Click Check Reels

When selecting gear to fish small streams in New Mexico and Colorado, I like to fish with the lightest gear possible. And that often means a click check reel will be locked into rods built for 2wt to 4wt fly lines. I don't have any guidelines as to how I pair up a rod and reel for any given day of fishing. However, I do tend to keep traditional styled reels on my older classic fly rods. And, I like to pair a contemporary reel on my rods that are newer in terms of technology or recent build.

My favorite thing to do is select a classic looking reel when I'm going to use a vintage fly rod with a down locking reel seat. It just suits my eye, feels better, and I'm pretty sure I catch more trout with this kind of pairing between rod and reel (LOL).

Yeah, a classic looking click check reel locked into a classic rod with down-locking reel seat is the ultimate for me. However, I also enjoy going very light for all day fishing and that will sometimes be a contemporary rod with an ultra light clicker reel milled to a lean skeleton build, like a Ross Colorado reel or Sage Click. Holding a feather of a kit in my hand when fishing a small stream is not bad, not bad at all. Especially when I wet wade into a stream with only a shirt pocket fly box and a rod/reel in my hand...that's about as light as I can get without going all Tenkara with the Leetle Fellers. Of which by the way, I plan to fish this year...my grandson sure likes his Tenkara.

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