Alan Whitty
Well-known member
Having not bought either makes for probably 8 years or so I'm curious to know, do they supply a spare spool anymore, from what I gather many don't???
Having not bought either makes for probably 8 years or so I'm curious to know, do they supply a spare spool anymore, from what I gather many don't???
The only reel I own that came with three spools as standard was a very nice Shimano Twin-power tri drag reel. It was expensive but I bought it on a special offer. All the spools were machined aluminium and I wouldn’t have wanted to pay the price they were if I had wanted one. It’s still one of my favourite reels and one of the most used it’s been an absolute work horse and has never missed a beat.
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.However, I very much doubt that anyone who has been using a specific reel for 30+ years is unlikely to ever be entirely happy with any reel that's not exactly the same as the ones they are so utterly familiar with. I found exactly the same with a reel lacking an anti-reverse switch. I managed to use it perfectly well and it was an excellent reel However, forty years of habit meant that I couldn't stop myself reaching for a switch that wasn't there. In the end, I simply couldn't be bothered to force myself into unlearning something so ingrained.
It's not a matter of habit - in the same week I'm quite happy to use different fs's, a pin loaded to wind clockwise and a pin loaded to wind anti-clockwise. Adapting to a reel, if I want to is no issue. It's not a case of can't teach an old dog new tricks; more that you can't sell an old dog an inferior reel, and the many real, practical uses of optional anti-reverse have been explained on here a few times by those who make use of it.
I'm sure there are plenty of anglers who buy a reel for every rod and carry them like that. But I never carry float rods made up, and spare spools give flexibility about reel lines. I have spools of 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5lb for floatfishing and even different brands with different characteristics. As with the reel features, I don't want to be second-guessed by the makers, who might just be more interested in saving money and simplifying their product range than in giving me what I want.
I definitely don't agree that the small switch on the front drag I bought is just too small "for my liking". It's too small for the job, as it can't be operated ]with ease in good conditions, and proved impossible in poor ones eg with wet or cold hands and a fish on. Including a switch that can't be used as it's made pointlessly too short is simply bad design and can't be pinned to my liking it or not, except in the sense that I like things that work.
I don't feel berated, and I hope you don't either. Yes, lots of modern gear is better. And yes, there are some nostalgic sticks in the mud. But there are also cases where the new, improved product turns out to be only new, and the drive to sell us new kit can entail changing things that work perfectly well and fixing things that aren't broken.