Putting together my new 3 wt set up for small and tight streams. Just bought a 3 wt 7’6” ANT Leafcutter. Now need a reel, line, and backing.
I keep reading that reels don’t really matter and to spend the money on line.
How are these selections:
Cayadutta reel 3/4 cheapo from FlyShack. Am I missing anything? Should I be spending more?
Cortland 333 Double Taper, 3 wt. I’ve read that double taper is better for short casting and light presentations. Does color matter?
Is 20# 100yd cheapo backing fine? Does color matter?
Posted by adventuriser
2 Comments
Reels on that caliber rod are pretty much just line holders. I went with a cheap click and pawl reel myself, it sure does hold the line well!
For backing, 20# is fine, again for this small of a setup you’re really just using it to fill the extra room in the reel’s spool before you add the fly line. Color is all aesthetics, get something that looks cool.
I have no experience with that Cortland line, I do use a double tapered line on my 7’6” 3wt fly rod and it works awesome. Definitely not rocketing out huge casts, I use a 5wt for that, but it’s laser accurate and very delicate of a presentation when paired with a lightweight fly!
Can’t say much about the line, but I’m fully of the opinion a 3wt reel is a line holder and cheaper is better. I have a $16 click pawl I’m considering for the one I just built because I have another cheapo reel which spins too freely on retrieval for my taste.