SA LARGE ARBOR CONCEPT 2
Steven Dally goes for a budget trout reel from Scientific Anglers

So often we look at all the glamour goodies out there in fly fishing dreamland and we forget how good some of the budget end products are. Most of us lust after reels with space-age drag systems, machined to exacting tolerances from a block of high grade aluminium and gleaming with a heavy coat of anodizing.

They are beautifully made and the result of hours of painstaking design and testing. But it might be something of overkill for a target species, which will rarely find the start of your backing.
In setting up a first outfit for Julianna we started with the premise that a reel was just a convenient holder for the line for most of our local trout fishing, but it still had to work and contend with some very large fish.

The SA Concept Large Arbor 56LA seemed to fit the bill from a long list of contenders. For a start its composite polymer graphite frame and ported frame and spool means a lightweight reel, though not as light as some more expensive, radically ported designs. It has a neat businesslike appearance with a minimum of flash.

As far as stats go, the 56LA weighs in at 5oz with a 3.5 inch diameter. The spool holds 110 yards of 20 lb backing under a 5-weight floating line. The big brother is the 67LA which has a full frame, rather than an open frame, and will hold 200 yards of 20 lb, with an 8-weight floater on top.

The Large Arbor design is handy in increasing your retrieval rate, handy for any learner coming to terms with the switch from conventional to fly tackle.

On the water it works well, its compression disk drag system seems smooth, having already been testing on several hard running tailwater trout. It has even coped with an ‘Ozark Bonefish’, a hard pulling golden carp, without so much as a groan.

One minor issue is that the raised drag button seems hard to get a grip on and despite a +/- marking for more or less drag, in practice it becomes a matter of trial and error to workout which way to turn the button.

The Large Arbor Concept reels are certainly worth considering for backup or starter reels. We may all move on to more glamorous models in the future but there is always a place for a simple, functional and relatively cheap reel in your bag.

Concept 2 56LA fly reels retail in Australia for about $150.
Distributed by Mayfly Tackle: 03 9899 0034.