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Hi. I am new to fly fishing and I have a question on rods and reels.
I want to know about how much I should spend on a decent starter rod and reel combo to use while I am learning and then upgrade next year or so. Also, any suggestions on length of the rod or any other suggestions? Any advice is appreciated.
-Thanks
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What will you be fishing for. That will help on answering what length and weight.
I suggest to get a Good rod as it does make it easier. Not top of the line, but not a Wally world special either.
TFO, St Croix and others out there.
Reel is not a big issue. Get one with a fare drag. These can be had for $15. to $35.
Next would be a good line.
FG
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For the rod, I would check out the Essence FW from ross, or even the essence FC. they are great rods for the price. I would recommend a 4 or 5 weight rod depending on the type of fishing you plan to do with it. A 5wt rod in a 8'6" or a 9' will do almost anything you want to do in Utah lakes or streams, but I almost always prefer a 4wt in the majority of the local rivers.
The reel isn't as big of a deal as other items you need, so I would just pick up something that will hold your line that has a "decent" drag. No need to spend a bunch of money on a reel.
And finally the line. I know i'm not the only one here who will tell you to get a GOOD line. There are a bunch of lines to consider, and every one of them will accent the rod you choose a bit differently. I have had great luck with Rio lines. Depending on the action of the rod you choose i'd go with rio gold for medium-fast action rods, and the rio grand for fast action rods.
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FG, you should have a copy/paste response for this one by now. You must have typed pages and pages in response to threads like these. haha
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Yea, but I shake t up a bit....LOL
I remember when I started playing guitar. I got a nice inexpensive one and I did struggle. Thought it was normal. Then I got a Telecaster...OMG...fingers flew effortless.
Same with tools. I fell this is the same with fly fishing.
Go to inexpensive with a rod, and it won't have the right number of guides, or not a good action resulting in trying to work too hard.
Being a first and only, allot of people assume that is Fly Fishing. It isn't
It should be very relaxed. That is all I am saying.
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hey... whats wrong with a wally world special.. that was my first rig.. [laugh]
MacFly [cool]
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In addition to what has been said, and once you are able to determine what length/wt rod would be a good one to start with, you may want to keep an eye on sites like deals on the fly where you can pick up good equipment at a good price..
MacFly [cool]
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[font "Calibri"]I’m no expert, but I thought I’d reply anyway. The first rod and reel combo I purchased cost $35 and that included the line. If you think about it, people were catching fish on what would be considered a cheap rod and reel long before graphite tank aerials were considered for use as fly rods and reels had disc drags. I’ve have not tried a lot of different rod brands but I’ve been told that are only a finite maker of rod blanks anyway.[/font]
[font "Calibri"]In addition to what’s been provided, I’ve been told you want to have a minimum of one guide per foot of rod (reduces drag in casting). I’ve noticed rods at places that specialize in sporting goods are built that way. The rods at places like Walmat, not so much concern with number of guides and guide placement.[/font]
[font "Calibri"]Anyway, go with whatever price range the Minister of Finance will let you get away with. Good advice to check on-line for package discounts. I’ve been tempted by some. If you find you enjoy the fly fishing, you’re gonna want to buy a back-up rod in another weight anyway. At that point, for others shopping for, Christmas and birthday gifts is not a problem – can’t have too much fly fishing stuff.[/font]
[font "Calibri"]If you’re interested, a casting exercise someone showed me when I got started was to get a 10- 12’ piece of heavy yarn and tie it to the tip of the tip section of your rod. You sit in a chair and practice the casting motion – watch how the line lays out on the back cast before starting. Give you a feel for the cast. [/font]
[font "Calibri"]A story about rods. I was on a business trip and went to lunch with a lady from place I was visiting. We stated talking about things we like to do. I told her I really enjoyed fishing and fly fishing in particular. She told me she likes to go shoe shopping with her friends. I said really, how many pairs to you have. She told me and it was like 30 plus pairs. I believe my response was something like “WOW – my former wife collected shoes too”. Then she asked my how many fishing rods I had. I started counting and it was like 20. I said but you need differ rods for differ types of fishing and situations and it depends on……I stopped and said OK, I’ll never again give a woman grief about how many pairs of shoes she owns.[/font]
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if money wasent an issue:
[url "http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1A9T&dir_id=758&group_id=759&cat_id=19159&subcat_id=19160&adv=12082&cm_mmc=Froogle*Prod_feeds*Prod_feeds*12082&CAWELAID=417880472"]http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1A9T&dir_id=758&group_id=759&cat_id=19159&subcat_id=19160&adv=12082&cm_mmc=Froogle*Prod_feeds*Prod_feeds*12082&CAWELAID=417880472[/url]
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You can't go wrong with a 9' 5 wt for any of the rivers or lakes around Utah. TFO, Ross and St. Croix have some excellent rods in the $100-130 price range. Get a decent reel and some decent line and your good to go.
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Thanks to everyone for all of the great advice. I ended up buying decent setup at sportsmans last night. It seemed to fit the advice you all gave. I read some reviews online and found most people really liked the set up. So I'm good to start learning process.
Thanks again everyone!
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So tell us what you got.
I'd like to know what you're going to try first, lakes or rivers--- drys or nymphs or streamers.
Did you get some waders, boots, vest, etc?
Welcome to the adiction.
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I got an Okuma Tempest. It is a 9 foot graphite rod with a decent reel. I took it out for the fist time on the Weber and had a ball. I caught 1 rainbow and a whitie, no browns. We were using nymphs. I missed a bunch of fish so I think i will land more with a little more practice under my belt. My brother caught a rainbow and 4 or 5 whities (no browns for him either)/
As for the rod it seemed to do great. It is light weight and seemed to cast really smooth (even though I am far from being a good caster).
I already have waders and boots so I will peice everything else together as I go.
Thanks again for all of your help. I am already itching to get back out there.
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Check out KSL.com classifieds for some deals on fly gear if you want to save some money. I've had some good luck getting some gently used stuff from there.
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