Ross Reels

Who Ross is

Ross Reels says on its About page that it has been made in Montrose, Colorado, since 1973, with a first patent in 1974, and that every reel is designed, machined and assembled there, a few miles from the Gunnison River. The home page says every reel is machined from raw bar stock aluminum to an anodized finish, and that the company controls quality checks and lifetime warranties in-house. Today the page says Ross calls Mayfly Outdoors home, with a machine shop and a testing lab at the Montrose headquarters, and the site footer lists Ross Reels among the brands of the Mayfly Group, with Abel Reels, Airflo, Airlite, Dyna-King, Renzetti and Textreme.

All of that is the company's own account. I have not found an independent source for the 1973 date or the patent, so I am passing them on as the maker's statements. Because the group includes Abel and Airflo, you will see those names in other parts of this guide.

What Ross sells on Amazon US now

At our last check (October 2026) we track 20 Ross reels on Amazon US and nothing else: no rods, lines or packs. The table above shows all of them. The marks under each value matter here, because Ross is a brand where the maker publishes full specifications for some lines and almost none for others. "Maker" means Ross's own page states it. "Listing" means only the Amazon listing says it. A dash means we could not confirm the value, and we do not guess. Several rows, such as the Momentum LT, the Los San Miguel and the Animas 11/12, rest on the listing alone.

The names are the first puzzle, so here is a map. The maker's current reel menu lists the Animas, Cimarron, Cimarron Creek, Cimarron LT, Colorado, Evolution FS, Evolution LTX, Evolution R, Evolution R Salt and San Miguel. We do not track an Evolution FS or Evolution R Salt on Amazon, and the Ross F1, Gunnison and Rapid names do not appear in either the maker's menu or our data, so I cannot tell you anything about them.

The reels, by family

Evolution R. In our data the 5/6 is a machined, ultra-large-arbor reel with a sealed carbon disc drag, a convertible retrieve, 5.03 oz, a 3.78 inch diameter and capacity for a WF5 line plus 115 yards of backing, or a WF6 plus 90. It is the one Ross reel in our table that the maker lists with a sealed drag. A sealed drag is protected from water and grit, which is useful in sand and salt and less necessary on a clean creek.

Evolution LTX. A large-arbor reel with a disc drag, in 4/5 (4.29 oz) and 7/8 (4.91 oz) sizes in our data. The LTX is the older Evolution design, and the maker's menu still lists it. We have no sealed-drag statement for it.

Animas. An ultra-large-arbor, machined reel with a disc drag, in 4/5 (4.1 oz), 5/6 (4.43 oz) and 7/8 (4.74 oz), plus a listing-only 11/12. The 7/8 holds a WF7 line plus 180 yards of backing. A large arbor is a wider spool core, so line comes off in looser coils and each turn of the handle takes in more line, and an ultra-large arbor goes a step further.

Cimarron, Cimarron LT and Cimarron Creek. The Cimarron LT is a machined, large-arbor reel with a disc drag, in 4/5 (4.9 oz), 5/6 (5.3 oz) and 7/8 (5.7 oz) sizes, listed for freshwater. The Cimarron Creek is a click-and-pawl reel in 2/3, 4/5 and 5/6 sizes at 4.1, 4.5 and 4.9 oz, also listed for freshwater. The plain Cimarron in 4/5, 5/6 and 7/8 is weighed at 5.8, 6.2 and 6.8 oz in the listings, with the construction and the rest of the specs coming from the listing only.

Colorado. A machined, large-arbor, click-and-pawl reel in 2/3 and 4/5 sizes at 3.2 and 3.5 oz. It is the lightest line in our data, and a good example of the traditional reel: a spring-loaded pawl clicking against a gear gives a light check and the familiar sound. (A click-and-pawl reel announces every fish to the whole river, in case the fish had not already made the announcement.) See click-and-pawl fly reels for more.

San Miguel and Momentum LT. The Los San Miguel 5/6 and the Momentum LT 7 to 9 are listing-only rows. The San Miguel shows a weight of 6.1 oz and the Momentum LT has a line weight range and nothing else, so treat both as unconfirmed.

Click-and-pawl or disc drag

The Drag column is the biggest choice in this table. A click-and-pawl reel, such as the Colorado and Cimarron Creek, is light and simple, and it suits small trout and gentle fish. A disc drag, such as the Evolution R, LTX, Animas and Cimarron LT, presses plates together to resist a running fish with adjustable force, which suits bigger fish, longer runs and bass. If you fish a 3-weight on a small creek, the click-and-pawl is a pleasure. If you fish a 6-weight for fish that run, choose a disc.

Match the reel to the rod's line weight, and check the backing capacity. The Backing figures in the table, such as "WF5 + 100 / WF6 + 75", mean a WF5 line plus 100 yards of backing, or a WF6 line plus 75. Our fly reel size guide explains how to read them, and the trout fly reels page lists other brands.

The warranty, and why the seller matters

Ross's warranty page says that reels bought through an authorized dealer are covered by a limited lifetime warranty for as long as the product is on the market. The warranty applies only to the original owner, is not transferable and is limited to repair or replacement. It does not cover normal wear and tear, fire, theft, loss, discontinued products or negligence. The page also says products not bought through an authorized dealer are not covered, that you must return the reel with a completed service form, freight paid, and that Ross charges a service fee for warranty and repair service. A note on the page says fly rods sent to Ross can no longer be repaired or replaced.

The practical lesson is the one in the first sentence: the warranty follows the seller. Every Ross row in our table lists the maker's warranty wording, but we cannot confirm which Amazon seller is an authorized dealer. If the warranty matters to you, check the seller name on the listing and ask the maker, and keep your order record.

How to choose

Start with the rod. Choose the reel whose line weight range includes your line, then choose the drag. For small streams and light lines, the Colorado, Cimarron Creek and Animas are the lightest options in our data. For general trout work, the Evolution R, Animas and Cimarron LT in the 5/6 size cover a 5-weight line at 4.4 to 5.3 oz. For bass and larger fish, the Animas, Evolution LTX and Cimarron LT in the 7/8 size give you a disc drag and room for backing.

Common mistakes: buying a click-and-pawl reel for fish that run, ignoring the backing capacity, and assuming a machined reel is sealed. The Drag column tells you whether the maker lists the drag as sealed; a dash means we could not confirm it. For a rule-based list across brands, see our best fly reels page.

Spare spools, registration and care

The maker's menu lists spare spools for most families (Animas, Cimarron, Cimarron LT, Colorado, Evolution LTX, Evolution R and San Miguel, among others), so one frame can carry a floating line on one spool and a sinking line on another. It also lists a reel registration page and a reel care page. I have not read the care page in full, so I will not summarize it, but registering a reel is worth the two minutes if you want the warranty to be easy to prove later. Before you buy a spool, check that its family and size match your reel exactly, because the maker lists its spools family by family.

Matching a Ross reel to a rod

A few worked examples from the numbers in the table. A 9-foot 5-weight trout rod is happy with a 5/6 reel from 4.4 oz (Animas) up to 5.3 oz (Cimarron LT) and a little more, and the difference is mostly a matter of drag type and how much you care about ounces. A short 3-weight for a mountain creek pairs naturally with a 2/3 Colorado at 3.2 oz or a Cimarron Creek at 4.1 oz. An 8-weight for smallmouth or streamers wants a 7/8 with enough backing, and the Animas, LTX and Cimarron LT all list 150 to 180 yards or more for it. The test I like is simple: put the reel on the rod, hold the rod at the grip with one finger under it, and see whether it hangs level. If the tip drops, the reel is too light for the rod, and if the butt drops, it is too heavy.