From Fresh to Salt: Celebrating New Fly Reel Collaborations

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To read all of the nitty gritty, field-tested reviews of new fly-fishing gear for 2026, grab a copy of Gear Guide at the Outdoor Sportsman Group newsstand, through the Fly Fisherman Special Issues app available in the App Store and Google Play, or on newsstands today.

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Ross Machinist Fly Reel

If you like metal, you’ll love this reel . . . and we’re not talking about music. The special Machinist Edition Ross Cimarron is a creative testament to the skilled team that designs and builds all Ross (and Abel) reels in the Mayfly Outdoors factory in Montrose, Colorado. It’s a made-in-the U.S.A. legacy you can see in the clear-anodized frame and spool, which are not polished and colored, but show off the visible tool marks and paths from the CNC machining process.

According to Mayfly Outdoors CEO Jeff Wagner, preserving the raw aluminum look—but still anodizing it for durability—was a difficult challenge that showcased the abilities and creativity of everyone on the Ross team. The Machinist Edition has a laser-engraved Ross Reels logo; a textured Cerakote drag knob; and a hand-anodized Navy blue foot and black handle. Available in one size, 5/6.

$299 | mayflyoutdoors.com

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Hardy Averon & Euro Averon Fly Reel

The Hardy Averon is an ultra-lightweight, high-performance disk drag fly reel that bridges the gap between legacy and tradition, and modern design and materials.

This large-arbor, narrow-spool reel has an open, half-frame design on all the three smallest sizes, the 300, 5000, and 7000 models, which are for 2/3/4-, 4/5/6-, and 6/7/8-weight lines, respectively. The largest 9000 model for 8/9/10-weight lines has a fully caged design with the idea that it may be used mostly for Spey fishing, and you don’t want the thin running line to sneak out between the frame and the spool.

That’s also the idea behind the 5000 EN (Euro Nymphing) model, where there might be be no actual fly line at all—just thin monofilament line. The full-cage 5000 EN Averon also has an interchangeable weight system that allows you to fine-tune the balance of your outfit. A longer rod might require more weight in the reel to achieve a perfect in-hand balance for long days of reaching and high-sticking for perfect drifts.

The 5000 EN and standard 5000 size Averon spools are interchangeable and sold separately, so you can mix and match to find your perfect setup on any given day.

The Averon has a large and easy-to-adjust drag knob with definitive clicks between settings, but it’s unregulated, with no pre-determined settings. The 2.5X knob rotation allows for very fine adjustments. The Hardy Averon comes in titanium with gold accents or black with gunmetal accents.

$395-$450 | tridentflyfishing.com

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Redington Grande Limited Edition, Artist Series “Heavyweight Champion” Fly Reel

Redington’s first-ever collaboration with artist Alana Louise Lyons results in two of the most accessible, affordable limited-edition saltwater reels ever to hit the market. Alana has worked with brands like Patagonia and Yeti, and now with Redington has created Heavyweight Champion artwork, which is a bonefish scene on a Sea Foam Green 7/8/9 Grande reel and a tarpon etching in a Storm Gray color.

“I think every designer or illustrator’s dream is seeing their work on a physical product,” said Lyons. The Grande reel is a fully anodized, machined 6061-T6 aluminum saltwater reel with a sealed Super-Torque carbon drag system that has the power to stop any fish or break any line. It’s powerful. The Grande has been changed over the years and today has an oversized palming rim, increased backing capacity, and a larger handle and drag knob so you can make quick adjustments in the heat of battle.

$379.99, $429.99 | flyfishsd.com

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Abel SDX Fly Reel

Big dreams, big adventures, and big fish—that’s what the new Abel SDX is intended for. This high-capacity large-arbor reel has the fastest line pickup of any Abel reel in history, with 15.5" of line pickup per rotation in the SDX 9/11 model (5" diameter) and 17.5" per rotation in the SDX 12/14 (5.5" diameter). Both have spools 1.165" wide. With the SDX you can pick up line faster than ever before when a big fish is running at you, and you can exert maximum pressure and maximum control when you’re in the throes of battle.

The 12/14 ($1,299) weighs 11.05 ounces and is built for tuna, marlin, makos, and sailfish in open water. The 9/11 ($1,199) is just 10.5 ounces and can handle tarpon, arapaima, and roosterfish, and it’s a perfect size to handle Skagit lines for steelhead and salmon. Both can handle 400 yards of 50-pound-test gel-spun backing plus a fly line. We’ve got the new 9/11 spooled up and ready to tackle GTs at St. Brandon’s Atoll.

The sealed drag system is based on the famed Abel Sealed Drag Saltwater (SDS), with alternating stacked carbon and stainless-

steel disks for smooth, powerful drag tension. The fully caged frame is rigid and lightweight for intense saltwater combat and is available either ported or solid. Available colors include Gloss Black, Deep Blue, Deep Green, or Platinum, or any of Abel’s custom hand-painted finishes at an upcharge.

$1,199-$1,299 | mayflyoutdoors.com

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Ross Cimarron LT Fly Reel

The new Cimarron LT is a lighter, more refined adaptation of Ross’s legendary Cimarron. It’s been rebuilt, with more aggressive porting to cut weight. There’s a machined aluminum drag knob instead of the Cerakote drag knob found on the regular Cimarron, and it has an improved composite-disk drag system with a smooth range that can protect 7X tippets and still pour on the power when you’re doing battle with heavy trout hooked on streamers in fast water. A Cimarron Ridge landscape is milled into the frame. Sizes are 4/5, 5/6, 7/8, and the reel is available in Ross’s core matte colors black, platinum, blue, and olive.

$399 | mayflyoutdoors.com

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Ross Stranahan’s San Miguel Fly Reel

What happens when two companies from the Colorado Rockies get together to celebrate great fly fishing and fine whiskey? The answer is this collaboration between Ross Reels and Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. The limited-edition Stranahan’s San Miguel reel celebrates both craftsmanship and conservation, with $75 from the sale of each reel going to The Greenway Foundation to support restoration and education efforts along the South Platte River—up to $15,000 in community giveback. There are a total of 250 of these sequentially numbered 5/6 reels.  

This reel isn’t just a new color or logo, it’s loaded with new technology and other firsts for a fly-fishing reel. This limited-edition 5/6-weight San Miguel has a smoke-textured Cerakote finish with a yellow anodized engraving of the Roaring Fork River and laser-etched tributary lines. (Stranahan’s Whiskey was founded in Aspen, Colorado at the headwaters of the Roaring Fork.)

No one else in the fly reel business has this technology. Mayfly Outdoors—the parent company of both Ross and Abel—pioneered this hardened, durable Cerakote technology for fly reels in their Montrose, Colorado facility.

The handle of each reel is carefully crafted from a reclaimed whiskey barrel. Each reel has a drag knob ring and counterweight made from copper, which will develop a patina over time. Some things, like whiskey, get better with age.

$850 | stranahans.com

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Ross Cimarron Creek Fly Reel

Simple and elegant, with a traditional esthetic, the new Ross Cimarron Creek has everything you need for trout fishing—and nothing more. There is no protruding drag knob on this reel, as there’s no adjustable drag. The reel uses a dual-pawl click system to provide audible incoming/outgoing cues and control backlash. It comes with two extra pawls with varying hardness and stiffness so you can change the tension and the sound of the reel merely by replacing the pawls, using a tiny eyeglasses screwdriver. It’s available in sizes 2/3, 4/5, and 5/6 and in Ross’s core matte colors black, platinum, blue, and olive. The new reels are perfect for beaver ponds full of brook trout, alpine cutthroat trout, and Pennsylvania spring creeks.

$249 | simmsfishing.com

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Nautilus GTR 8/9 Fly Reel

In 2017 Nautilus introduced the GTX—a 5-inch big-game reel that holds 500 yards of 60-pound-test braid. The Nautilus GTS in sizes 5/6 and 7/8 arrived in early 2025, a kind of freshwater crossover reel that allowed fly fishers to use the G-platform for trout, bass, and steelhead. In 2026 Nautilus fans will finally have a crack at the new 8/9 GTR, a lightweight, smooth, and dependable reel that hits a giant sweet spot for saltwater anglers. This G reel is for bonefish, striped bass, albacore, triggerfish, and small tarpon.

The GTR series is engineered to be stronger and lighter than the NV-G series it replaces, with a sleek modern frame and improved drag range. In the previous reels there was about a six-turn drag range Nautilus called the Infinajust System. It was great for micro-adjustments, but the GTR gets you to where you want to be much quicker, with about one and a half turns of effective drag that quickly ratchets up 20-plus pounds of stopping power.

“We’re excited to introduce the GTR 8/9, a reel that embodies everything Nautilus stands for—precision, performance, and durability,” said Kristen Mustad, owner and designer at Nautilus. “This 4.5"-diameter reel gives anglers lightning-fast line pickup and the stopping power to handle bonefish, permit, or steelhead with confidence. Soon you will be able to swap it with the 10/11 spool for tarpon season—one frame, multiple fisheries.”

The 8/9 spool is easily distinguishable from its larger sibling, the 10/11 spool, with a larger arbor profile and clear 8/9 marking on the spool face. As with all GT series spools, integrated backing markers are machined directly into each spool for quick and accurate loading.

The GTR 8/9 is available in matte black and brushed titanium anodizing and is only available through Nautilus dealers across the country.

$875 reel, $475 spare spool | tridentflyfishing.com

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