Backwinder Trout Fly Reel Review
The “Trout” model is the second offering by Backwinder of Norway and hipwader takes it for a good long test drive!
I was struck by three things when I opened the box that held this premium fly reel;1.Where is the case? 2.Where is the literature? 3.WOW this thing is gorgeous! As far as I know, this is a production reel and not a prototype. It would seem to me that some sort of diagram that describes assembly/cleaning and basic maintenance would be included~especially considering that this reel is not put together like 99% of the world’ fly reels! In place of any kind of protective case/pouch was a black fleece bag. This might not matter to most, but it struck me in the same way that getting a fly rod without a tube might. Oh well, what matters is performance, right? Not yet. If I am going to trust a reel to work for me in what little spare time I get to fish, I need to take a look inside, at least learn how the spool comes off! The only clue to this are the three finger notches that are on the inside of what looks like the spool, but are essentially a nut that holds the spool on. This is, at least as far as I can tell, the drag adjustment. Before I unscrewed it, I thought I’d have a look at how much adjustment there was in the drag. The range of adjustment is quite limited, probably less than 1/4 rotation and is not graduated with any way. Its easy to go from not enough, to too much with such a short throw. It also required a fair bit of force to move as well. A quick email to the Backwinder rep. in the US revealed that this is not a drag at all, rather an “overrun drag.” As the name suggests, it’s role is mostly to prevent overrun, drag is provided by palming or using thumb pressure on the outside of the spool. Turning this “inner ring” counterclockwise numerous times does eventually result in the spool coming off. It is now that you get to see the number of ball bearings in this reel, and how they’re housed.
Putting the spool back on is easy, but so too is cross-threading this inner ring when putting it back together. It struck me as being unusually difficult under good light while in my kitchen at home. What would happen in slightly less ideal conditions while fishing? O.K., “spool it up and go fishing” I thought. Another challenge. I positioned the reel in my line winder and had a closer look at the line guard. Its a polished piece if titanium wire and, due to it’s dimensions, it makes loading line evenly across it’s nice, wide spool almost impossible. 
It stops short of the moving spool by more than the thickness of the fly line. I’m guessing that this has been done so that line does not jam between the guard and spool, but how do you get line onto that side? Filling it under controlled conditions to capacity would probably result in some challenges onstream so I decreased the amount of backing to compensate. Loaded-up, ready to go fishing. Well, the Backwinder does fish well~and looks very good in the process! It did get lots of looks and admiring stares, if that kind of thing matters. (…and lets face it, there is some pride of ownership!) With one small exception (which I’ll describe in a second) it performed perfectly. Several chunky trout and bass were caught, a few taking a bit of line. It was very smooth. Line retrieval was quick, a great benefit of every large arbor reel. UNLIKE some large arbor reels, the Backwinder does feel like it means business. What do I mean by that? If you take a quick look at Backwinder’s focus on the building salmon reels to tame some of the biggest, wildest fish in Norway, you realize that this trout reel has the same heft and work ethic of it’s brethren. While skeletal in appearance, it’s very solidly built. I didn’t drop it (thank heavens!) but it looked as though it would survive some hard knocks. With the exception of the bearing housings (which are completely protected within the reel) the reel is all metal, even the knob/handle on the spool. On one occasion (after cranking in line numerous times changing fishing spots) I was playing a nice brown in fast water. As I struggled to keep the line tight, I quickly cranked in the slack line. I’m guessing what followed was a result of the line piling up on the left side of the spool. I was attempting to net the trout when I felt loose fly line on my right hand. 
Being a totally open spool at the top (no frame closing it/covering it) several coils of loose fly line simply fell off the side of it. Now, this only happened once but should a reel require such deliberate care when winding fly line in? The Backwinder rep. in the US sent me some promotional literature on the reel that states that the open-top spool and “V-shape” section is designed to prevent the fouling of the line, or rather that it will help the line right itself. According to Backwinder, “The foot is attached to one arm. This solution, together with the design of the line guide device, allows enough space for the line to freely run off without causing tangles, knots, and eventually overrun. Simply continue to pull the line off the reel and the tangle dissolves itself.”
The FINAL word,
This is an honest-to-goodness beautiful-looking fly reel. It’s large-arbor and multiple ball bearings make for a smooth running, quick retrieval
machine. If aesthetics are high on your list of priorities, this reel should be a front-runner for you. Does it have a few idiosyncrasies…..sure it does, but how many rods/reels/waders have you used that you would change NOTHING on if you could? With reels, some people want “bullet-proof” jobs that can take a beating~appearance be damned. For others, beautiful-looking equipment is important if you’re going to spend allot
of money on quality gear anyway. I enjoyed fishing with this reel, even if I didn’t understand some of the rational behind it. It’s design is pretty ambitious and obviously reflects how devoted to some of their goals Backwinder really is. The tolerances are tight, the machining very impressive and the sort of “champagne” color looks great. If you’re in the market for a large arbor reel, it IS worth a look.
contact: backwinderus@comcast.net.
These reels have an introductory price of $330.00. Extra spool is $135.00. The color options are “Light Champagne” and “Midnight Blue”.
Related Link: Backwinder Reels
