Posted: 6/29/2026 11:55:26 AM EDT
|
Back story, I have a 5wt 9ft Hardy Zenith rod that has had a Ross Colorado on it for years. I have fished everything in Montana with it and done just fine. Obviously it is a bit much for little 4" trout and a bit lacking for 24" trout. But it works. I learned to fish on smaller rivers and never missed the drag. Now fishing on the Missouri I have hooked into some +20" trout and they will give you a run were drag might have helped but I made it work. Palming the reel might be a little more work but it feels more intuitive to me than turning a knob. I love my Ross Colorado. But I went it in early April to have some service done. It had a little wear on the clicker that I probably could have ignored. The received it April 16th. No confirmation email, no phone call about being logged into there system or anything. After a few weeks I started calling. All the phones go to voicemail, no one answers, no returned emails nothing. After weeks of calling I got one cooperate email return stating that it was received April 16th so I have that. I got one person in dealer services on the phone that said repair department was over worked, only service reels on the 1st of every month and said their phone system needed updating. But I am so frusted that I am moving on to a Lamson reel. Lamson answered their phone first ring with a real person. No BS. Rant over. I am considering Lamson Purist 2 or a Lamson Speedster S. Kind of have it narrowed down to these too. Really considered the Litespeed because it looks nice and I want to bee cool. But had to come down to earth and be real, I will never be cool. I kind of like the concept of sticking with SIMPLE click pawl. But I can see value in a drag system. Now would be good time to make the switch. Any input? |
|
I wish I caught enough big trout to help. My 5 wt is a simple pawl and I have yet to wish for a drag. Kinda fun getting to use my palm as the drag, occasionally. My boat was taking on water so I only got one pic. At least it was a free boat. Attached File |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
|
Originally Posted By DVCER: I wish I caught enough big trout to help. My 5 wt is a simple pawl and I have yet to wish for a drag. Kinda fun getting to use my palm as the drag, occasionally. My boat was taking on water so I only got one pic. At least it was a free boat. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/857/IMG_0595_jpeg-3786984.JPG That is a really nice sized Brook. Most Brook trout I get are much smaller. But We do have some good Rainbows up here. I didnt mean to have this one land on the rocks. I was trying to get a quick picture after netting and getting the fly out while he was still in the net. I should have just released him but tried to hold him with one hand while i took a picture. I should have known better. He was way to fat to get a hand around. Most good sized fish I honestly now just let go without a picture. I am ussually fishing alone and try to get them back in the water quickly. 
|
|
Nice fish. I catch 100 fishstick brookies to get one toad. Mainly W Colo, grand Mesa lakes. Mosquitos can be Alaska bad, but 50’ offshore, none. So I usually yak it. My Florida boat ended up in Colorado Attached File . Attached File |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
|
I have both, fish both and have landed large trout in NZ and Argentina on them. I have no problem fishing a quality click pawl reel for fish pushing 5-7 lbs. unless it is in fast water. For fast water I fish drag reels so I can focus on the fight and where I am wading. Fwiw, my favorite steelhead rod is a 5wt Spey with a Hardy Taupo, Princess, on it. That combo is so smooth and such a pleasure to fish. But a 7 lb steelhead is a stretch on it. Not the reals fault. |
