Bauer M.5 Reel Superlite

A John Bauer fly reel was ahead of its time back in the 1990s. The Bauer reels were designed with a large arbor, and a unique, "zero-backlash" drag clutch system. From the company's beginning, their reels were an industry leader in lightweight, large arbor reels...and, those designs by John Bauer in the early 1990s are still used today.

This MacKenzie .5 SuperLite reel has the ideal dimensions for my 1990 era classic fly rods, whether you're considering drag performance, aesthetics, or the excellent build quality found in John Bauer's fly reels. Features include: a fully ported frame, star drag knob on the spool side, large disk drag, fully machined, and 3 ball bearings for smoothness.

SuperLite models were launched in 1995 and are still sought after by anglers who have had time fishing trout streams with Bauer fly reels. Yeah, I think it's a beauty and looks like it belongs on a classic Winston 3wt fly rod to me...and even better, the M.5 SuperLight reel is a period correct model for Winston IM6 rods. I've always been a Bauer reel fan, have a few of them, and this particular model comes second only to my favorite Bauer SST fly reels.