A Fly Reel for the California Surf

Red Truck Diesel 7/8

The Red Truck Diesel Fly Reel

     Seems every year I meet more fly fishers on the beach. You recognize the initiated. The ones using the right gear. But then a considerable number who are just getting their feet wet, flogging into the wind and surf with their 5wt trout rods (perch are small, right?) and up against the learning curve wondering, asking the question: What might be the ‘right’ gear for this?

So I’m thinking it might serve to answer the question by outlining what I consider the ideal, all-around outfit for meeting the West Coast surf. Each item being integral to the whole, we’ll look at one item at a time. In my last post we considered effective terminal gear. In this one we’ll discuss what constitutes a good reel for the surf and take a look at the reel I’m using right now. I should qualify this by saying that I don’t shill for any tackle manufacturers, and refuse to endorse anything I don’t love. In my guiding work I get to try a lot of gear, and the cream does rise to the top, so, in the interest of improving my reader’s game, I’ll share what I’ve found, taking into consideration, function, form, and value. And my apologies to Red Truck Fly Fishing Co. for flogging their gear so mercilessly.

When true simplicity is gained. Showing adjustable click-pawl
drag and bulletproof hardened & ground center pin. 

Anybody who takes an expensive disc-drag reel to the beach and grinds the guts out of it within a few trips to the wet sand soon learns that a designated beach reel is the way to go. Considering the species of fish encountered in the California surf, my preference is a click-pawl, rim-drag reel, as this type is sufficient to the task while least affected by the inescapable sand that is the corrosive reality of the beach environment. Simple click-pawl reels have fewer mechanisms to retain and become damaged by sand and will rinse thoroughly after use. And there is no drag system as sophisticated and intelligent, as capable of nuance, as the human hand, fingers or palm, set against a reel rim. A profoundly simple braking system, involving a challenging and satisfying skill set. And I admit the mechanical scraw of the clicker when a good fish accelerates against it does provide an additional element of excitement. Our most plentiful quarry, barred perch, seldom “get you on the reel”, so drag isn’t really a factor with them, the clicker alone usually sufficient. But I routinely catch halibut and stripers on the click-pawl, rim-drag reel, no problem, and the occasional sporty leopard shark, four feet long or better – once, a 6-footer. In my own experience, a click-pawl reel gets the nod as a designated reel for West Coast beach fishing.                         

 I like gear that exhibits both workhorse functionality and timeless style. Function is first priority but, that covered, I admit an aversion to gear that makes me look like a spaceman (or stock car racer). We all have our quirks.  But you live with the gear you buy. You have to look at it while you’re using it. Aesthetics are important. So, not being a spaceman, I’m usually no consumer of fly reels that look like futuristic space gear. And, as makers compete for the ambiguous grail of lightness, some newer reel designs are so radically machined-out and spindly if you drop them once they are toast. So much for the future. You can only remove so much aluminum.

I met the Red Truck Diesel reels when I saw something that looked like a Spey-sized Hardy Marquis mounted to Jack Mitchell’s Spey rod. He said he loved the reel. It was so well-crafted and elegant I couldn’t quit looking at it. Quality, simplicity, timeless styling. It was everything I like in a fly reel.

The Red Truck Diesel reel sports an ample, well-shaped
winding knob, an important feature in the surf where hands are
often wet and slippery.  

A fairly new tackle company based in the Bay Area, Red Truck Fly Fishing Co. is committed to offering a quality line of elegantly designed gear that functions as good as it looks. Red Truck offers the Diesel reel in five sizes, matched to appropriate line weights: 0/2; 3/4; 5/6; 7/8; & Spey. The timeless design of these reels is a perfect match to fine bamboo or glass, as well as graphite rods.

As a reel for beach fishing, sized right for the most popular line weights used in the surf, the 7/8 Red Truck Diesel is about as close to perfect as I’ve found. I like 30lb test mono backing on my beach reel because, unlike braid, it doesn't soak up and hold saltwater that will corrode the spool, and the 7/8 Diesel holds enough to handle a bigger fish that might want to run some line off. And for those throwing lines heavier than 8wt, the Diesel Spey sized reel fills the bill.

Red Truck Fly Fishing Co. also builds a line of fine rods, with several models of particular interest to beach anglers. In my next post we’ll take a look at the Red Truck 5110-4, 11’ 5wt (140-280grain) 4 piece switch rod destined to become a star on the California beach scene. 

You can check out the full Red Truck line here: http://redtruckflyfishing.com/