Martin Caddis Creek Fly Fishing Reel, Reinforced Aluminum Spool with Push Button Release

I ordered this fly reel to incorporate into a piece of wall art for my fly fishing office. This reel is mounted to a wood plaque that displays two hand tied flies and an old bamboo fly rod. I wasn’t expecting much at the cost of $23 when I ordered it, however; after unpacking, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the thing actually works! It’s also built relatively well. It’s built better than most Chinese made products. I am a long time fly fisher, now at the age of 69 and having learned how to fly fish at the age of eleven. I own many fine fly reels. Some costing $200 - $450 but most cost well over $500 and some are custom reels costing $1100+. If you have a youngster who wants to learn how to fly fish, THIS IS A GREAT LITTLE REEL for them to learn with. Pair it with an inexpensive fly rod and they can then graduate to finer rods and reels if they wish to do so. Don’t get me wrong. More expensive rods and reels most certainly fish better and they’re made of higher quality components, however; getting into fly fishing can be an expensive venture to say the least. This reel is a wonderful place to start. Even if it doesn’t last, it will get anyone through the learning period. And it won’t cost you an arm or leg.

This little reel is what I learned on and I've never had any problems with it. It catches fish and is built well enough to bring in trout from streams and rivers season after season. I've caught a number of smallies on this reel from streams and lakes. I wouldn't try to pull in ten pound fighters with this reel, so have good judgment in this regard. Going after large-mouth is probably not such a terrific idea. Just be gentle with this reel and it'll last for years.The basic functions of a halfway decent beginner's fly reel are all here:* at least a basic level of durability (aluminum frame, aluminum spool, and generally good build quality)* it stores the line just fine* old-school metal click-and-pawl is durable and works just fine; no adjustment--just on or off (if you feel like you need full-fledged drag, then this is not the reel for you)* the spool can be palmed to regulate line play-out* it comes pre-spooled with about $10 worth of backing, running line, and leaderThe line is cheap stuff, but when you're just learning, it'll do the job and you get to see how a fly reel is supposed to be set up, more-or-less. You might want to replace the 2-4lb monofilament leader with a length of 10lb monofilament (2lb seems quite a bit too light for this application). The pre-spooling gets you out on the water right away as a beginner, which is pretty exciting. All for less money than just a few decent flies. It's a good idea to unwind the reel and reel in the line slowly, under a bit of tension from your fingers, and moving it back and forth to get it to lie on the spool a bit flatter than the way it comes out of the box. You'll thank yourself later for doing this.The worse thing I can say about this reel is that when I opened the package and inspected the reel and line, I noticed that the nail knot joining the leader and running line was solid, but that the tag-ends had been left too long and would not fit through the guides. I just took my nippers and snipped off the excess. Problem solved.I've since moved on to a more expensive reel, but for a low-cost reel that I still use alongside my new rig, the CC65 is a damn fine value. Five stars.

Good quality for the money.The arbor is very small and makes winding tedious.

As described, good economical reel, does the job

I have used this reel with my 9ft. Fly rod, it is great, no issues at all. I highly recommend this fly reel.

Nothing fancy, just needed to replace a reel. This came with everything I needed for a 5/6 weight rod. I have had reels with a lot less going for them than this reel and still caught plenty of fish. The fly line cast well (I am not sure but I think it is just a level line, so no double taper or weight forward). The leader is standard knotless leader that goes to 5x. I cut it back to about 3x and added new tippet. I also clipped off the nail knot attaching the leader to fly line and retied (had a bad fish loss for trusting manufacturers knots). The reel itself is metal, can be switched for left or right handed people, has adequate backing, and store the line well. It does not have fighting drag, but if this your first try at fly fishing, you should learn how to fight a fish without drag anyway. It will handle the trout, bass and bluegill you hunt with it. It has good balance. It is the type of reel I dreamed of having 35 years ago, instead of the plastic one that came with my Shakespeare fiberglass rod combo. All this reel owes anyone is to store the line without it coming off when you don't want it to, and this reel does that.I had a good time using this reel to brush up on some of the skills I had neglected over the years, and I know it will be a good learning reel for others.Tight lines

I like that it was delivered 2 days early.What I didn’t like was that I must have gotten somebody’s RETURN. The box was not whole and was scotch taped together. Item appears to be unused and clean, BUT I DONT APPRECIATE GETTING A PACKAGE THAT LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE’S REJECTION. You need to get your peoples heads in the right place.Otherwise, it appears to be useable.

Unfortunately, it is just not a well-engineered fly reel. There is a sizable gap between the reel and the housing wherein the line gets caught and actually wrapped around the internal gears. I was forced to take it apart to remove the line. Clearly it can and likely will happen again. I would not recommend buying this fly reel.