Made in UK - The RB1 Salmon Fly Reel!

The new British made RB1 from The Fly Reel Company!

When Tim Brown of The Fly Reel Company Ltd told me he had something special to show me I just had see it. The following day he showed up at the GAC with a flight case containing some of the coolest fly reels and fly reel components I have seen in a long time, something pretty special for me as a big time fly reel geek! When he told me it was completely developed, machined and built in the UK I was suitably impressed, but maybe a little anxious about how this would affect the selling price! Luckily it was around half of the the four figure sum I had imagined and we done a deal to take delivery of these new reels as soon as the first batch was ready in June 2013. Introducing the The Fly Reel Company Reel Britannia RB1!

An early CAD drawing of the RB1

The mission statement of The Fly Reel Company was a simple one - to design, develop and produce high performance British made fly reels! And we can honestly say that they have achieved this, through the use of cutting edge engineering materials including aerospace grade aluminium, titanium and high grade composites, combined with CNC precision engineering technology, to produce a reel in the UK which redefines quality.

One of the prototypes test fitted on a saltwater fly rod 

The Reel Britannia Salmon fly reel is a wholly British designed, British manufactured, anti-reverse fly reel. Initially only 200 of these unique reels will be produced, each one individually serial numbered and registered to its owner. The RB1  has been meticulously designed and tested and features a unique fully sealed carbon/kevlar brake set up which works on both sides of the spool at once, effectively doubling the efficiency of the drag system. A massive and amazingly robust one way pin bearing, capable of withstanding enormous force, operates this drag system and the unique anti reverse system. The robust construction of the frame and spool means it is suitable for fishing in extreme conditions and although specifically developed for Salmon fishing it is more than capable of taking on a whole host of saltwater big game species that require a serious drag system and a large capacity of backing such as Tarpon, Sailfish, Giant Trevally and many others. And all of this from a product that is designed and produced right here in the UK - even the reel pouches are handmade in North Yorkshire!

The finished article from the front...

The initial prototype of the RB1 was designed and tested in collaboration with Lancaster Universities Engineering Department, where dozens of drag materials were tested under extreme conditions in order to select the compound with the highest performance. The chosen compound, coupled with Titanium disks not only withstands temperatures in excess of 200°C, but provides a silky smooth drag with virtually no stick-slip, a phenomenon that that plagued fly reel designers for many years. The RB1 reel weighs in at 365 grams, just under 13oz in old money, perfect for most double handers, and for everyone that is wondering, yes, it has the most amazing click sound option on the way out so you can hear that lovely music of the reel as you lift into every Salmon you hook on it for years to come!

... and the back!

The RB1 reel features include;

• Machined from solid block aerospace grade 6082 Aluminium, hard anodised to MIL Spec 8625 Type 3, class 2
• Precipitation hardened and pacified 17-4 Stainless Steel shaft and 316 Stainless components
• High performance composite drag material coupled with large Titanium disks, producing up to 18lbs of drag force
• Heat generated during a run is dissipated through the ported Aluminium spool to prevent overheating
• Titanium click and pawl system with optional click check - sounds amazing!
• Easily interchangeable between left and right hand wind requiring no tools
• Zero backlash anti-reverse system with large exposed palming rim
• Reverse tapered handle to prevent line snagging when casting
• Line Capacity: 300m 30lbs Dacron + shooting head/spey line or 500m 50lbs gel spun + WF12F
• Reel Weight 365 grams unloaded
• Heavy duty needle clutch bearing with a dynamic load rating of over 350kg
• Fully sealed clutch and bearing arrangement with Viton O-rings

Tim Brown and Shaun Benzon of The Fly reel Company Ltd

You can pre order your individually numbered RB1 reel from Glasgow Angling Centre now from their website or instore, the first batch of 200 should arrive in late June so don't delay if you have a preferred serial and we will try to get it for you if you contact us soon enough! Click HERE to find out more!