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02/23/12

fly fishing hawaii:

the abel switch.

 

so i finally got my hands on the new abel switch reel.  the abel company, as many in our little industry seem to do these days, kind of put the advertising cart way before the actual production horse.  four long months after the initial delivery date it arrived.  i do have to say, though, it was well worth the wait.  the abel switch and spey reels are a refreshing addition to the ever diminishing click and pawl reel market.  the switch reel is perfect for 7-9 wt. single hand rods (especially fiberglass ones) as well as lighter switch rods.  best of all for me, like all abels, they are made to stand up to the rigors of the harsh saltwater environment in which i spend most of my time.

 

for those not in the know, a click pawl reel is one where the only “drag” is produced by a triangular “pawl” which is held against gear like teeth on the spool by a wire spring.  the “drag” can be adjusted first by using two pawls instead of just one and by adding tension to the spring.  that’s quite a long explanation for such a simple thing.  this is what it looks like anyway, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

 

 

 

pretty simple mechanically speaking.  as you can imangine there is not a lot of drag produced and it is not designed  to.  all this system does is basically keep the line from overrunning  when line is being stripped out.  the rest of the “drag” is applied by palming the rim of the spool (and, for some, with their fingers whacking the handle) .  why is this better than a reel with a drag... well in short, functionally it’s not.  but it is how fly reels were made for over a century before the advent of more modern reels with assorted drag mechanisms.  interestingly enough, we get quite a few new to fly fishing customers in the shop that think that this is how all fly reels are still made despite the fact that click pawl reels represent a very small minority of the reel market today.

 

 

the click pawl reel is also probably where that outgoing sound that many anglers love originated.  on most modern drag reels (any kind of fishing reel) the outgoing click is added to the reel by the manufacturer but really has no function except to please the anglers need to hear it.  i know, there are some charter captains that use the sound to let them know what’s happening on deck and, i guess, it helps the novice spin fisher to know when to stop reeling when fighting a fish (although they always do seem to keep reeling anyway).  for the most part, it is just an added on noise maker.  one has to wonder if our predecessors came up with a silent fly reel originally would reels even have an outgoing click today and would fishermen even care.  anyway it is what it is and that’s all i’m going to say about that.

 

as for why one would want to fish a click pawl reel?  for one thing in many freshwater situations (lake wilson for example) and with fish that don’t run very far or very fast, a drag simply is not needed.  the click pawl reel can feed that minimalist need we often feel in this overkill, cluttered, over the top world we live in.  bonefish is a different story.  believe me using a click pawl reel on bones can get sketchy real fast if you are not really careful and on your game.  you will probably lose a few more fish because of it, but isn’t the challenge a large part of why we all started fly fishing in the first place and what keeps us all in for life?  if you haven’t used a click pawl reel before, i will tell you this there is simply no better way to feel connected to the fish you seek and to admire its speed and power than being connected to it with a click pawl reel.

 

for me, it is simply the passion for all things fly past, present, and future. click pawl reels have, and always will have a place in my large and ever expanding arsenal.  the abel switch reel is a perfect blend of taking current materials and tecnologies into the future while giving a little nod of approval to the past.  to me, this reel sums up what fly fishing is really all about.  if all of this traditional, purist, spiritual fly fishing crap makes no sense to you, that’s cool... just listen to this:

 

want one now?

 

the abel switch reel beauty in simplicity.  stay tuned to see all the havoc this little reel reeked on the flats this week... good times.

 

clay.


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