Fishing

These Dodgers and Yankees Fly Reels are Just About Perfect

Fly Fishing and Major League Baseball: The Ultimate Fan Crossover with Abel Reels
Ken Baldwin|
Represent your team with the Abel MLB fly reel.
Represent your team with the Abel MLB fly reel. | Abel Reels

If you are a baseball fan, how can you not be impressed with what the LA Dodgers accomplished this year? They spent money, made trades, and brought the World Series trophy back to Dodger Stadium. Now, what if you could take that Dodger pride with you to the river or the salt?

A League of Their Own: Abel's MLB-Inspired Fly Reels

Abel reels has combined the passion and loyalty Americans feel for their favorite baseball teams with the artistry and quality of a finely crafted fly fishing reel. The result? Major League Baseball edition fly reels, with your favorite team's colors anodized into the frame and spool, and the team's logo laser engraved on the drag knob. The counterweight on the spool is engraved with laces to look like a baseball, and the knob handle is carved from wood with the same color and look as a traditional baseball bat. For the die-hard baseball fan who also loves to fly fish, these are a thing of beauty and a one-of-a-kind reel.

An Abel MLB Los Angeles Dodgers fly reel
The Abel MLB Los Angeles Dodgers fly reel | Abel Reels
The Abel MLB fly reel.
The details of the spool weight to look like a baseball, and the handle made of the same wood as a baseball bat. | Abel Reels

This Reel is No Joke

This isn't just a "let's stamp the Dodgers logo on a cheap fly reel and call it a collector's item" situation. A lot of thought and skill went into the making of this reel. The model Abel uses for their MLB edition reel is the SDF (Sealed Drag Freshwater) and SDS (Sealed Drag Saltwater).

If you aren't familiar with Abel reels, they make some of the finest, high-quality fly reels on the market. When I say "high quality," I mean it. Every year, Abel reels are voted #1 in surveys, reviews, and awards. One top online gear reviewer accurately stated when speaking about the Abel SDS fly reel, "...this reel is the fly fishing equivalent of driving a Maserati."

100% Made in the USA

Two Abel MLB fly reels, the LA Dodgers and the NY Yankees, being held by a fly angler.
Quality reels representing classic teams. | Abel Reels

The Abel MLB fly reel will last a lifetime. Made of 6061-T651 aerospace-grade aluminum, they are known for their precision machining and tight tolerances. This ensures the reel components fit together perfectly, resulting in smooth operation and long-lasting durability. Imagine passing this reel down to your son or daughter, who grew up watching the Yankees because you watched the Yankees and learned to fly fish because you shared your love of fly fishing with them. Both of those memories will be represented with an Abel MLB fly reel of your favorite team.

Quality Nippers You Will Be Proud To Wear Around Your Neck

Abel MLB Nippers
Abel MLB Nippers | Abel Reels

Each reel comes with a matching pair of nippers. They are meticulously crafted with a Mil-Spec Type III anodized 7075 aluminum body and replaceable 440C stainless steel jaws, heat-treated to 58 Rockwell for exceptional sharpness and durability. They have opposing rare earth magnets that act as a corrosion-resistant spring and double as a magnetic fly dock for convenient fly storage while rigging. Even the hook eye cleaner is replaceable. These aren't a gimmick, but instead a high-quality tool.

A NY Yankees engraved Abel fly reel with water falling off of it.
An iconic team on an iconic reel. | Abel Reels

Let Them Know

As of right now, Abel is licensed to make reels representing 10 MLB teams. If your team isn't on the list, you can go to the Abel website and let them know you want one.

“The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover

Published | Modified
Ken Baldwin
KEN BALDWIN

Ken Baldwin is a Writer/Editor for Fishing On SI, where he writes stories about fly fishing and the lifestyle that surrounds it. His writing and photography have appeared in Men's Journal, Catch Magazine, Fish Alaska, and the American Angler. He also created and hosted the TV show Season on the Edge, which aired on NBC Sports and in seven countries, showcasing travel, adventure, and culture through the lens of fishing. For twenty years, Ken worked as a fly fishing guide in Alaska, which gave him opportunities to hang out with and photograph the Alaskan brown bear. His experience photographing the brown bear helped him land a job with the Netflix documentary Our Planet 2, narrated by David Attenborough. If you dig deep enough in Ken's resume, you will see that he played the terrorist "Mulkey" in the film Die Hard 2 before fly fishing took over his life. Ken is a graduate of the University of Washington.

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