The Bozeman Reel Co.

03/27/2026

Bad at Social Media.......Good at Making Fly Fishing Reels. Join us at Sitka on Saturday for the Spring Season Kick-Off & Crawfish Boil hosted by SITKA Gear Bozeman! This is the perfect way to shake off winter, gear up for the upcoming hunting and fishing seasons, connect with industry partners, and enjoy some great food and fellowship. Find us by the old Land Rover;)

When: Saturday, March 28th, 2026 | 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Where: SITKA Gear Bozeman (The Sitka Depot) 1251 N Rouse Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715

What's Happening:

Vendor Village featuring top industry partners and brands ready to showcase the latest gear for backcountry hunting, angling, and beyond.
Free Crawfish Boil and drinks
Informative presentations and tips from experts to get you prepped for spring turkey, early fishing, and more.
Free raffles with awesome prizes throughout the afternoon.
Schedule:

1:00 PM – Event kicks off – mingle, check out the vendor village
1:30 PM – Turkey Talk with NWTF (National Wild Turkey Federation) – get the scoop on spring turkey strategies
2:00 PM – Turkey Talk concludes + Food is served
3:30 PM – Tips and Tricks with Yellowdog Fly Fishing – expert insights for hitting the water this season
4:00 PM – More tips and tricks session
4:30 PM – Raffle drawings – don't miss your chance!
5:00 PM – Event wraps up
Bring a friend, your appetite, and your enthusiasm for public lands, waters, and wildlife. This laid-back gathering is all about celebrating the Montana way of life—responsible access, conservation, and time spent in the backcountry.

Whether you're gearing up for turkey season, planning your first trout outings, or just want to hang out with like-minded folks, we hope to see you there.

Let's kick off spring right—see you on the 28th!

01/12/2026

Mandy putting her Christmas gift to work in New Zealand. That purple is poppin!

10/14/2025

Behind the scenes, our team has been busy. Bruce has been confirming inventory levels and getting things organized and Michelle has been building reels. We're starting to transfer drawings into our ERP system to prepare for manufacturing. Our finished goods inventory is starting to pile up and it looks awesome. In the coming month or so I'll roll out our full plan of attack which will be a 4 prong approach. 1. A retail store (one fly shop will carry our reels) 2. Partnerships (organizations that have a need and desire to co-brand reels) 3. Ambassador Program (This means you will have an opportunity to get paid to help promote our product, Guides, Enthusiasts, Influencers) 4. Direct Web Sales. At the moment I could use your help and advice..........what Flyshop should we go into in the Bozeman Area?I need to pick one and support the living snot out of them. I've identified 6 and have been denied by two so far (that helps ease the decision) but would really appreciate your opinion. Be nice. Oh...and here is a photo of a small batch of cinnamon reels we just whipped up. TIA!

09/19/2025

We found what appears to be another one of a kind. This SC223 has a hard coat type 3 anodized spool and reel foot. Type 3 ano is a bit tougher and typically comes in a deep grey which is what we have here. Perhaps we made a few for testing purposes and or were trying alternatives to type 2.......In the early days, we really struggled with anodizing vendors. This struggle ultimately lead to bringing ano in house. Doing this was a treat of it's own with a really steep learning curve. Ultimately we got the ano figured out but by the time we had it all figured out, I had kind of taken on Henry Ford's mentality of......."you can have any color you want as long as it's black"! Perhaps we should revisit that and mix it up a little. Anywho........shoot me an email if you're interested in this bad boy! [email protected] and happy friday! Good luck to the MSU Bobcat Hockey Team tonight at their first home game against Boise State. If you put Hockey in the subject line of your email, I'll cut 10% off this bad boy for you!

09/12/2025

I came across this awesome video that Dan made some time ago. This was at our old shop. We were really packed in there but it was a really fun time. I'd like to make a newer version of this showing off our new (significantly bigger) shop. We still do all of the aluminum anodizing in this old shop. That should be another video! Enjoy!

Bozeman Reels are designed, developed, manufactured, and tested right here in the heart of fly fishing country -- Bozeman, Montana. Our shop is literally yar...

09/04/2025

Bruce has been assembling reels here in our shop for more than a decade. He could build a reel blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back. I've given Bruce the green light to set up the assembly line again and start building. Snapped this photo yesterday. More photos of the assembly area to come as it gets set up and refined.

08/29/2025

Going through inventory and digging around in boxes. Check out this gem! Maybe we made a couple of these in this flavor............maybe. If you have any interest in acquiring this beauty, reach out to me at [email protected]. We probably won't put this bad boy up on the website since there is only one, but I'd love to see it get put to use! This is an SC223 which means Stream Creek 2 to 3 wt reel. Load up your Land Rover and go fish your secret spot! Happy Friday!

08/27/2025

I've been sorting through the Bozeman Reel inventory and fixtures. It's going to be reely (ha ha) interesting to see how we approach manufacturing as we embark into some fresh batches of pieces and parts. 17 Years ago, when we first started making reel parts, we had no choice but to do some stuff the hard way. To make a drag k**b, we would use 3 or 4 different machines and have elaborate fixtures to make the parts perfect. Our shop has evolved significatly over the years. Fast forward to 2025, we have some of the most advanced and sophisticated equipment you can get. A part that used to get made on 4 machines can now get made fully automated on one machine. Perfect little completely done parts can gently drop onto a conveyor belt at night with nobody in the shop. Of course the devil is in the details, but it will be fun to see if some of these fixtures get used again or if they become driftboat anchors;) I'll keep ya posted.

08/27/2025

Hey Gang.......it's been a hot minute. We've been pretty lowkey for sometime. I'll roll out more of the story in coming weeks, but for now.......what do yall think about a little comeback? Not that we ever left.......... Got some ideas cooking and wanna see them happen and share the journey!........already posted this on the IG, but workinig out the kinks here getting caught up on FB and attempting to figure out how to post accross the platforms. Social Media is not on my resume at the moment;)

12/02/2022

As the powder falls in the mountains, we can't help but think about the warm weather and rising trout in Patagonia.

10/04/2022

The RS 5.2.7 is the perfect reel for your favorite 5, 6, or 7 weight fly rod. Pictured here on a 6 weight with a sinking streamer line for targeting hungry trout with big streamers.