The Ross Cimarron Fly Reel is the entry point into Ross's American-made lineup, and it is deliberately the heaviest reel in that lineup. Ross machines it in Montrose, Colorado, using what they call strategically enhanced frame walls, and the effect is measurable: the 4/5 Cimarron weighs 5.8 oz against 4.1 oz for the Animas one step up, at exactly the same 0.98 inch width and 3.25 inch diameter. That extra 1.7 oz is the whole character of the reel. It works against you if you are chasing the lightest possible trout rig, and it works for you on an entry-level 9 foot rod or any butt-light setup that a modern ultralight reel leaves tip-heavy. The name goes back to a Ross reel from the 1980s. The current version pairs a disc drag Ross derived from the Animas with a fully anodized frame and spool and a cerakoted drag knob, and it is offered in 4/5, 5/6 and 7/8.
Design
This is a large arbor reel on a machined frame with an open cage rather than a full cage. Ross uses an asymmetrical spool arbor, which keeps more of the spool's circumference near maximum diameter and speeds line pickup without growing the frame. In the 5/6 we measured an arbor diameter of roughly 2.18 inches and about 7.5 inches of line recovered per handle turn, which puts the Cimarron with genuine large arbor reels rather than in the mid arbor territory some entry-level reels quietly occupy. The open cage means the spool comes off with a wiggle and a pop, so swapping spools on the bank takes seconds and no tools. It also means the Cimarron is not the first pick for euro nymphing or trout spey even though its weight balances those long rods well, since a full cage is what keeps thin running line and light backing out of the frame gap. Note the direction of the engineering here: Ross thickened the frame walls rather than opening them up, so the porting on this reel is a styling and structural choice, not a weight-saving one.
Finish
Frame and spool are fully anodized in a matte finish. Anodizing converts the outer layer of the aluminum into a hard oxide rather than laying a coating on top of it, so it wears and corrodes rather than chipping, and the matte treatment keeps glare down in low, clear water. Ross then adds cerakote to two specific parts, the drag knob and the escapement cover, and states the reason plainly: added resistance to the drops and dings those parts actually take. On the four standard colorways, Matte Black, Matte Platinum, Matte Blue and Matte Olive, that knob is a textured bronze. Ross builds and markets the Cimarron as a freshwater reel, so if it ever sees brackish water, rinse it and let it dry before it goes back in the bag. We also carry Ross's hand-anodized fly shop exclusive finishes, which are limited runs with no restocks: Blackout in all three sizes, which trades the bronze accents for all-black anodized components, plus Mardi Gras, Matte Chocolate and Matte Merlot in 4/5 and 5/6.
Materials
Frame and spool are machined aluminum, cut from stock rather than die cast. That is what makes the thickened wall sections possible and what holds the spool-to-frame tolerance tight enough that light backing cannot work its way into the gap on a hard run. Ross does not publish the alloy for this model, so we are not going to name one. The handle is brown canvas micarta, the same canvas-and-phenolic laminate Ross uses across the line, and it stays grippy when wet, which is the point: a slick handle costs you a turn at exactly the moment you cannot afford one. It runs short, so anglers with large hands will notice, though it is comfortable through a full day of trout fishing. The drag knob and the escapement cover are cerakoted over their base metal.
Drag
Type - An adjustable disc drag that Ross states is based on the Animas, the reel directly above the Cimarron in the range. It is unsealed. Ross describes the Animas system as open faced and never calls the Cimarron sealed, and our own testing of this reel found an unsealed drag, so plan on rinsing and drying it after silty or sandy days rather than expecting it to shrug off grit. We measured roughly 5 pounds of stopping power at the top of the dial, which is more than any trout will ask of it and enough for bass and light salt-adjacent freshwater work, and the more useful half of that range is the bottom, which stays fine enough to fish light tippet without popping it on the take. Engagement is smooth rather than grabby. The incoming and outgoing clicks are pitched differently, so you can hear which way the spool is turning without looking down.
Materials - Ross does not publish the disc compound or the interface material for the Cimarron, and guessing at a spec is worse than leaving it out, so here is what is documented. It is a disc stack in an open faced housing, carried over from the Animas design rather than developed separately for this reel. The hardware you touch is the part Ross does specify: a premium textured cerakote drag knob on the adjustment stem, and a cerakoted escapement cover on the spool release side. The knob is small for our taste, but the cerakote texture gives it enough purchase to adjust mid fight with wet hands. Because the housing is open rather than a sealed cartridge, the stack is fully serviceable, and Ross's Montrose factory dismantles, inspects, replaces parts, cleans and re-tests the reel to factory specification as part of a standard service.
Arbor Size
Large arbor. The first payoff is retrieve rate: at roughly 7.5 inches of line per turn in the 5/6, you come tight again quickly when a fish turns and runs back at you, which is the situation that actually loses trout. The asymmetrical arbor profile is what buys that pickup without a wider or larger frame. The second payoff is line memory. A large arbor stores fly line in wider coils, so a line that sat on the reel through a cold night comes off with less coil set and lies flatter through the first few casts of the morning. Frame diameters run 3.25 inches in the 4/5, 3.50 inches in the 5/6 and 3.88 inches in the 7/8, with spool widths of 0.98 inches in the 4/5 and 1.02 inches in the other two sizes.
Warranty
Ross covers the Cimarron with a limited lifetime warranty for as long as the model remains on the market. It applies to the original owner only, it is not transferable, and it requires purchase from an authorized dealer. Coverage is limited to repair or replacement of the reel and excludes normal wear and tear, fire, theft, loss, negligence and discontinued products. Service runs through Ross's factory in Montrose, Colorado. Every return has to include a completed Ross Product Service Form or the shipment is refused and sent back, and all freight to Ross is prepaid by the customer. Ross charges a service fee on warranty and repair work rather than publishing a flat rate, and parts are included when the reel is covered. As of 2026, Ross states that most reels are serviced and shipped back within four weeks of arriving at the facility, with expedited turnaround available on request.
More Info
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Best for: Freshwater trout, and particularly for balancing entry-level or butt-light rods that leave a lighter reel feeling tip-heavy
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Arbor Size: Large arbor, asymmetrical spool arbor, roughly 2.18 inch arbor diameter in the 5/6
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Cage: Open cage with a tool-free pop-off spool release
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Drag: Adjustable unsealed disc drag based on the Ross Animas, roughly 5 lb of maximum stopping power
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Sizes, Diameters and Weights: 4/5 at 3.25 inch diameter and 5.8 oz, 5/6 at 3.50 inch diameter and 6.2 oz, 7/8 at 3.88 inch diameter and 6.8 oz
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Spool Width: 0.98 inches in the 4/5, 1.02 inches in the 5/6 and 7/8
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Capacity: 4/5 holds WF4 plus 65 yards or WF5 plus 50 yards of backing, 5/6 holds WF5 plus 80 or WF6 plus 60, 7/8 holds WF7 plus 180 or WF8 plus 160
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Handle: Brown canvas micarta
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Standard Colors: Matte Black, Matte Platinum, Matte Blue and Matte Olive, all in 4/5, 5/6 and 7/8
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Fly Shop Exclusive Colors: Blackout in all three sizes, plus Mardi Gras, Matte Chocolate and Matte Merlot in 4/5 and 5/6
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Spare Spools: Sold separately in all three sizes
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Made in: Montrose, Colorado, USA
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Skip it if: You want the lightest trout reel at this price, or you need a full cage for euro nymphing or trout spey
