Anyone familiar with Teton reels? My brother just gave me one of his (Teton #6) that is totally unused and is set up for right hand retrieve. I need to switch it to left hand wind but don't have the owner manual. Any help appreciated!

I used to sell them but can't remember exactly what the process was. I know it wasn't difficult. Pop the spool and look inside and see if it's not just a matter of swapping the anti-reverse tang from one side to the other. One screw.

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Thanks Tom. Now the good news: your memory is in great shape! That appears to have been the solution.

I know them quite well and have 2 currently. Both 7/8s. They are excellent and more than that they stand up to significant abuse. They were made for a while in the 90s and early 2000s and were everyone's favorite inexpensive but good fly reel (about $200 or so). Mid 2000's they stopped making them and the reels, name and tooling were bought by a concern in Chicago and production was restarted. They only lasted a few years and either just quit or went out of business. The reels they made that I know about:

Teton--The original design 90s-2007 plus or minus
Teton Tioga "Magnum" --Wide arbor version of the original design
Teton Classic--Reels made when production moved out of California to Chicago I heard, (and mostly sold at Cabelas I believe) Maybe 2009-2010+ (very rough estimate)

I have a Tioga and a Classic. Many of the parts are interchangable. I have fished the Tioga since about 2000 and it's the one I had refurbished last year. And if anyone has a #8 spool for a Teton Tioga Magnum, I'd like to buy it from you.


One of their factory reps, who's name escapes me, took over all of the old inventory and still sells the reels at a very good price (Better than the original price) for a fully machined 100% USA made reel with an excellent drag. He also does repairs and refurbishments. He completely went through one of mine last year and replaced the drag, all the hardware and sent it back in a new case for $35. He's a really good guy and gives old school thoughtful service.

The small flat spring that allows you to reverse the reel direction is the only "weak" spot. It wears and then breaks off leaving the drag non-functional. But new ones are $1 each and take 1 minute to change over. I have 5 now which is a lifetime supply. I only had to replace it once, so a service part.

One other tip if you plan to use the reel, is to set the handle screw with some blue locktite. Mine worked loose once and I lost the handle. Same thing happened to a friend of mine with an original Teton. Fortunately, they sell new upgraded ones, so buy one of those too so you have a spare.

Source for parts and service:
[tetonusa.myshopify.com]


Edit-Guy's name is Bill Senecal. He splits time between Florida and North East, so if you need service, contact him and he'll tell you which address to send it to. Highly recommended.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2018 05:07PM by Drew Pollock.