Best Fly Reels

What this list is, and the rule behind it

A list called "best fly reels" invites a ranking by feel, and I can't do that honestly. We do not test reels. What we can do is apply a written rule to published data, show the rule, and let you check it.

The rule on this page has two parts. A reel is included if its maker publishes the arbor size, the drag type and the warranty. Then the list is spread out: no more than two reels per line weight and no more than two per brand, lightest first. I picked the first part because those three specs decide most of what a reel does for you. Arbor tells you how fast line comes back and how tightly it coils. Drag tells you how the reel resists a running fish. Warranty tells you what the maker stands behind. A reel that does not publish them is not a worse reel. It is a reel we cannot describe fully, and I would rather leave it off than guess.

The second part is there because a plain sort by line weight would fill the page with one catalog and one end of the range. The reels are grouped by the lightest line weight each one is made for, so a reader who fishes a 6-weight finds something, and so does a reader who fishes a 1-weight. The cost is that the spread, not the rule alone, decides which two reels represent each weight and each brand. A reel missing here may meet the first part and simply lose its slot. Use the type pages for the full set.

The rule gave 15 reels at our last check (October 2026), from nine brands: Galvan, Sage, Lamson, Greys, Okuma, Kylebooker, Echo, Redington and Hardy. Reels enter and leave a list like this as availability changes each week, so the count and the order can shift.

A note on cheap and budget reels

A good share of the people who land here typed "cheap fly reel" or "best budget fly reel". The honest answer is that this list is not a budget list. The rule does not look at price, and we never show a price on the site, so I cannot tell you what is cheapest. The reels here sit in several price tiers in our data, and the Check price button shows the current number.

What I can offer for a tight budget is a way to think about it. A fly reel's first job is to hold line and backing and give you somewhere to take up slack. Four reels here were in our lowest price tier at our last check: the Greys Fin, the two Okuma Sierra reels and the Kylebooker FR01. They carry 12-month or 1-year warranties, which is part of what a low price buys. For trout on light tippets, the click-and-pawl design that the two Galvan Brookies use is a plain, mechanical drag with fewer parts to fail. If you are buying your first outfit, a starter kit includes a reel, and the reel question is settled in one purchase. Our click-and-pawl reels page lists more of the simple designs.

How to read the table

The table above carries the specs. Each value has a small mark under it. Maker means the value comes from the manufacturer's page. Claimed marks a maker's own claim with no independent standard named. Listing means the Amazon listing says it and the maker's page does not confirm it. — means we could not confirm it, and we do not guess. On this list that matters in a few places: the Okuma and Echo line-weight ranges come from the listing, the Echo Ion's drag type is the listing's word, and the Hardy Averon Cassette shows a dash for line weight because our data has none.

The columns that matter:

• Line weight. The range of fly line weights the reel is made for, shown as the bar gauge. Match it to your rod's line weight, and check the maker's note on which line the backing figure assumes.
• Arbor. The diameter of the spool core. Large and ultra large arbors hold line in wider coils.
• Drag. The mechanism that resists a fish. In this list it is click-and-pawl, conical or disc.
• Reel weight. In ounces, per the maker where it is shown. The two Okuma reels show a dash.
• Water. Where the maker says the reel is meant to be used. The Echo Bravo lists saltwater and the two Lamson reels list all-water. Most others list nothing, and that is a dash, not a hidden answer.
• Warranty. The wording differs, so read it.

Arbor, drag and weight, in plain words

Arbor. A large arbor spool has a bigger core than a traditional narrow one. In general, a bigger core means line comes off in wider, flatter coils and you pick up line faster per turn of the handle. Fourteen of the 15 reels here list a large arbor, and the Sage Arbor XL lists an ultra large one. A larger arbor is not automatically better. It is a different design, and the trade-off is usually a larger frame.

Drag. Two reels list a click-and-pawl drag: the two Galvan Brookies. A click-and-pawl reel uses a spring-loaded pawl on a gear, so the drag is light and you add resistance by palming the spool. Four list a carbon disc drag, a stack of discs you adjust with a knob (the two Sage reels, the Echo Bravo and the Redington Behemoth). The two Lamson reels list a conical drag, a cone-shaped clutch that works on a similar principle. The rest list a disc drag without naming the material: the two Greys reels, the two Okuma reels, the Kylebooker, the Hardy and, per the Amazon listing, the Echo Ion. Three reels state a maximum drag figure: 2 lb for the Greys Fin, 1.5 lb for the Pace and 3.5 lb for the Hardy, which makes them the only drag numbers on the list. For small trout on a 4X tippet, almost anything works. For a hot fish on a thin tippet, or for saltwater, I'd want a disc drag.

Sealed. Four reels list a sealed drag: the two Sage reels and the two Lamson reels. Where the page says nothing, the data shows nothing, and I won't read that as not sealed. If a reel will see salt, read the maker's care notes either way.

Weight. The lightest reel with a confirmed weight is the Galvan Brookie B 0-1 at 2.54 oz, and the heaviest is the Redington Behemoth at 10.8 oz. A reel's job is partly to balance the rod: put a very heavy reel on a very light rod and the tip feels it. A very light reel on a long rod can leave the butt feeling heavy. The fly reel size guide covers matching in more depth.

Backing and capacity. The backing figure says how much line and backing the reel is rated to hold. The numbers range from 30 yd of 20 lb backing behind a WF1 on the smallest Brookie to 200 yd behind a WF8 on the Sage Arbor XL and the Echo reels. For most trout rivers that is plenty. If you chase fish that run, read how much backing to put on a fly reel and how to spool a fly reel.

A spare spool is only useful if it still fits a reel you own (the spare-parts shelf in most garages says otherwise), which is a good reason to check what is in the box before you order.

Choosing between them

Start with the rod. The line weight on the reel must cover the line weight on the rod. A 4-weight rod rules out the Brookie B 0-1 and B 2-3. A 5-weight points at the Lamson Guru S -5+ or the Okuma and Kylebooker reels in the 4 to 6 range. A 7-weight or an 8-weight points at the Echo Bravo and Ion or the Sage Arbor XL. See the 5-weight rod and 8-weight rod pages.

Then choose the drag. For small trout, panfish and stream fish, I'd lean toward the simpler and lighter click-and-pawl reels. For bigger fish, wind on a lake, thin tippets or salt, I'd move to a disc drag. That is my rule of thumb, and it is a preference, not a finding.

Then think about weight. If you fish all day, the 2.5 to 3.7 oz reels (the two Brookies and the Lamson Guru S -3+) are easy on the arm and the 5 oz and heavier ones are not. For the heavier line weights, reel weight is partly the price of capacity.

Then the warranty. The wordings range from a lifetime original-owner warranty (Galvan, with proof-of-purchase conditions, and Lamson's limited lifetime) and an original-owner warranty against defects (Sage) to five years for the original owner (Hardy), 12 months (Greys) and 1 year (Okuma, Kylebooker and Echo, the last for manufacturing defects only). They are not the same promise. Look for the owner clause, the registration or proof-of-purchase clause, and whether repair or replacement is the remedy. My rule of thumb is that the warranty is part of what you pay for.

Mistakes people make with reels

Buying a reel by looks is the classic. Reels are visible, polished objects. A reel that is gorgeous but too heavy for your rod is a nice paperweight on a tip that feels it.

Another is ignoring the line. A reel is rated for a line, and the backing figures assume a specific line weight. Putting a heavy line on a small reel leaves no room for backing. Check the maker's line and backing note before you spool it, or follow our reel spooling guide.

A third is assuming a sealed or disc drag is needed for every outfit. It isn't. Many people fish small streams for years on click-and-pawl reels. And a fourth is forgetting the reel in the rod search: the kit route solves that for a first outfit.

Brands in the table

• Galvan: the two Brookie reels for 0 to 3 weight, with the maker's lifetime original-owner wording.
• Sage: the Trout Spey 1/2/3 and the Arbor XL 6/7/8.
• Lamson: two Guru S reels, covering 2 to 6 weight with a sealed conical drag.
• Greys: the Fin and Pace reels for 3 and 4 weight, with a stated maximum drag.
• Okuma: the Sierra SX-4/5 and SX-5/6.
• Kylebooker: the FR01 5/6.
• Echo: the Bravo and Ion reels for 7 to 9 weight.
• Redington: the Behemoth 9/10.
• Hardy: the Averon Cassette 7000.

What a list like this cannot tell you

The rule tells you what a maker publishes. It cannot tell you how long a reel's finish holds, how the drag feels in your hand or how good the maker's service is when something breaks. I have not summarized buyer reviews for these reels, and I would not turn them into scores anyway.

A quick check before the first trip: spool the line and backing at home, set the drag, pull line out by hand and feel for smoothness, and check that the reel seats snugly in the rod's reel seat. Keep the receipt, because original-owner warranties ask for proof of purchase. For more, see the fly reels page, the trout fly reels page, the saltwater fly reels page and our best fly rods list for the other half of the outfit.