Fly Fisherman's Best New Euro Reel for 2022

When you balance your rod and reel, you place the rod on top of your index finger near the end of the foregrip—just where your forefinger might be while actually fishing. This is your balance point. With a regular fly rod, you’d want the rod to balance in the level position. With a Euro rod, you want to find a reel that will balance the rod with the tip tilting upward, because this is a closer approximation of how you’ll hold the rod while fishing. Balancing your rod is important in all types of fly fishing, but especially important in Euro nymphing because of the constant, repetitive nature of high-stick angling. A good balance can really help reduce fatigue.

The new Tilt Euro Nymph Reel from Redington helps you create that perfect balance with three removable 1-ounce weights inside the reel. Start with all three weights in the reel, begin the balancing process, and remove the weights one at a time using the Allen key that comes with the reel. When you find that tilted balance, you’re ready to start fishing. The reel loaded with all three weights is 5.7 ounces. Most 10-foot Euro rods will require two weights in the reel. Long, 11-foot rods often need all three weights.

The Tilt is a machined aluminum reel with a closed frame to contain thin-diameter lines, and has a compact carbon fiber disk drag that goes from delicate to train-stopping in one revolution. The smoothest drag and lowest startup inertia always come on every reel when it’s turning at its maximum circumference, so Tilt reels are 4 inches in diameter, and they have super large arbors so you don’t have to waste time and money adding hundreds of yards of backing that you’ll never use.

This reel is a great idea, but not the first time we’ve seen removable weights in a Euro reel. The Sage ESN reel has removable weights in half-ounce increments, but it’s $425. With Redington’s $250 price point, it’s possible to buy an extra spool for $125, load it with a standard weight-forward floating line, and carry it with you in case there is a hatch, or an opportunity to make long casts with streamers.