Cheap Saltwater Fly-Reels

[troutbum]

We take loads of anglers out Cosmoledo and Astove in the Seychelles where the primary target species are huge GTs on the flats. We've had clients land them to weights in excess of 100 lbs.
There is no subtlety with this fishing - we fish 100 to 120 monofilament or fluorocarbon tippets straight from the fly-line to the fly. The fish have to be held at all costs otherwise they charge off the flats and wrap the fly-line around the coral that lies on the fringes of the flats.
Our clients have tried a number of high-end reels and the only reel to stand up to the strain of these fish has been the Abel reels. Their drags have never failed on our trips where other "high end" reels have failed.

A number of our clients have been looking for a cheaper reel that would stand up to the riguors of fishing for GTs in the Seychelles.

My question to the forum is whether any anglers out there have tried cheaper reels that have stood up to real punishment in the salt. I'm talking about reels that would retail in the $250.00 to $300.00 range.

Regards

Dean
www.frontierflyfishing.co.za

[jake61198]

Dean,
I've had some GT's up to eighty pounds on, but have so far only landed fish up to around forty pounds. The Tibor reels will take it, and so far my Nautilus has held up, but I really can't think of a mid priced reel that would do the job. My question is, why would someone willing to spend many thousand dollars on a trip like that try to save a couple of hundred bucks on a reel that may or may not be able to take it.