Fly Fishing Myth or Wisdom: The Curse of the Silver Fly Reel?

As I write this, I am fully aware that this could be "much ado about nothing." I'm only telling you what I heard when I was a young angler, and then what happened on a river years later. I'm not the message in this one, I'm just the messenger.

The "message" or myth I'm referring to is that silver isn't a good color for fly reels because it easily reflects sunlight and can spook fish.

Is It Fly Fishing Myth or Wisdom

I can't tell you when I first heard this theory; it could have been in the 80s or even the early 2000s, but it has always stayed with me tucked away in some small part of my brain. Every time I go to purchase a new fly reel, if the silver one catches my eye, you can bet that from some corner of my brain, the little "silver reel" theory pops up and plants a seed of doubt.

A fly angler fly fishing with a black reel has a fish hooked. — Black is a safe color for a fly reel. | photo by Ken Baldwin

And here's why-

In my fifth year of guiding, I remember leading two clients up a stream in Alaska. We were sight-fishing for large Alaskan rainbow trout. This stream was known for holding big trout in small water. I was in the front, and we had just crossed the stream and were walking up the right bank to fish a pool that was fifty yards ahead of us.

A fly angler with a blue reel hooked into a fish. — Blue is a great color for saltwater reels. | photo by Ken Baldwin

I was moving slowly, looking for fish. I clearly remember holding my fly rod in my right hand, around waist level, with a side of the fly reel, which happened to be silver, facing forward, much like a signaling mirror. A bright, glaring flash caught my eye in the water in front of me, and then a huge trout exploded out of the space real estate where the flash occurred. This was a BIG trout, spraying water all over, and causing the three of us to jump.

Wisdom Comes From Experience

The bright flash that caused the fish to spook was off my silver fly reel, which was reflecting the sun that was hanging in the sky above and in front of us. The reel acted as a signaling mirror. After I calmed down and regained my wits about me, I manipulated the reel to see if I could reflect the sun into the water again, and I was able to. There it was, the curse of the silver fly reel was no longer a myth.

Ignore the Voice?

Should you not buy a fly reel if it is silver? That is a question I still struggle with. I've purchased silver reels, and I'm sure I'll do it again. But I do consider the theory every time I have to make a choice in reel color. If I really prefer the look of the silver reel, I will ignore the voice in my head and go with what I like.

Or Not Ignore the Voice?

But that little voice still makes me take pause and think it through. If it's a reel I will use for trout fishing, I probably won't get silver. The size of that trout I spooked in Alaska still haunts me. Bass fishing and saltwater fishing - I'm okay with using a silver reel...unless I'm sight fishing in clear, shallow water. Bonefish and permit come to mind. I've seen the sun reflect off a reel, and I don't want to risk spooking a prize catch again. KB