Tiemco Oracle Reel

The Tiemco Oracle fly reel is an "old school" aesthetic for those who love to fish classic fly gear. Yeah, it has that Hardy Lightweight look to it and why not...it's a design that has worked for Hardy for many decades. This is a contemporary reel built in S. Korea and distributed out of Japan. There are two models; baby, and baby trout. Also, they have two types of spools available in non-perforated (without holes) and double-perforated. Two colors are available for both the reel and spool in silver and gray, and if you prefer, you can get the grey reel with a silver perforated spool as an option. If that confused you, don't worry about it too much because one only comes up for sale every now and then, so nab whatever is available...if you like.

The baby trout model has an outer diameter of 3“ and is designed for DT3F to DT4F fly lines. It weights 3.3oz with a spool at .70" wide. The baby model is 2 7/8“ in outer diameter and is ideal for DT2F to DT3F fly lines. My reel included a red draw-string bag for keeping it safe during road trips to and from home waters.

Classic Winston 3wt fly rods that are 7'6" lengths and shorter with down-locking reel seats are a great pairing for this Tiemco reel. My grey reel is the 3" Baby Trout model with an optional silver spool...looks very classy and balances quite nicely with my classic Winstons. The click and pawl drag works as needed on tight lines with those Leetle Fellers and has a nice sound when they take the line. Incoming line has a somewhat softer click.

This is a nice inexpensive fly reel, and small stream anglers will be happy to lock it into their fly rods, particularly if they are classic rod enthusiasts. Its aesthetic and performance is much better than the price, giving the reel an excellent ROI for an ultra-light fly fisher.

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