Shakespear Beaulite German Dam

Started by Donnyboat, March 28, 2020, 03:51:38 AM

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Donnyboat

Thanks for your info WFgord, I measured the narrowest part of the spool, or inside of the spool, just under 3", if that helps, cheers Don.
Don, or donnyboat

Tiddlerbasher

#16
Sounds like a 3 to 5 wt reel. I have an old Battenkill II (somewhere?) click and pawl reel of a similar size fitted with a 4wt DT line. I used to love using it for small stream fishing - Until, one day, a grilse grabbed the fly and was hell bent on reaching the sea. I did stop it eventually but my hand was very sore and the split cane 8ft rod had a 'set' in it afterwards :(. Nowdays I only use disc braked reels - better protection for my hands, rod and tippet ;)

wfjord

It sounds like you measured the diameter of the backside of the spool.  Slightly less than 3", a 4wt line would be perfect for it.  A double taper line, being thicker overall, takes up more space than a weight forward line and can get crowded, necessarily reducing the amount of backing capacity --not that backing on a 4wt trout reel does much more than build up the arbor a bit.

As trout reels go, with my 4 and 5 weight setups I have my DT lines on reels that have slightly larger spool diameters than the reels I use with WF lines.

JW Young made Orvis' first Battenkill reels.  I have a Battenkill 5/6 made by BFR (British Fly Reels) and a Battenkill Mark III that was made by Hardy, but none made by Young.

wfjord

Quote from: Tiddlerbasher on March 30, 2020, 01:53:27 PM
Sounds like a 3 to 5 wt reel. I have an old Battenkill II (somewhere?) click and pawl reel of a similar size fitted with a 4wt DT line. I used to love using it for small stream fishing - Until, one day, a grilse grabbed the fly and was hell bent on reaching the sea. I did stop it eventually but my hand was very sore and the split cane 8ft rod had a 'set' in it afterwards :(. Nowdays I ony use disc braked reels - better protection for my hands, rod and tippet ;)

I know what you mean.  I have (probably too many) click & pawl reels from 3 up to 7/8 weight size, and I do prefer them in 3 to 5wt for trout fishing just because I feel they offer better protection for the tippet --but that's just my preference.  I also have disk drag reels from 5wt up to 9wt for heavier stuff.  I definitely prefer a palming rim on both click-pawl and disk drag reels.

Donnyboat

Thanks for all your info Men, I am learning all the time, I must admit, the spool looks a bit to full, I will make some adjustments with the underlay, many thank ever one, you have all been very helpful. I will try & use it soon, then report back, as the dams are getting very low here this time of the year, maybe the water temp maybe to hot for the trout, the fisheries did restock the dam last year trout, but I think if the water temp gets higher than 13 C, they die, there is a few red fin, in the Harvey weir, they are not native to Western Australia, so it is illegal to place them back in the water, we can catch as many as we wish, cheers Don.
Don, or donnyboat

wfjord

Best of luck with the Beaulite!

One thing I did with two or three fly lines long ago was to shorten the fly line a bit --snip a few yards off the rear.  I never cast an entire fly line while trout fishing so it's really no big deal and gives a little more room to build up the arbor with extra backing and a more relaxed fly line fit.  Only down side is if it's a double taper you loose one of them, but if you keep a permanent loop connection on the business end it can last as long as a good WF line.  Mine have lasted decades, but I keep all my lines stored indoors when not in use.

I think it would be great if they added a fly reel board to the alantani.com forums! :) :) :) :-X

Donnyboat

Thanks wFJord, yes a trout reel & line section on the forum could be handy, also cover knot tying, what is the best knot to join the under lay to the trout lines, cheers Don.
Don, or donnyboat

wfjord

#22
You're welcome Don.
To connect the backing to the fly line a nail knot is pretty standard on trout gear up to 5 weight. I've used it on lines up to 8 wt, too, without a problem, but feel much more confident using a standard Albright knot to connect backing with lines 7 wt and up for targeting larger fish like stripers or in saltwater.

I prefer tying my own knots over using welded loops and braided loops on fly lines; I use a monofilament loop to loop connection with the leader.

For fly line backing I've mostly used 20 & 30lb Cortland Micron (dacron) for nearly 40 yrs and keep going back to it .

Sharkb8

Good luck with the the fly fishing Don ,wfjord it would be a good idea for a section on fly fishing and maybe nottingham and Alvey reels as well.

Kim

Tiddlerbasher

Don,
For flyline backing I now only use hollow core braid, typically 50lb (anything thinner will tend to cut through welded loops). If the flyline is equipped with loops I blind splice a 'large' loop in the hollow core for a loop to loop connection. If no loop I sometimes splice the flyline directly into the hollow core and serve with ca. I have also taught myself to weld my own loops in flylines - with a decent controllable heat gun it isn't difficult.

Donnyboat

wFjord, thanks again, for you info, all very interesting.
      Kim thanks for chiming in, you are becoming a good contributor to the forum.
     Hi Chris, yes I can understand your preferance to thicker braid, not that we could cast that far, but the braid tends to float as well.
     My brother used to balloon fish @ Quoba, he would not use braid, as it would float to easy, with a sleight side wind, he would finish up with a big bow in the line, I will try your welding trick, I love a challenge, cheers Don.
Don, or donnyboat

Tiddlerbasher

Don, there's plenty of vids on youtube for welding loops - Rio do a pretty good video - a decent heatgun is the secret - oh and practice ;)
This is the one I use:
https://www.toolstation.com/wagner-furno-750-heat-gun/p68563

I also use it for shrink wrap, plastic welding (not just flylines ::)), any thing that requires a well controlled heat source, and the Wagner is very well controlled with spot on temperature.

Donnyboat

Thanks again Chris, I have an Ozito heat gun, 2,000 watt, Bunnings is Australia sell them, they are @ the lower end of the price range, but most Ozito gear is quite good, it has a few attachments with it, must check them out, I have only used it for heat sink, & removing old varnish from rods, & also heating some reels to remove screws, ozito cordless drills I find the chuck is good, for spinning post when pollishing them, know marks left in the post, like the drill I have now, also they grip the thinest of bits, I will check youtube for the line welding, cheers Don.
Don, or donnyboat

Tiddlerbasher

Don, a 'normal' heat gun ain't no good for welding plastic/fly lines - it has to be controlled heat in the 200 - 250 degrees C range. Check out the vids on youtube.

Gfish

Interesting. Sounds like fly reels have become much more of "a thing" since I last looked into them. Most of the emphasis(mine anyway) used to be on the rod. I remember line tech. seemed to take a few leaps forward in the 90's.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!