to tangle round the bale arm.
These are found on some Open-face Reel models. They are useful for fishing for Carp, Pike, Eels, or any other fish which runs with a bait. A bait runner allows the fish to take line freely while the bale arm is closed. By flicking a switch, you disengage the bait runner and you're ready to strike without having to worry about re-engaging the reel's bale arm.
Service your reel at least once a season. Major repairs should be left to your tackle dealer but if yours is a reel which can be reassembled easily it is best to strip it completely before cleaning.
Before buying a reel, think about the kind of fishing you'll be doing most. If in doubt, ask your tackle dealer to help you and check out the following points: