Reel for trotting?

[Tim Kelly]

I wonder if anyone can point me in the direction of a reasonably priced and good fixed spool for trotting stick floats? Do they still make reels with shallow "match" spools, like the old mitchell reels had?

 

I have an ancient DAM closed face I might try to resurect but would be interested in ideas for a fixed spool. I was using a 4000 sized cheap shimano the other day and the reel stem seemed a bit too long to be able to control the line off the spool easily.

[Steve Walker]

Personally, I'd go for another closed face reel if I were you. So much cleaner on the strike. I keep meaning to replace my old Silstar and never getting round to it.

[Dick Dastardly]

I find open faced reels pants for trotting.Just arnt crisp enough closing the bail after you have set the hook.lots of fish come off at this point.If you dont want to use a pin or are using a waggler then in my mind there are only two choices...neither of which are made anymore! Dont fret though as plenty of good second hand ones on Ebay.

 

ABU 501 or 506M if you prefer to backwind or 506 if you dont! Expect to pay around £25-£30 for a good one.

[chavender]

Daiwa 1657DM auto bail reel,is said to bee a good trotting reel as it has a semi auto bail arm (auto open/manual shut) and wider than average spools (so more line peels of smoother) and its a good size and spaced well for finger control and if you shop around some shops still sell them.i prefer my old mitchell's 410 (no auto bail arm) over the 440/mitchell matches because of there fully auto-bailarms carn't be shut by hand and need a turn of the handle to close it,or it accidently flys open on you when you least expect it.E-bay is the place for cheap !! mitchells

 

 

 

other than that there was a new reel from cormoran i think thats also got the wider-shallower spools and designed for river float work.

 

 

 

as far as closed faced reels go abu's are king ...E-bay stikes again for these but they don't always come cheap.

[teejay]

Interesting that the Angling Times did a feature on John Allerton a week or so ago and he still uses Mitchell reels. It actually inspired me to put some new line on my Mitchell Matches and give them a run out!

[seph]

Close face for me too all the time.

Abu 1044, very good reel. These are much better than the later 704's.

[mugfish]

Close face for me too all the time.

Abu 1044, very good reel. These are much better than the later 704's.

 

I agree with Seph on this, a very nice trotting reel & pretty much tangle free as with most Closed Face Reels.

 

They give you far more control when giving out line, and also on the strike - as most ABU's will give you the option of a double pickup pin. This will give you minimal movement of the reel handle before you have full control of you fish/tackle.

 

One of the Lightest would have to be the Ryobi CF1 series, now CF100 or 1000 i think. The only problem with these, is the fact of only using them for lighter float fishing work. Once fish start to go over 4lb it can struggle sometimes.

[Spindle]

I agree with Seph on this, a very nice trotting reel & pretty much tangle free as with most Closed Face Reels.

 

They give you far more control when giving out line, and also on the strike - as most ABU's will give you the option of a double pickup pin. This will give you minimal movement of the reel handle before you have full control of you fish/tackle.

 

One of the Lightest would have to be the Ryobi CF1 series, now CF100 or 1000 i think. The only problem with these, is the fact of only using them for lighter float fishing work. Once fish start to go over 4lb it can struggle sometimes.

 

 

I've had two closed face reels in the past - a DAM CFM (?) [aka Coffee Grinder] and a Daiwa 125M. Sold 'em both. Awful things!

 

Always quite fancied a 1044 though, my mate had one and it was a much nicer reel.

[Peter Waller]

A centre pin perhaps? Okuma Sheffield? Or an ABU 1044, maybe.

[Vidar6]

Close face for me too all the time.

Abu 1044, very good reel. These are much better than the later 704's.

 

Please, excuse my ignorance here, but is the ABU 1044 just a later version of the 506 or are there any major technical differences.

 

Thanks in advance