The instant you set your hook, everything changes. It ceases to matter how remarkably light your fly reel isall you care about now is its performance. Thankfully, Lamson’s Litespeed Hard Alox is the rare reel that excels on either side of the strike. The trout-size models (like the 4-to-6-weight pictured) tip the scale at less than four ounces, making them among the lightest machined-aluminum reels ever. Even better, they’re built with the same smooth drag system as Lamson’s burly saltwater reelsstrong enough to put the brakes on fast-running steelhead and fully sealed against water and grit. Plus the Litespeed’s large-arbor configuration (i.e., wide circumference) cranks line in faster than a standard-arbor reel, which means you’ll be ready for another strike that much sooner. 1- to 11-weight, from $279;
Lamson
