Mako 7450 Fly Reel

The Mako 7450 Fly Reel is the first trout reel Mako has ever built, and the first all-new model the company has released since the brand launched in 2008. Jack Charlton always meant to build a light freshwater reel and never got the chance; engineer Tom Kapusta finished the idea, carrying the sealed carbon drag and machining standards from Mako's big-game saltwater reels into a 3.5-inch, 6.3-ounce frame that balances a 4, 5, or 6 weight rod. Critically, this is not a downsized tarpon reel. Maximum drag is held to 3.5 pounds, which is where a trout reel belongs when you are fishing 5X, and everything that would have gone into stopping power went instead into drag smoothness, machining tolerance, and a knob you can read by feel with a fish on.

Design

Compact 3.5-Inch Frame - Mako sized the 7450 around the 4 to 6 weight range rather than scaling an existing saltwater model down. At 6.3 ounces it sits where a modern 5 weight wants weight to sit, and reviewers who have fished it report it balancing cleanly on a 5 weight without needing a butt weight to compensate. The spool is deeply ported through two rings of perimeter slots and a skeletonized center, which keeps the swing weight low and lets backing dry between trips instead of sitting damp under a fly line.

360-Degree Drag Rotation - The full drag range lives in a single turn of the knob, a direct carry-over from the one-turn-stop calibration Mako built its saltwater reels around. Instead of hunting through three or four turns to find a setting, you learn the clock face once and can go from free to full without looking down. Tom Kapusta also detailed the knob so it indexes with the tactile feel of a watch bezel, so adjustments register in your fingers mid-fight rather than needing a glance.

Finish

Black Anodized - The 7450 is offered in black, finished with the Type III hard anodizing Mako uses across its line, which gives the surface a near-ceramic hardness. That matters less for corrosion on a freshwater reel than it does for abrasion: this is the finish that survives being set down on granite, dragged across a drift boat gunwale, and knocked around a wading belt. The prototype reportedly passed a deliberate rock impact test twice before the model was signed off.

Materials

Machined Aluminum with Titanium Internals - The frame and spool are machined to the same tolerances as Mako's saltwater reels, and the internal components are titanium. Titanium is the expensive answer to a real problem on a light reel: it holds up under load without adding the mass steel would, so the drag internals stay stiff and dimensionally stable while the finished reel still comes in at 6.3 ounces. It is a large part of why this reel costs what it does.

Drag

Type - A fully sealed trilobe carbon fiber drag, with a maximum of 3.5-plus pounds at full setting. Sealing is the practical benefit here even in freshwater, since a sealed stack does not care about river grit, snowmelt, sand in a boat bag, or a full day of rain, and it will not need to be opened up and cleaned to keep feeling the same in year five. Mako's carbon drags are built to eliminate start-up friction, which is the specification that actually protects light tippet: the spool turns the instant a fish pulls rather than jolting against a stuck stack.

Materials - Carbon fiber discs in a trilobe arrangement, running against titanium internals inside the sealed housing. Carbon fiber sheds the heat generated during a run without losing consistency as it warms, so the pressure you set at the start of a fight is the pressure still applied at the end of it.

Arbor Size

Large Arbor - The 7450 runs a large arbor inside its 3.5-inch frame, holding 200 yards of 20 pound braided backing plus a 5 weight floating line. The payoff is retrieve rate and line memory: every turn of the handle recovers a meaningful amount of line when a fish runs at you, and line coming off a wide-diameter spool lies flat instead of springing into coils in front of the stripping guide.

Warranty

Mako Lifetime Warranty - As of August 2026, Mako reels carry a lifetime warranty to the original owner covering repair or replacement for manufacturer defects. It is not transferable to a second owner, and it does not cover direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damage arising from use of the reel. Any modification that alters the reel's factory-calibrated settings can void coverage, so drag work should go back to Mako rather than to a bench. Register the reel with Mako after purchase, and route service and repair requests through them directly.

More Info

• Best for: Freshwater, trout
• Rod Weights: 4, 5, and 6 weight
• Weight: 6.3 oz
• Frame Diameter: 3.5 inches
• Arbor Size: Large
• Drag: Fully sealed trilobe carbon fiber, 3.5-plus lbs maximum, 360-degree rotation
• Capacity: 200 yards of 20 lb braid plus a 5 weight floating line
• Retrieve: Left or right hand, specified at purchase
• Included: Neoprene reel case, plus backing installed free by Trident
• Made in: USA