Redington Behemoth Fly Fishing Reel, Multipurpose Fly Reel for Freshwater and Saltwater, Large Arbor and Adjustable Drag

Price to cost, the best I’ve ever had. I have two behemoths, one for warm water in Florida, and the other for cool water in Virginia. This is a hefty, stout, stone-solid reel. Every part of it feels excellent. Despite its robustness, it does not feel the slightest bit heavy or cumbersome - it’s an 8-weight fly rod and reel, it’s gonna be heavier than a 5-weight trout pole. I’ve caught everything from largemouth and peacock bass, snakeheads and cichlids to brook and brown trout with these reels. The drag feels great, and you can really torque it down. I haven’t encountered anything that’s required more than a little big of drag, so can’t speak to how it handles real heat, but I can only assume it does very well. Aesthetically, it’s a nice looking reel - nothing fancy, but serviceable and honestly it stands out in a crowd of standard fare Orvis and Sage reels as an almost brutalist option. This reel is durable, reliable, stout and boy, can it hold a lot of backing. I’m also quite a fan of the tapered spool - it was a little strange spooling it with backing at first, but having now owned two of these, it’s a lot easier to thumb and place the line perfectly. All in, it’s my favorite fly reel. One more note; it’s not a sealed drag, and I can’t say how it handles salt water as I’m a mere bank fisherman and the ocean is not kind to my angling attempts. This reel is very well constructed and even after dropping it in the river rocks in the Blueridge a few times, everything is still hunky dory. Outstanding reel.

Targeting GT's and needed a large reel that could hold 300 yds of 80 lb. backing with a powerful drag.Did not want to spend a lot of money on a reel I may not use again, even though the outfitter recommended I purchase a best I could afford and not to skimp on the reel. My budget for the reel was $600.Rather than buying one mid to high level reel I took a chance and bought 2 of these Behemoth with backing and fly line.First off, this is a die-cast and not CNC so the weight and tolerances are not as tight.I will list the Pro's and Con's from a real-world use.The reel endured 6 days of fishing in extremely hot climate averaging 4-5 hours of constant use.Pros:Price (Very affordable)Capacity of backing, I was able to put 325 yds. of 80 lb. backing with 110’ GT line and 10’ of 110 lb. leader and still had room.Handle was nice and big with combination of rubber made it nice without slippage.Drag knob was big.Drag was powerful and it did the job. I had the drag cranked all the way down (supposed to be 30 lb.) as instructed by the guide and the GT was able to pull another 50 yards of backing with no issues so these are powerful fish.Cons:Weight, I have the 11-12 and it was heavy compare to the Nautilus and the Loops being used by others, but it also did not cost $700 +.Finish is adequate. The die-cast showed plenty of scrapes and scuffs after the first dayThe spool has some play (slight wobble) just enough to notice but did not affect the performance.Drag knob felt cheap and did wobble. When backing the drag, the knob does slip so you can actually back off on all the drag and the knob will still turn a few more times, when it supposed to stop. Also, setting the drag is not as smooth, the knob has some gritty feel to it.Spool removal knob in the front is plastic and when it’s cranked all the way down to secure the spool, it does not do an adequate job. This is the reason for the wobble. You can’t tighten it too much as the thread stops and made of plastic, I feel it may break.With that being said, the reel performed and was able to land several GT’s, YF Tuna and Groupers with no issues.For the money it did just as well as the high-end reels but will it last over time …….No regrets and would buy the reels again.I would not have any issues paying more if they could upgrade the following on the 11-12 reels.Spool removal capSmoothness of the drag knobBetter coating on finish

Works well

Reddington is a good name in fly fishing and the reel is a decent entry level reel, I bought it for my bang around pack rod, when I walk rivers for miles through the woods equipment in hand can take a beating, I bought this reel with a spare spool so I don't get angry about scratching it on rocks.

Second time buying this reel. Last one I had for 5 years and it held up to A LOT of fishing. The drag finally started to get a little weak so the new one is nice and crisp. Holds a good amount of backing plus line.

Best Drag of Anything on the Market And Twice as Good as any in it’s price range

I’ve always thought Reddington made very good product! All I can tell you is it really held up with some really big boys. I’ll give it five stars because generally with anything you get what you paid for and they gave just a little bit more.

I needed a reel strong enough to handle 15 to 25 pound king salmon in the Lake Ontario tributaries. Most important to me was a strong & smooth drag. I was ready to spend up to $100 more than I paid for the Behemoth because I wanted to be sure the drag would properly handle these fish. I'm glad I kept looking & found this reel. It turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. The drag is extremely strong. I had no problem fighting the salmon even when they got in the current & tried to go back to the lake. I really dont see any reason you would ever have to crank down the drag all the way on this reel unless you wanted to break off a fish. I purchased the 9/10 size Behemoth & I am very satisfied with its performance especially at the price I paid.