The large arbor fly reel has certainly brought about a revolution in the fly fishing fraternity.
For very good reason.
All of the top brand manufacturers now offer them, and nowadays you would be making a very unwise decision to select anything else.
Here are the top 7 reasons to choose a large arbor fly fishing reel above any other design.
1) They have a much larger surface area for the drag mechanism, which means you get a more consistent drag across all tensions.
The nett result is a reel with much improved stopping power for big fish.
The larger drag surface area also allows any heat buildup to be more efficiently dissipated.
When you are fishing offshore, for decent sized game fish, then this is a primary concern.
2) The larger diameter of the spool provides a bigger moment of torque, which gives these reels a very low startup inertia.
This results in much improved fighting control when you get a hookup.
3) Probably the biggest advantage to large arbor fly reels is the speed of line pickup.
When a hooked fish swims rapidly towards you, then it is much easier to keep the line nice and taught with the very high rate of line retrieval that can be achieved.
Fewer fish escape.
4) The bigger diameter reels, with wider spools, allow you to have much more fishing line installed.
The higher line capacity gives you a higher rate of success with landing many more of those truly prized fish.
5) Line that is wound onto larger diameter reels also tends to have less "memory".
Line that has been wound tightly around a small spool for a long time sometimes coils when it has been pulled loose from the reel.
Often resulting in annoying bunches.
Nowadays the newer line materials make this of less concern though.
6) The radius of the handles on the bigger spools means that you do not have to crank your wrist off trying to retrieve line quickly.
You can fish for much longer periods of time without feeling any fatigue in your hands.
7) Large arbor fly reels are still single action reels.
One complete revolution of the crank handle equals one complete revolution of the spool.
Unlike geared multiplier reels, where one complete turn on the handle can equal several complete turns of the spool.
Fighting fish with single action reels is a lot more direct, and definitely a lot more fun.
Given all of these huge advantages, you may be asking yourself if there are any disadvantages.
To be honest, the only real disadvantage is the weight.
But, with all the new space-age materials, and the modern structurally efficient designs, the weight factor has become much less of a disadvantage.
To sum it up.
It does not matter what fish you are planning on targeting.
If you are in the market for new equipment, then you would really be selling yourself short if you select anything other than any large arbor fly reel.
For very good reason.
All of the top brand manufacturers now offer them, and nowadays you would be making a very unwise decision to select anything else.
Here are the top 7 reasons to choose a large arbor fly fishing reel above any other design.
1) They have a much larger surface area for the drag mechanism, which means you get a more consistent drag across all tensions.
The nett result is a reel with much improved stopping power for big fish.
The larger drag surface area also allows any heat buildup to be more efficiently dissipated.
When you are fishing offshore, for decent sized game fish, then this is a primary concern.
2) The larger diameter of the spool provides a bigger moment of torque, which gives these reels a very low startup inertia.
This results in much improved fighting control when you get a hookup.
3) Probably the biggest advantage to large arbor fly reels is the speed of line pickup.
When a hooked fish swims rapidly towards you, then it is much easier to keep the line nice and taught with the very high rate of line retrieval that can be achieved.
Fewer fish escape.
4) The bigger diameter reels, with wider spools, allow you to have much more fishing line installed.
The higher line capacity gives you a higher rate of success with landing many more of those truly prized fish.
5) Line that is wound onto larger diameter reels also tends to have less "memory".
Line that has been wound tightly around a small spool for a long time sometimes coils when it has been pulled loose from the reel.
Often resulting in annoying bunches.
Nowadays the newer line materials make this of less concern though.
6) The radius of the handles on the bigger spools means that you do not have to crank your wrist off trying to retrieve line quickly.
You can fish for much longer periods of time without feeling any fatigue in your hands.
7) Large arbor fly reels are still single action reels.
One complete revolution of the crank handle equals one complete revolution of the spool.
Unlike geared multiplier reels, where one complete turn on the handle can equal several complete turns of the spool.
Fighting fish with single action reels is a lot more direct, and definitely a lot more fun.
Given all of these huge advantages, you may be asking yourself if there are any disadvantages.
To be honest, the only real disadvantage is the weight.
But, with all the new space-age materials, and the modern structurally efficient designs, the weight factor has become much less of a disadvantage.
To sum it up.
It does not matter what fish you are planning on targeting.
If you are in the market for new equipment, then you would really be selling yourself short if you select anything other than any large arbor fly reel.
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