JRS Design Fly Reels
One of my other passions is fly fishing. I have been making my own rods since 1966, first with fiberglass blanks, later with graphite blanks and later still from bamboo. In 2008 I had a chance to fish for Atlantic Salmon at the rapids of the St. Mary's River. I noticed, based on what the other fly fishermen were using, that I was woefully under-reeled. I knew that I wanted to fish these waters again. That's when I decided that a good anti-reverse reel was what I needed. The available used salmon reels were either too expensive or too small. After looking and being dissatisfied with what was available on the used market, I decided to design and make my own, based on what I had seen on the internet and elsewhere. I used a friend's lathe to make the rings and spool. All the other parts were made on my Sherline lathe. It weighs 12 ounces and workes like a charm with my 8-1/2' 8 weight bamboo rod.

My first anti-reverse salmon reel
(Loosley based on the reels of Edward vom Hofe).

Specifications.

Outside diameter 3.5"

Width of spool 1.5"(length of pillars).

Weight 12.2 oz., 14.2 oz. loaded with line and backing.

Capacity: 31 feet #9 F shooting head on 90 feet of Airflo ridge 30# floating running line and 200 yards of 30# micron backing. This leaves on average 1/8th inch clearance under the reel foot pillars. Designed for lines 7, 8, and 9. I designed this reel with the St. Mary's Rapids at The Soo in mind (200 yards of 30# test backing required) for use with an 8-1/2 foot 8 wt. bamboo rod. The combination is almost perfect.

The rims and spool are 6061 aluminum, the reelfoot is 2024 high strength aluminum (future reelfeet will all be 7075 aluminum), the posts and crank are 304 (18-8) stainless steel as are all the internal parts except for the cork and aluminum disk brake pad and the 1.9" brass brake disk. The sides, handles and brake nob are Delrin and all the screws are 304 stainless steel. Bearings are Delrin but this may change after more field testing. The braking can be set from very light to very heavy or anything in between. This first reel is right hand retrieve. Successive reels will be interchangeable.

This reel was designed to be used with Running line/Shooting head cominations. As such the reel does not come with an extra spool. Simply carry the extra heads that you think you will need. This reel is intended mainly for fresh water use and is not anodized. This reel also has a provision for switching out of anti-reverse. This is somewhat less than successful and under normal fishing circumstances, un-necessary in my opinion, and successive reels may not have this feature.

 

Prototype number 2 and 3

Below are images of a slightly smaller and lighter version of the 3.5" x 1.5" anti-reverse reel. The specs on this lighter version are:

Diameter: 3.5 inches
Width (length of stainless steel pillars): 1.25 inches for prototype #2 and 1.375" for prototype #3. The side plates are .125" thick Delrin on .350" wide 6061-T6 aluminum rings, as in the above reel.
Weight: with 6061 aluminum spool, 10 oz.; with Delrin spool, 9 oz., line weight (backing, shooting line, and shooting head) is 2 oz.
Capacities: 31'#9 floating shooting head on top of 150' of .029 (47#) Varivas floating shooting line on top of 150 yds. of 30# Micron backing. It appears that it could take 160 yds of 30# Micron. No anti-reverse disengagement.
 
The spool is made of black Delrin and is 1.35" wide. The brake disk is .062" thick 7075 aluminum and the secondary shaft is 7068 aluminum instead of stainless steel. The Delrin spool and the high strength aluminum brake disk and secondary shaft account for a weight reduction of approximately 2 ounces. The reel is convertible from right hand wind to left hand wind but must be disassembled to make the change. It is not dual mode. The 7068 aluminum is a new (2000) very strong corrosion resistant alloy that is considerably harder than some brasses. The aluminum spool utilizes a full length Delrin sleeve bearing.

1.25 reel front
1.25 reel endview

 

Prototype number 4
(Sort of in the style of the early SeaMasters and other by-gone A-R's.)
This is my latest anti-reverse salmon reel. The use of 1/8" thick carbon fiber sheet material makes this reel possible. The carbon fiber back plate is stiff enough to support a cantilevered main shaft, yet is light in weight. With a composite spool made with 3 separate pieces of 7075 Aluminum, this reel, without line, weighs 9.2 ounces and balances very nicely with my 908 graphite rod.
Diameter: 3.375" Width (length of stainless steel pillars) 1.375". Subsequent versions will be 3.5" diameter with 1.25 inch long pillars.
Capacity: 200 yds. 30# Micron, WF7F or 200yds 30# Micron, 50 yds. .022 Varivas and 30 ft. #9 F shooting head. A real advantage of this reel is the easy interchangeability of spools. While not as convenient as some modern reels, backing off the brake adjust knob permits removal of the crank plate. Removing the crank plate and a couple of brake components permits easy removal of the spool and replacement with another. Right hand retrieve but convertibleto left hand with minimal disassembly. This reel seems to be at its maximum width to diameter ratio. A more comfortable spool width would be 1.25 inches on this 3.375 inch frame. This would reduce the amount of 30# test backing to around 170 yds. Subsequent reels of this type will be built with 1.25 inch long pillars on 3.5 inch frames. My goal is to make smaller, moderate-weight yet robust anti-reverse reels specifically designed for 7, 8 and possibly 9 weight rods. Stronger rods require a larger spool diameter in order to compensate for the increased line pressure possible with a beefier rod. Larger diameter reels provide more mechanical advantage and thus reduce cranking effort when the fish is in close, where you need the most control.



 
Left photo below shows the rigid skeleton that is basic to all my reels. Right photo shows most of the parts of above reel.

Inquiries to: john@jrsdesign.net.