Click Pawl

[Smalma]

Funny that Salmo g should mention holding the line in a pocket. About 25 years I was hiking into the Sauk for a day of chasing bull trout. After a mile or so of brush crashing I reached the choice run I was looking for. Unfortunately, as scrambling down the bank my toe caught a root and I tumbled head or heels landing on my rod breaking it between the cork and the first stripping guide. After a few choice words I was preparing to hike back to the truck. I said what the heck why not try to improvise. Took the reel off the rod and put it in my vest pocket, restrung the rod and stripped off 50 feet of line and waded into the top of the run. While certainly not pretty casting I could get the fly into the water and fish reasonably effectively. A couple hours later was headed back to the truck after hooking 10 fish, going 8 for 9 on the bulls and after some touch and go lost a steelhead at the bank, the fly just popped out (too much pressure?).

While I would not recommend using your pocket to hold the line (or reel) and certainly not breaking your rod I think that approach is certainly doable. Just one of those crazy days on the river over 65 years of chasing those crazy fish.

Curt

 

[Michael1227]

Those Hardy Marquis reels have some good fish catching music to them. It let's all the other anglers know "you got one" for a mile radius.

I love the sound of my clickers and always give a fish a chance to pull some line off the reel, but Fred who is usually maybe 40-50 yards away says he never hears it.

 

[Dogsnfish]

I love the sound of my clickers and always give a fish a chance to pull some line off the reel, but Fred who is usually maybe 40-50 yards away says he never hears it.

I love clickers but the noise is all over the place. I have older Abel TR's that just purr, to the other extreme of the Saracione GP's that I use for steelhead that are almost too loud even for me. I had a steelhead run on me this year and a buddy said he could hear my reel while he was walking across a busy highway.

 

[Michael1227]

I love clickers but the noise is all over the place. I have older Abel TR's that just purr, to the other extreme of the Saracione GP's that I use for steelhead that are almost too loud even for me. I had a steelhead run on me this year and a buddy said he could hear my reel while he was walking across a busy highway.

Was he walking across a busy highway?
The one "clicker" I have that is too loud is a old Cortland Rim Fly with plastic pawls. I don't use that one.

 

[flybill]

Funny story, and I can't recall who it was, but one of the guys I know actually disabled the "clicking" sound on his reel, so that others wouldn't realize he had a fish on! Once people knew he had a fish on, they would come down and fish closer to him.. worked many times, unless they noticed the bend in the rod! True story!

 

[Brute]

I have one click pawl reel on a 7'6" 3wt...I love it. I learned to palm the spool on spinning reels a long time ago to finesse the drag, just seems natural on a fly reel.

 

[TicTokCroc]

Couldn't post this while I was on my phone on the ferry to Bainbridge so when I got home I took these phone pictures. Many years ago I had an elderly customer at the shop who for a number of years rented the cabin on Ralph Caufman's property up The Frying Pan for 3 months each summer. We became good friends although I was probably 50 years his junior. Art Wilson and his wife Mary were longtime friends and angling companions of Joe and Mary Brooks. When Joe passed away in 1972 his wife Mary gave away his cherished equipment to friends he loved fishing with. Thus Art became the owner of Joe's bonefish outfit, one that he used on several early "American Sportsman" tv shows during its iconic 20 year history. One day during the last year Art was alive to fish The Pan he arrived at the shop to give me a gift, a nine foot nine weight Orvis Shooting Star and a JW Young made Beaudex Salmon reel. Here is that reel. Note the highly machined disc drag and space-age materials that Joe relied on to catch multiple bonefish and permit for the cameras. For those of you who believe in click and pawls, strike indicators and have naturally never heard of Joe Brooks I will offer this. You will be rewarded by taking the time to read it.

https://www.anglersjournal.com/people/last-chance

`Note the author. You might have heard of him.

View attachment 92627View attachment 92628

Wow, small world, got some family in that article.

 

[Michael1227]

Funny story, and I can't recall who it was, but one of the guys I know actually disabled the "clicking" sound on his reel, so that others wouldn't realize he had a fish on! Once people knew he had a fish on, they would come down and fish closer to him.. worked many times, unless they noticed the bend in the rod! True story!

My neighbor, I call him the "kid" (he's 60) uses a Battenkill Disc. He asked me if the click could be turned off, so I opened it up and disengaged the pawl. He fished with it awhile even after my sermon about fly fishing reels should make a clicking sound. He didn't like how functioned in the 'silent' mode.

 

[Dogsnfish]

My neighbor, I call him the "kid" (he's 60) uses a Battenkill Disc. He asked me if the click could be turned off, so I opened it up and disengaged the pawl. He fished with it awhile even after my sermon about fly fishing reels should make a clicking sound. He didn't like how functioned in the 'silent' mode.

I am with kid. I bought a reel that was silent and it just did not seem right, especially with a fish on. To each their own I guess.

 

[G_Smolt]

I gots a shitpile of clickyclicky reels, some old and expensive with the handles on the wrong side, some newer and with the handle on the correct side. I used to fish em on spraypoles a lot (especially for steelhead), but I got tired of them breaking or fucking up mid-fish. I've had issues with nearly every Hardy I've owned (perfects, bougles, st johns, st georges, marquis, etc), as well as a few of the farlows and jw youngs. The only (ONLY) clickyclicky reel I have that hasn't had any issue is the Abel spey.
I still fish clickyclicky reels for steelhead because they don't really fight, but if I'm fishin' for Kings or big-ass rainbows, you can bet there's an adjustable drag reel on my fishpole.

 

[flybill]

I gots a shitpile of clickyclicky reels, some old and expensive with the handles on the wrong side, some newer and with the handle on the correct side. I used to fish em on spraypoles a lot (especially for steelhead), but I got tired of them breaking or fucking up mid-fish. I've had issues with nearly every Hardy I've owned (perfects, bougles, st johns, st georges, marquis, etc), as well as a few of the farlows and jw youngs. The only (ONLY) clickyclicky reel I have that hasn't had any issue is the Abel spey.
I still fish clickyclicky reels for steelhead because they don't really fight, but if I'm fishin' for Kings or big-ass rainbows, youcan bet there's an adjustable drag on my reel.

Send us a list of what you don't want.. or just to torture me!

 

[G_Smolt]

They're not going away, they're gonna just sit in the gear room until folks with more money than sense drive the price up even further.

Pretty sure I paid less than $175 for the last perfect I bought, but it's been awhile.

 

[Divad]

Pre pandemic I was seeing used Hardy Marquis go for $60-80, the good ones too with the dual springs not the ring tensioner. Now they’re more than double that.

I’ve never had a clicker break or fudge up mid pull and the chum took multiple backing runs in the salt. Develop a good regime of re-greasing and they’ll last a long time w/o fault.

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

Pretty sure I paid less than $175 for the last perfect I bought, but it's been awhile.

I'll give ya $250 for it. You'd be up almost 50% on your initial investment, I'd be up a sweet clickyclicky - it's a win win!

 

[G_Smolt]

I’ve never had a clicker break or fudge up mid pull... Develop a good regime of re-greasing and they’ll last a long time w/o fafault.

I clean and re-grease once a year. Doesn't help with pawls flipping and/or springs breaking mid-run.

Nbd, really. I fish Abel super10s/super12s or loop megaloops for fish that pull, clickys for fish that don't.

 

[_WW_]

he might have suggested calling the reel a "clicker." One word, two syllables. That could have caught on and wouldn't have been terribly inaccurate.

"Clickers" is in heavy rotation with the younger guys...they're always in a hurry.

I love clickers but the noise is all over the place.

Of all the clickers by the 'name' manufacturers that I have tried, the Hardy's were the weakest and some of them known to disengage on fast runs. I think the gear is too small on some of them.

Hearing somebody loudly stripping out line to cast on a small trout stream or early in the morning on a foggy lake....just seems a little too 'loud' for my tastes.

You are obviously too close.

So here's some silent clicky looking reels from the 1930s. Poacher's reels.

This one was made for Farlow by Young.


This one was made for Hamlin by Young.


Here something you may not have seen, magnetic drag by Johnson.

 

[Stonedfish]

Quick question regarding reel lube. I'm not much of a reel maintenance guy myself.
I've got a old Orvis click and pawl reel that I haven't used in a good 35-40 years. I'd like to put it back in service.
The current lube on the spindle is so old the best I can describe it, is it is almost tacky or sticky. The reel itself is in good shape but the spool barely spins its so gummed up.
What product do folks like to use for cleaning off old reel lube?
SF

 

[DanielOcean]

I love click pawl reels. The high cost of them is a bummer for me though. Only time I every purchased one was due to irrisponsibility. I recently found a much more cost friendly clicker from Leland that so far its well made.

 

[Divad]

That waxy thick grease @Stonedfish is on all the clicks, must of been the goto for manufacturers. I take it off with a toothbrush and dawn dish soap with hot water.

I re-grease monthly or at the latest bi monthly on the reels I use frequently in salt. The freshwater ones probably 3-4 times a yr.

Backups:

Currently in service:

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Quick question regarding reel lube. I'm not much of a reel maintenance guy myself.
I've got a old Orvis click and pawl reel that I haven't used in a good 35-40 years. I'd like to put it back in service.
The current lube on the spindle is so old the best I can describe it, is it is almost tacky or sticky. The reel itself is in good shape but the spool barely spins its so gummed up.
What product do folks like to use for cleaning off old reel lube?
SF

I use warm water mixed with vinegar, toothbrush, and Qtips.
The vinegar supposedly neutralizes the bad juju from the old grease.