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[font "Times New Roman"]I have a Ross Flystart 4. The Ross website says it will handle all fresh water / warm water / and light salt fishing conditions. In short what I want to know is can I use that reel for “schoolie” stripers on an 8wt rod? I don’t want to kill my reel (I know it is not really all that good but still) and I don’t really understand what is needed for a saltwater reel. All I know is that a freshwater reel, as I understand it, will not hold up in the salt ( thought I don’t really know why.) [/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]So any how [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Ross Flystart 4 = saltwater for stripers [cool][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]OR[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Flystart 4 + satwater + small striper = bad day / broken reel [frown][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]thanks for your help [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]peace [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]jim [/font]
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Hey Jim
I'm not familiar with the make of reel you are using nor haveI fished for stripers,but, I have been flyfishing saltwater flats for about 8yrs with "freshwater" trout gear from the UK and so far not lost a fish due to equipment failure (several lost to "operator error" but we live and learn!!).
I would suggest that if you do use your current set up, then the most important thing is ensuring that you wash it gently but thoroughly in freshwater afterwards. Make sure the drag is fully up when you wash the reel and pay special attention to your rod guides. Dont forget to was and dry the flies too!! My gear has stood the test of time (except the Scierra 8# saltwater rod!!) consider yourself warned about scierra and really never waste oxygen on their "customer Service" or guarentees!!
Sorry for the outburst!
Good luck, tightlines and welcome to another addiction...
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Salt water rusts steel rather quickly and can pit aluminum.
Chromated steel will have mild resistance to rusting in salt water.
Some stainless steels will not rust in salt water.
Hard anodized aluminum will rather good resistance to corrosion. Soft anodized aluminum will have some resistance to corrosion.
When it says that the reel has light salt fishing condition I would interpert that to say that the materials have mild resistance to the corrosion but you darn well had better rinse it and dry it throughly each day as already suggested. Critical parts would be the disk brake and the shaft for the spool and inside the spool bearing surface.
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I hope I can put a little light on the subject for you. If you are going to get into saltwater fly fishing, purchase a saltwater fly reel. You can fish saltwater with any reel but it won't last long. Tibor makes the very best and are around $700. You wont ever buy another reel the rest of your life. I am a flats fly fishing guide and have gone through many reels solving the issue. Today there are many lesser priced, machined aluminum reels on the market in the $250 price range and they are not bad for small game. The problem is you don't know when you are going to catch a big fish. When you do, what will be left of a cheap reel is a paper weight and nice conversation piece. Saltwater fish slam the fly and haul ass. That is why the 'startup' on a reel is important. Many reels have backlash in them and that will break your leader. There are a few kinds of drag systems. I like the cork disc. It holds up to 200 lb tarpon and that's good enough for me. Finish has been covered in other replies. Machined aerospace aluminum is the material of choice. It is deemed 'aerospace' for a reason so take advantage of it. I use only Large Arbor reels. I put Big reels on all of my fly rods. They hold more backing and this allows my fly line to be reeled in a larger dia. Take a look at Tibor Reels and I am sure you will be glad you did.
Capt. Pat
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