Scientific Anglers Concept 2 - 58 Fly Reel

The Concept 2 fly reel by Scientific Anglers is the prepacked reel that come with their trout or panfish rod/reel combos. As a newbie in fly fishing, I was advised several times, by folks more experienced than I, that the reel you choose for fly fishing is not of great importance. Until you start taking bigger fish, the reel is more of a line holder than a part of the actual fish catching and landing process. In fact, as a handline fisherman, my inclination is very strong to hold the line directly and forget the reel, so this works well for me.

The Concept 2 is nothing fancy. It is made of a hard plastic with a few metal pieces attached. The center gear has metal teeth and the center post if a sturdy metal cylinder, but the overall construction is certainly plastic and lightweight.

The reel came spooled with a ton of backing, weight forward floating fly line, and a tapered leader. With a little tippet and some flies, it's a pretty solid little combo for someone like me who is just starting out with little gear.

Last night was the first chance I had to give it a try, and initially, it worked like a charm. The drag settings are tiny, tiny increments and don't seem to do a great deal in changing the actual tension on outgoing line, but like I said, my expectations for what a reel should do for me are low. However, after about twenty minutes of casting and a few intervals of reeling the line all the way back in, the drag "kicked in" and the tension on the line locked down tight. The problem was, the drag adjustment now wouldn't go the other way, and I could not get the drag to loosen. I gave up, packed everything in, and hiked around for a little while before heading home to take a closer look in detail. But here is the strange part - between when I packed it in, and when I broke the whole thing open at home, the drag corrected itself somehow, and was back to the superlight resistance that it had been when I first received the reel. So right now, I am not ready to complain and send it back, but I'm also not quite impressed with the consistency. I'll use it a few more times to make sure that I am not the failing piece of the puzzle, but I wouldn't yet say I am happy with it.

Changing the reel to suit my left handedness:

1. See the center piece that looks like a smiley face? Pinch the "smile" piece and the spool will detach from the reel housing.

2. Set the spool off to the side.

3. There is a center gear, and a semicircle metal clip keeping it in place on the center post. Remove the metal clip carefully, remove the center gear, and simply flip it over. Return the metal clip to it's spot on the center post and you are good.



 

4. Remove the line, and re-wind it for the new retrieval orientation.