Thread: auto fly reels / garbage

On automatic reels fish 4 all said the magic word "PURIST" . I have lived on the Ausable River for over 30 years and have whitnessed it go from being able to fish with any kind of tackle to no kill, flies only, catch and release. The purist fly fishers have gott most if not all the best trout rivers changed to flys only and a lot to catch and release. I live down stream from a lodge that has an Orvis shop the purist have all the latest gear my wife calls them orvis wantabees. I watch them from my chair in the living room They can't cast and 99.9% of them couldn't catch a fish if it was in a barrel.That said I will use my automatic reel and my old fiberglass fly rods to catch gills and eat them.

Been flyfishing since I have been about 10 years old. Have used several models of autos over the years. Martins , Pfleugers and others. I do not like the extra weight the autos hang on the rod.

Wherever you flyfish you will do a lot more casting than catching so weight has always been the prime reason I do not care for autos My arms ( even when I was young and in shape ) never got worn out from catching but did get worn out from casting. I stumbled across a lightweight # 4 action 8-1/2 foot custom fly rod matched with a single action Reddy reel and thats all I use now.

Purism has nothing to do with it personally. Supposedly the ultimate purist is one that only uses a bamboo rod and dry flies only. I like to catch fish too much to marry only one style of pursuit. But my favorite way to catch any fish would be on my " flea"
rod as I have named her.

Long time ago I was working a pond filled with large bull gills. I was on one side of the pond and an older gentleman was on the other. Both of us respected the others privacy and did not intrude each others spot. After he finished he came over and started a conversation. He was astonished that I was so young and casting like a demon. I informed him that my maternal grandfather got me started at age 10. I learned on a fly rod that he had won in a trout tournament back in the 30's. We chatted for awhile and he informed me that I was the only kid he had ever seen fly fishing in Ohio.

As he got up to go he said " Fly fishing is the best and most fun thing you can do as long as you are standing up. " I was much older when I found out exactly what he meant. That still brings a smile to my face after 60 some years now and then.

99% of the time I'm useing the auto and the other 1% I send wishing I had taken the auto with me.Casting from a boat it takes up lose line quick when swamp bass are eating bugs.

Originally Posted by Turtlebait

Casting from a boat it takes up lose line quick when swamp bass are eating bugs.

This is the exact situation where I've heard autos are favored. As I said before, this has been an interesting thread.

Setting and casting from a boat seat in moving water a feller hasn't got time to fool around when a jogjam is coming up quick.Even in still water from a boat seat the auto will get you out of the brush faster as not to lose the fish in it.Holding line in one hand,flyrod in the other hand while one foot is trying its best to control the T.M. while the other foot watches for a bad back cast,the auto is number one in my book.
A redneck fly rodder cann't listen to things like your eblow cann'ts,11 oclock,2 oclock things and tip target things.Stay out of the brush if you cann't learn the fly rod can be used in any angle no matter what time it is.Sometimes your eblow will be out haftway across the river,lake,creek to get the cast under or over the brush.You cann't ack like you know what your doing when casting from a seat while listen to olden oldies.Sometimes I get so lazy I fish both the forward and backward cast,reminds me of a monkey with a limber switch.
How ever I sometimes put on my fancy shorts and wade off in a creek with the old crank reel.While letting line out the current will get your lose line sorta tight as to not wad up in the reel when reeling line in.Setting in a boat seat all your lose line is wadded up at your feet.You cann't crank fast enough sometimes as to get the tangled up fly line without stopping and untangle the wad while fighting a fish.The auto can whip it up so fast it hasn't time to tangle plus save the day on a miss placed roll cast.
To each his own,no matter if missed matched rods and lines aren't in order the sport is fun,do what works best for you.

everyone I know in mississippi (north) uses a auto for bream fishing . have only seen a few with a manual crank . I have caught as many as 300 per day. would not want to crank that many .

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

This is the exact situation where I've heard autos are favored. As I said before, this has been an interesting thread.

I'll add a little extra "interesting" to this thread :

My Grandfather had two flyrod/autoreel outfits ... and never did I see him "fly fishing" with them
He used them to Crappie fish with ... tightlining with minners !! He'd wait until the Crappie pulled the rod tip into the water, then hit the trigger on the auto to set the hook. Worked like a charm :p

Fast forward ... now I have them !! Both auto reels are put away as mementos, while both rods are rigged with reels (one BC & one Spinning), and used for fishing with a slipfloat/minner rig. It keeps my memory of him alive & well, since I owe my love of fishing to him & my Grandmother .... plus they've caught some brute Crappie for me, too. I'm sure that's something he'd be proud of, knowing that his rods were still catching Slabs.

And I actually DID use the rods/reels, "as is" ... for many years, after I inherited them. The fly line just got too old & worn out, and was too expensive to replace back then (when I was a poor boy). So I took it off, released the tension on the auto reels, & put them away. Then, a couple of decades later, after I had my fill of "Bassin" & got back into primarily Crappie fishing ... I rigged them with some extra reels I had lying around, and the rest is history.

The reels are :

South Bend Oren-O-Matic #1126 Model A
Martin Automatic Mohawk #8

... cp

I've always been on the cheaper side of buying equipment up until recent years. Dad left a couple of auto's when he passed but they were broken. I never fixed em, and didn't care for the weight. In theory I would think that you would strip and hit the trigger to gather line instead of piling it at your feet. For some of the buggin I have done that would have done fine. I did put Dad's 8' - 7wt Browning Silaflex back in service this year and though much heavier in the hand than than newer 4 wt, it's fun to fish with Dad now and then. Good thread, purist or not, with lots of history and education. I just like catchin' fish, no matter what the gear.