Best fishing reels for Alaska fishing are designed to withstand the demands of battling large and powerful fish species like salmon and halibut. These reels selected by the Editors at Fish Alaska offer durability, smooth operation, and ample line capacity to tackle the challenges of Alaska’s diverse fishing environments.
Best Fishing Reels
Sage Spey II Reel 8/9/10
The Spey II is much stouter than the original Sage Spey Reel. It also has more drag, and more line capacity—it holds an honest 200 yards of 30-pound-test Dacron backing. This is a reel that should last the average steelheader or Chinook angler many years, if not a lifetime. The Spey II has a sealed carbon-fiber disc and dual-clicker drag built to handle the long, hard runs of fish like big Chinook and steelhead. The drag knob has 20 detents, so it’s easy to replicate your favorite drag setting. It’s a full-framed reel, which helps prevent running line from jumping between the frame and spool.
The radiused edges of the reel foot allow you to wrap your leader or tippet around the reel foot without damaging the tippet/leader. Sage smartly offset the reel foot slightly so that the reel balances better in the reel seat while you’re fishing. In Editor George Krumm’s opinion, Sage reels have never received the recognition they deserve. The Spey II is perfect for the Spey game. It is better than the pretty-dang-good original Sage Spey reel, and George thinks it may become a classic.
Penn Squall II SQLII25NLD
This is a great medium-weight conventional, lever-drag reel that can hold up to 475 meters of 50-pound-test braid. It weighs just 18.9 ounces and packs 20 pounds of drag into its lightweight frame—plenty for halibut, lingcod, and other bottomfish. The 25 is the smallest in the series, and Squall II reels are only available in right-hand retrieve. With its light weight, we found this to be a great reel for jigging halibut and lingcod.