5wt Fly Reel Reviews
The 5-weight is the most popular fly fishing outfit in the world, and the reel you pair with it matters more than most anglers think. A great 5wt reel balances the rod, runs smoothly when a wild brown trout rips line off the spool, and holds up season after season. Whether you fish western tailwaters or eastern spring creeks, you'll be reaching for this reel more than any other.
Drag performance, weight, arbor design, and real-world value were the lenses we used to evaluate 40+ 5wt reels. The market is crowded, and there's a wide gap between the best and the rest - we've done the sorting for you. See the reviews below.
Hatch 4 Plus Fly Reel Review
Hatch. One of the finest reel makers in the business. We know this, not becau...
Bozeman RS325 Fly Reel Review
This job is a lot of fun. We get to try out a lot of exciting new gear, and t...
Abel Super 4N Fly Reel Review
It should come as no surprise by now that classic reels don't perform as well...
Lamson Speedster Fly Reel Review
The Lamson Speedster was one of the reels we were most excited to test. After...
Abel SD Fly Reel Review
When Steve Abel started building fly reels, they were some of the finest fly ...
Orvis Hydros Large Arbor Fly Reel Review
By now you know that we like Orvis products. The high-end Mirage did very wel...
Sage Domain Fly Reel Review
Sage has marketed its new Sage Domain as "Marrying tradition with advanced de...
Hardy DD Fly Reel Review
Hardy has been building fly reels for nearly a century. Reels like the Hardy ...
Cheeky Ambush 375 Fly Reel Review
When we test the Cheeky Mojo in our 8-weight Shootout, it was one of the firs...
Orvis Access Mid-Arbor Fly Reel Review - Best Buy
The Orvis Mirage is one of our favorite reels, so we know the engineers at Or...
Lamson Remix Fly Reel Review
The Lamson Remix fly reel along with the Liquid, have replaced the Lamson Kon...
Lamson Speedster Fly Reel Review
One of the most exciting new products of 2013 is the Lamson Speedster. Lamso...
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