GungasUncle
I'm going to chime in here, I love the Lefty Kreh floating WF.
I had the SA floating WF and liked it as well... wanted to try something else and the Lefty Kreh line was suggested, I don't notice any difference.
There are so many lines to choose from, I think as long as you get WF you'll be alright.
I agree with the noise the sharkskin makes...it casts great, and I guess you could get used to the sound, but there definitely are other lines just as good...IMO..
Randy, alm21 sounds like a nice fella.....your description of him matches you also. Good job with the deal you gave him on the reel....and my rod is still catching me tons of fishys.....
If any of you folks should run into alm21 on the river (or invite him to go fish) I am sure you will never meet a more friendly and humble person. It was a pleasure meeting him and his polite and energetic young son.
Best of luck with your efforts learning fly fishing for salmon & steelhead!
Randy
Echo Ion reel. The run $80, they're fairly light weight, good drag, large arbor, and well made. The guys at Echo know their stuff.
You don't NEED a super expensive reel, especially when you're dealing with heavier tippets. The best part of higher end reels is their lightness - lighter weight = less fatigue as the day wears on. The Echo is a pretty light reel for it's size.
One thing I would say though - if you don't already have a line - you're better off springing for a higher end line than you are for more expensive reel - the better line will make fishing so much nicer. Scientific Angler's Mastery - or better yet one of their Sharkskin lines would be good. An Airflo Ridge would also be good. The Sharkskin lines run $99, the Airflo and the Mastery lines should be ~$80 or less.
If you're spending $200 - you can get the Echo Ion reel, a Sharkskin line, and backing and you should still have lunch money left over.