Fly Reels

I recieved my first fly rod as a gift this weekend. It is a 8 and a half foot 5wt rod. I was looking for suggestions as to what kind of reel to put on it. The biggest water I will be fishing is the Yough, and I'll only be fishing for medium size trout. What kind of action? What kind of drag system? Anti-reverse or no? Please, help a new guy out a little bit.

Action? Anti Reverse? Man that would really suck.

If you EVER plan to try and use it for steelehead id go with something with a disk drag. A click pawl will burn up. Seeing as this is your first fly rod I assume its not a masterpiece.

Id take a look at this

http://www.fishusa.com/G-Loomis-Venture-Fly-Reels_p.html?i=8732DA873A3E4DD8B237505758836B05

or this

http://www.orvis.com/store/product_choice.asp?pf_id=40C7&dir_id=758&group_id=768&cat_id=7627&subcat_id=7643

I actually own the orvis. Its a nice reel. I looked to see if FishUSA still sold the pfluger I have on my cortland but they dont. It was a steal for a disc drag reel.

ORIGINAL: matthoops33

I'm looking for something much less expensive. I want a quality reel for under $100 if that is possible.

My fiance actually had this on her first rod. I was actually very impressed for $30.

http://www.troutlet.com/Martin-Mountain-Brook-Disc-Drag-Standard-Arbor-Fly-Fishing-Reels-P196.aspx

heres another one

http://www.troutlet.com/Martin-Mountain-Brook-Large-Arbor-Fly-Fishing-Reels-P194.aspx

matt,
     If it is your first flyrod, and if it is a 5 wt I doubt you will be using it much for steelhead.  (usually 7-8 wt is best).  So with that in mind, you will probably be fishing for much smaller fish.  Go to any good store and get yourself an old style Pflueger Medalist and just enjoy fishing.  I know I'm the anti-gear hog but I just can't see going into debt for a reel if you're just starting out.  There are plenty of reels under 35.00 that will reel in a fish no problem.  Besides, in most cases I've seen, unless you're into a fish over two pounds you'll be fishing with the line in your left hand and "stripping" line back so you really don't need a disk drag, or titanium, or 12 ball bearings.  Get yourself a nice cheap reel and have fun.  Then if you like it you can move up, or let it sit in the closet with no regrets. 

get the Orvis BBS 2 that JLH reccomended to you, you wont be dissapointed once you catch the bug for fly fishin

My first reel was a cortland, similar to the old pfluger. Personally I wouldnt invest too much money if you arent going to fish much with it. If you really get into it you will demand better gear.  Just my 2 cents.

anchke,
    RE: the screws in your medalists.  Try putting some red loctite on them.  Take them out, put a drop of red on them and then re-install.  Works great.

south bend lol

I have this reel and love it.

http://www.fishusa.com/Okuma-Integrity-Large-Arbor-Fly-Reels_p.html?i=CF71CBC6AC3548D4BCF227F3225B84B6

Bought a Ross a couple years ago for dad for right around 100.  Plain jane clicker but excellent quality plenty of reel for trout and PA steel. 

If you look on ebay, you'll find a lot of good reels for around $100 or less that will suit your needs just fine. I think the teton tioga is a hard reel to beat for the price. The drag is very smooth and the reel is pretty tough. I've dropped mine more times than I would like to admit, and it has taken the mishandling well. I think they are around $140, but you could find one on ebay for much less. I've owned more expensive reels that werent half as good.
 
Orvis reels arent bad, but in my experience there are better reels in the same price range. I have an orvis mid-arbor that I paid around $140 for, and after a hard weekend of steelheading, the spool rubs on the frame as I reel it, and as line is pulled out. It was a waste of money. I also owned an orvis bbs. It seemed to work fine, but not quite as well as others made by ross, teton, galvan etc., in the same price range.
 
If you are fishing for trout, you'll likely need a good drag at some point. You'll find out what I mean eventually. If you are fishing for steelhead, you'll likely need a decent drag on many of the fish you catch, especially if you're going to use a 5 weight.