My reel weighs 3.5 oz. half full of line. It is an ancient very simple reel. I do not consider the weight something I will agonize over! I could also lighten it an ounce by taking off some line. I may not cast a super long distance, but I do drop the fly in the water and let it float quite a distance. Handling the line without a reel seems like a chore. And I have been in places where I stuck my line and had to cut it off. It is nice to have extra. Take the reel and 3.5 ounces less food and catch more fish!

All my gear weighs 8.9 ounces: 3.5-reel, 5.0-rod, 0.4 files and leader, 1.0 homemade foam carrying case. My rod certainly is not the lightest made. I only carry one film cannister of flies. I do not use a net. I carry the fish on a stick.

The frying pan I carry to cook them in weighs more than all my fishing gear!