Cabela’s Review 2024
By
Star Spangled Summer Sale | Save Up To 35% Sitewide - Exclusive
50% Off Selected XPS Towables
Up To 25% Off Selected Styles
Free Shipping On Orders Over $50
Military Discount - Enjoy 10% Off Everything
Save 5% On Firearms And Ammo
Cabela’s has been producing its own fly fishing rods and reels for years, and the company usually offers a quality product at extremely competitive price points. Previously, Cabela’s offered its popular RLS+ Fly Combo at this price point — but we never specifically recommended the RLS+ combo at Man Makes Fire. When we heard that Cabela’s was phasing out its RLS+ combo in favor of a new and improved combo called the Synch at the same price point, we jumped at a chance to try it out.
First, why not the RLS+ Fly Combo? We felt that while the RLS+ combo overall was a good value, for some reason the rod seemed to be a little soft. The RLS+ reel — which Cabela’s still sells — was much better than the rod, but the aesthetics of the combo also didn’t quite feel matched. These were always minor quibbles in the big scheme of things but big enough to let other fly rod and reel combos win our appreciation.
Now though, the new Cabela’s Synch includes an improved rod and with a similar reel — Cabela’s shifted more the product investment into the rod. As a result, the overall combo has a better smooth-casting experience that’s surprisingly fishable — and that is what really counts.
In fact, when I first took the Synch out on the St. Joe River looking for fall cutthroat trout, I had to remind myself to pay attention to the casting stroke and note my impressions. Basically, it was very easy for me to focus on where I wanted to cast my fly and just put the fly where I wanted it. For short and midrange casts, which make up about 80% of most people’s casts, the Synch was accurate and easy to deliver.
The Synch is a moderate action fly rod. This means it bends primarily through a fuller segment of the rod instead of just the tip. Fly rods that bend most around the tip section are usually called tip-flex or fast-action rods. Personally, I prefer faster action rods, partially because I have an aggressive casting stroke, but most great fast action rods tend to cost quite a bit more than entry-level rods with moderate or moderate-fast actions.
Shop the Synch Fly Outfit at Cabela’s and get FREE 2-Day Shipping!
I’ve come to appreciate some moderate action rods that load smoothly, and while I don’t believe they’re significantly easier for newbies to learn with, they usually do have a bit more room for user error at short distances. One area where moderate action wins out with beginner fly fishers is during the fight with larger fish. Basically, a longer rod flex can help reduce breaking off fish due to experience errors when fish take off on hard runs. The key point for beginners is to look for rods and reels that are affordable yet do most everything right without any glaring issues.
When I really wanted to reach out to the far end of my casting abilities with a long cast, I had to pay more attention and more patiently wait for the line to fully extend and the rod to fully load. Sure, this is key for most any rod, but my faster-action fly rods in the 9′ 5-weight configuration usually give me just a bit more oomf a bit more quickly. This is splitting hairs for most beginning fly fishers because truly, not very many beginners can cast farther than the Synch rod will easily allow anyway. And more often than not, most fly fishers are better off wading a bit closer to the fish: Even if you make a fantastic long cast, actually setting the hook successfully at long distances pretty often leads to lost fish. For most every casual fly fisher, long casts are overrated. An entry-level fly fisher is better off investing in a decent fly rod and reel combo like the Synch and then saving any extra budget for a good set of fly fishing waders and/or wading boots.
Looping back around to the Cabela’s Synch Fly Combo, as I fished it on the river, I was surprised at how the new Cabela’s combo inspired confidence — I didn’t ever doubt the rod while I fished. We got along nicely.
The largest fish I caught was a 17-inch cutthroat trout. Not a huge bruiser, but still a decent and fun fish that was large enough to let the drag do its thing on a couple of good runs. The Rulon disc drag system is fairly smooth. I generally set my drags on a light setting and then tighten them up if I get a big fish on. (This technique can help reduce breaking thin tippets.)
While we’re talking about the drag, I also liked the sound of this reel — it’s silent on the retrieve but gives you a nice click when you pull line off the reel or a fish takes off on a run. This is an extremely minor point, but some reels sound tinny, cheap or grating, and I was pleased with the Synch reel. Overall, the fit, finish and function of the Synch reel is a step up from most entry-level reels.
The arbor of the reel is fairly large, which helps retrieve line more quickly and minimize line memory.
The Synch Fly Outfit comes with a weight-forward fly line engineered by Scientific Anglers. In my experience it performed about as well as most any entry-level fly line these days. In case you’re wondering, getting an entry-level combo that comes with fly line and backing will usually save you $30-40 over the cost of buying entry-level line separately.