Galvan has been prominent in my fly fishing experience from the first time i invested in Scott Fly rods, my first was a 904/4 STS – 9′ 4wt 4piece. The STS was the workhorse of the Scott line thirty years ago. STS stands for “Saltwater Tactical Series” and the heavier rods were guide favorites in Florida. I ultimately owned four STS rods, the 4wt, a 6wt, 8wt and 10wt. The six was a crossover streamer rod in freshwater and I had an extra spool for salt. Anyway, I loved them all, ultimately have replaced them all too. Hey, they were my first Scotts, and I was already in love with the brand, based upon the reputation they had in Colorado, back when I lived in Boulder.
Anyway, I digress, this article is about Galvan fly reels, but the point is those early Scott STS rods were all paired with Galvans. For those of you who are not familiar with Galvan reels, they are made in Sonoma, a small Northern California town in the Sierra Nevada foothills. There is excellent fly fishing in that area. Well, the company was started by a machinist , Bonifacio Galvan, who happened to fly fish. Read more about Boni Galvan and his magnificent reels here. All of the premium Galvan reels are machined from aircraft grade bar stock aluminum. Although not inexpensive, the price point for Galvans is a bargain when you take into account the quality of the product. The drag is superb and it is a major reason why I am hooked on the product. I have four Galvan models and the drag is the same design on each, and consequently, performs the same. Whether you choose Galvan or any other high quality reel like Hatch for instance. Having an identical drag on all of your reels is HUGE!!!! Knowing exactly how that drag will perform each time you hav a fish on brings both confidence and control when you are fighting a fish. The two things that matter are 1) buttery smooth performance and 2) low start-up inertia. The first is about a fish pulling your line out and having the release of the line be perfectly smooth and consistent. The second has to do with low start-up inertia. This aspect is so important, I can’t emphasize this enough! When a fish decides to charge, if there is any resistance at all in getting that reel to spin and release line initially, you could break off that fish. Both aspects, smooth performance and low start-up inertia are related to the low coefficient of friction that Galvans offer.
One more thing about the company before I dive deeper into the product. Back in September of this year, I was fishing with my friend Dennis on the South Fork of the Snake river. We were floating and I was on the sticks, unlike my pal John, Dennis is not a rower. Dennis was having a good day. He had a few whitefish, a brown and a cutthroat. Nothing huge, but all respectable. But, earlier that day I had told Dennis that I planned to put him on his biggest fish ever. We were running a cut bank and I had him get his nymph rig right up against the bank. He was using my Scott G2 5wt because his Orvis Helios had a broken tip from the day before. The reel on that rod is an older Galvan OB 4, that I have owned for many years. It used to be on my 4wt STS. Anyway, Dennis got a huge eat up against that cut bank. The current we were in was fairly fast but as he played the fish I felt that I should anchor and grab the net. Well, that decision was both premature and that stopping in the current turned out to be a really bad idea. The fish immediately began to take out drag and the fish came to the surface and OMG! It was a huge brown! Dennis wasn’t quite sure what to do and he was still reeling the big fish in against the current. Then, the handle on the reel broke! And that was it. Dennis lost the fish as I was getting ready to raise the anchor and follow the fish downstream. As the captain and his friend, I felt terrible! Setting the anchor when I did was the absolute worst decision I could have made and Dennis lost the fish as a result. That fish would have been, the biggest fish he has ever landed by far! Two weeks later I sent a note to Galvan through the contact form on their website and explained what happened. Within a week I had exactly the parts I needed to replace the reel handle, and make it new. No charge, not even for the shipping! That’s just the kind of company Galvan Fly Reels is. They really do care about their customers and go out of their way too make everything right! I love this company!
Alright! By now I hope you have an understanding of the company and why I am so madly in love with them and their incredible products. Pictured below are my six Galvans. Five of them stay in the case and are always handy when I’m in my truck or out on my drift boat – my Hyde Montana skiff. The large reel is a Torque T10 that was originally paired with my 10wt STS and is now paired with my 9wt Meridian. Right now dedicated to saltwater, but could also be used for salmon, etc.
My latest Galvan purchase is a Torque T-4 that is now paired with my Scott 4wt G2. Below are my Torques:
The silver color Torque is a T-3, paired with my 3wt Scott G2. Contrary to what you might think, I land a lot of big fish on my 3wt! The tip flexibility of the G2, combined with the smooth drag of the Torque, enable that success rate when fighting big fish. Thankfully, as a result, I break off very few big fish!
Well, there you have it! I can’t say enough good things about the products or the company! If you have any experiences with Galvan products that you would like to share, I look forward to your comments below.
