I use a saltwater fishing reel with braided nylon line rated at about 100lbs I think. It feeds out easy, reels in easy, and I couldn't be happier with it.
I've used a simple kite winding mechanism for 2 seasons now. The other day I saw the same thing being sold as a suveryor's line and reel. It's relatively inexpensive, a bit of a nuisance to wind, but then I've never had to use it that often so winding up the line is a tolerable pain. It provides me with a neat storage place for the line too that I can tuck away someplace from season to season.
What I really like about what I've got are the poles - I bought them at Home Depot. they are 4' tall decorative poles that were made to hold some sort of smudge pot to keep the mosquitoes away. I put a 2", stainless steel, split-ring on the hook, closed the hook and attached the line to the ring. The surveyor's line has enough give in it to provide a gentle brake to the hawk should it decide to try to fly off or should the line get snagged - yup, no matter how careful one is, it does happen occasionally. With this setup the hawk comes to a gentle halt - kinda humorous in a way as they end up being grounded gently, and they can't quite figure out why. They look around and then just stand there dumbfounded.
Cliff. J. “May the best you’ve ever seen, Be the worst you’ll ever see,” From A Scots Toast by Allan Ramsay
I read most of the replies so I'm sorry if I missed one that already suggested this but I would think a Pflueger 1195 automatic fly reel would really fit the bill. pflueger www.amazon.com/Pflueger-1195X-Automatic-Reels-Line/dp/B0000ATUNA Most people that say these are junk over wound them or tried using the automatic line retrieval to fight a large fish. These can hold a ton of line, auto retrieves and fits in your pocket.
A piece of 12" - 1&1/2" PVC pipe one glued end cap and one threaded end cap. About $6 worth of materials ... In the middle of the PVC pipe drill a 1/4" hole . Fish through from outside the pipe inside it , the end of a 2-4mm ( dependent on size of bird ) climbing cordage or rope in a 75 foot length . Tie a monkey fist knot or secure end knot to the end in the pipe . Fill pipe with sand or fish tank gravel and screw on end cap. Wrap the 75' of cordage around the pipe and secure a #9 coastlok swivel to the free end . You now have a 150 foot weighted creance with which to train your hawk , built yourself for under $20 in materials . The creance is a means to a quick end of free flying your hawk , no sense in spending a hand full of cash on it , there will be other pieces of equipment worth paying that .
Last Edit: Feb 27, 2013 12:29:51 GMT -5 by echotadog
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway