Fly reels offer three types of retrieve systems: singleaction, multiplying, and automatic. Because the reel is not used to retrieve line after every cast, this aspect of the reel is not as important to the fly fisher as it is to the spin or bait caster. The singleaction reel, by far the most popular variety, gets the vote of most fly fishers because it is light and simple to maintain and has only a few moving parts to wear out or break down. One complete turn of the handle completes one turn of the spool. Multiplying fly reels add a multiplying gear, which retrieves line faster than a 1:1 ratio. In other words, one turn of the handle produces anywhere from one and a half to two turns of the reel spool. The faster line retrieve comes in handy if you’re fishing for such fish as Atlantic salmon, which sometimes run toward the angler at terrific speeds. Another time you might want to get excess line out of harm’s way and onto the reel is when fishing from a boat with gear strewn all over. When a fish makes its initial run, you want those loose coils of line packed neatly into your reel, not wound around canoe paddles, cameras, or tackle boxes. I don’t know of any such reels that are still made today, but you might find one at a yard sale.

 They are heavy, clunky, and the drag systems were never as smooth as they should have been. The automatic fly reel, another dinosaur, incorporates a large coiled spring that surrounds the inside of the reel spool. The spring becomes progressively tighter as each length of line is pulled from the reel. By pressing a release lever, the angler can retrieve great lengths of line in just a few seconds. I must confess a prejudice against automatic fly reels that dates back to my first attempt at field maintenance. Upon prying the spool apart, I found myself surrounded by a twitching mass of steel springs that were impossible to squeeze back into their original position. Automatic reels are also substantially heavier than singleaction reels of the same capacity, and their drag systems tend to be quite heavy-handed, making them unsuitable for use with light leaders. Extra spools are also difficult to obtain and tricky to exchange, making changing from a floating to a sinking line timeconsuming (or impossible). Their weight and drag systems are even worse than those on multiplying reels, and I don’t think one has been manufactured for thirty years. Still, they’re fun to play with, and you might find one in your grandmother’s attic.

Largearbor reels have a wider-diameter inner spool than traditional reels. The idea is to increase the length of line you can retrieve with a single turn of the reel handle. It’s an elegant alternative to clumsy multiplying reels. Largearbor reels can retrieve line twice as fast as a reel with conventional narrow spools. This is handy when moving from one spot to another, when you want to get your line onto the spool instead of dragging it along the bank. But you really see a large-arbor’s advantage when fishing for fast-running fish like bonefish, which can often turn and run right at you after peeling 100 yards of line from your reel. If you don’t gather that line, it can wrap around a mangrove stem or a propeller blade, and you’ll lose your prized trophy in a heartbeat. Are there any disadvantages to a large-arbor reel? Of course; by design, they have to be bigger overall, and some anglers feel they look oversized on a small trout reel. Some of them even look strange on a big saltwater rod. So, the mid-arbor reel was designed, with an inner spool diameter about halfway between a skinny traditional spindle and a big large-arbor spool. You get a reel that looks more traditional with a slight increase in retrieve speed.

Antireverse reels are often merely upscale versions of singleaction trout reels. They may incorporate disc drags or ratchetand-pawl drags; regardless of the drag system used, however, they must be capable of applying heavy pressure without seizing up. A 150-pound tarpon can put an incredible amount of strain and heat buildup on a fly reel. The reel frame itself must also be substantial, so antireverse reels are quite heavy—between 6 and 10 ounces, as opposed to 3 to 6 ounces for freshwater fly reels. These reels may be either direct-drive or antireverse. In most fly reels, called direct-drive reels, the reel handle turns as the line is running out, which sometimes makes a mess of careless knuckles.