getting into fly fishing

[poutpro]

I have recently started looking into fly fishing. I have never even touched a rod before, but would really like to get started on it. I will probably just use it to catch sunfish. What would be a good starting rod and reel combo? Any information would be great, but keep it basic to start.

[ice_shack]

Sort of depends on your budget. You can get a whole setup for $65 or you could get just the line for $65.

There are a lot of good combos out there by some reputable companys for around $150. Personnaly I would buy the components seperate because in a combo you usually get short changed in the line. Get the best line you can get because that is what you are truly casting. Then a decent rod and finally a reel. If your just panfishing the reel is nothing more than a place to keep your line.

[Bobb-o]

Walmart has a shakespeare fly rod combo with everything a beginner needs to get started in fly-fishing and it is only $20

[Ice-9]

I believe that there are a number of eelpout tippet class records open.

Tough one for starting...you have to expect that either 1. your cheap starting rod/reel combo will quickly prove too cheap for your needs and will be abandoned for a more expensive one, or 2. your expensive rod/reel combo will be wonderful but your interest will wane and you'll put it away and the money will be wasted.

That said I'd go higher than Shakespeare. Somebody above hit it well--the weak link in the cheapo combo is the flyline. I know it's tough for people just starting out to understand the importance of the line, especially when you've spooled up Trilene for so many years, but trust us--a good, carefully matched flyline makes any combo work.

ice

[Quickstrike]

in all honesty i wouldn't go too cheap because if it works out the same way i did when i started fishing you will become addicted and wish you had a better rig. A great beginning rod is the st.croix pro graphite or premier series. Both of these rods are fairly inexpensive but still perform quite well. I would get a 5 or 6 wt if you are just starting. It seems they are the easiest to get the hang of casting with and would be the most versitle, but if you on;y plan on fishing sunnies a 3 or 4 weight can be a lot of fun. if you only planning on fishing small fish a drag is not neccessary and a cheap reel like a martin classic or pleuger medalist will do the trick. getting a nicer fly line is one of the most important things when it comes to fly fishing, i like scientific anglers lines best personally, and make sure to keep them clean! i tie my own flies and leaders but i know you can get pre-tapered leaders for 3-10$ at gander or your local fly shop, while flies will cost you a couple bucks a piece. hope this helps.

[Quickstrike]

ooooo, i forgot another entry level fly rod and reel i have always liked is the redington redfly series. cabelas also offers some decent rods at a cheap price.

[Ice-9]

Hey quickstrike what is that object you're holding in your avatar? I'm guessing a newborn wolverine or a greased-up gila monster you're about to release into Lake Huron.

ice

[Quickstrike]

it's about a 30 inch Looper (Kamloops Rainbow Trout) that we catch up here on the north shore. i have pics of bigger ones i have caught but i liked the scenery in this pic the best. it's nice being able to catch big fish on open water all year around. this pic was taken at the beggining of last february.

[poutpro]

I am looking probably at spending around $75 to try out the sport. I did look at Sportsman's Warehouse today and saw that they had a very good variety of combos, reels, and rods. There were so many that I didn't know what to get. What is a good line to get?

[Quickstrike]

personally i would go with a scientific anglers weight forward line. I have also used cortland 444 and found it to be a good mid-range priced line.

[poutpro]

How do I go about putting line on the reel if I were to buy everything seperate? What are all the components of the line? backing leader etc? Thanks for you patience!

[JP Z]

Poutpro,

You will Need:

Rod

Reel

Line

Backing

Tippet

Leader

Flies.

The Backing goes first on the reel, then you attach your fly line to that. Then the Leader and onto the leader you attach a small piece of tippet.

A good place to get in expensive, but quality flyline I just found is the cortlandlinecompany. They are selling 2004 line at like 50% off Do a google search for their website.

[engadine52]

Hey Poutpro

Before I say anything I will issue a WARNING. Fly Fishing is a life long disease, no cure!

I have been dabbling in it for 35 yrs. and currently I am back in a resurgence of the "bad habit", you know tying flys, building a new rod, daydreaming about it, and other productive things that interfere with the "more important things" (according "the wife"). What can I say....

Here are my recommendations to add to your thoughts.

I agree with others that have posted. Spend as much as you can afford on a good graphite rod and a good line. These 2 things will make casting much easier to learn and become proficient. This is more important then anything else about learning to enjoy flyfishing. A couple of lessons from an experienced fly person will help also. Fly rod casting is not hard but is completely different then spinning or casting equipment.

You might consider a second hand flyrod. Check garage sales, auctions, or eBay. I have looked at eBay recently and there are some very good rods for reasonable prices.

The absolute best book I have ever used to learn about Fly fishing is:

Doug Swisher and Carl Richards (1975). Fly fishing strategy.

This one focuses on Trout fishing, but don't let that deter you. The up front chapters are an excellent instructional guide on learning about the equipment and how to use it.

If you are really into pan fish, this is a good read, interesting and very informative:

Terry and Roxanne Wilson (1999) Bluegill...Fly fishing and flys.

Easiest source of these books is the online bookstores. Amazon or Barnes&Noble.

A good video on casting would be helpful to watch also.

Check your public library for books and videos. Ours has lots of stuff but they are frequently checked out.

Ok- don't want to get long winded here. Enjoy yourself and don't say I didn't warn you about the disease.

[Stiff]

Pout Pro,

Do you ever get down towards the cities? If so I have a St Croix Pro Graphite 5-6 with a reel and line that you can try for free. I never use it anymore - I'm afraid I became "more afflicted" long ago which has resulted in other (more expensive) rods.

Post back here if you are interested.

~t

[poutpro]

I don't think I'd be able to even get to monkey around with it enough in a day to know if I like it or not. I could get down there for a day or so.

[Quickstrike]

like i posted earlier, that's the perfect beginners rod in my opinion, trust me you'll like it.

[Ice9]

If you buy the cheap combo, here's what I'd do:

Throw the line away. If it's spun onto the reel, pull it off and cut it off and chuck it. IF there's more line underneath (backing), leave that on. If there's no backing, good. GO to a flyshop and hand the combo to the guy there, tell him you want a line that will work well for a beginner. He'll ask you a bunch of questions about what you want to catch and choose an appropriate line, wiggle the rod and choose and appropriate line weight, then set up your reel properly. If you need backing, he'll spin it on to the proper depth (backing "bulks up" the spool so the flyline is right to the top of the spool, gives you more recover of line per rotation of the reel), tie the proper knot to connect the flyline to the backing, then run the line on in the proper direction. You'll be able to discuss the dynamics of lines and also be confident that the system is balanced and has good integrity for when that 25 pound muskie eats your sunfish popper. You'll get flyshop treatment and intel for a combo price and get the thing that's most important--a good flyline, well balanced and installed. The good flyline, incidentally, will work wonders for your learning curve.

ice

[Ice9]

Quick:

hear about the loopers. And Coasters are brookies, right? I used to catch some Kamloops in BC--they're a strain of rainbow that gets big but doesn't run rivers like steelhead, right? Might have to try that...maybe I should start another looper thread.

ice

[Quickstrike]

go to the BWCA/Duluth Forum there is always a ton of talk about loopers going on there. actually up here on the north shore the loopers do run up the rivers in the spring and that is just starting to get going right now. many people can't tell the difference between loopers and steelhead up here. the only reason we have the loopers is because the DNR stocks them to take fishing pressure off the wild steelhead and so anglers can take something home to eat if they wish. (wild steelhead is all C@R on the north shore)

[Magneto]

poutpro-

You have received much good information, and there isn’t a whole lot that I can offer except this:

I suggest going to your local library and checking out “L.L. Beans Deluxe Fly Fishing Book”. In it you will find a wealth of information from what kind of rods and reels to look for, how to rig your rod and reel. It will show you the knots that you will need to learn and it will also show you how to cast a fly rod. Everything in this in this book is very well written and easy to understand, with great pictures and most of all not boring.

It even has a whole trouble shooting section that to me was indispensable.

When I began my wife, gave me the book “Curtis Creek Manifesto” and while that too is a fine introductory book, I found it lacking. The L.L.Bean book is the best one I’ve seen or read. I too was once in your position and I can relate to what you are going through, but as you can see and read in the others posts it is a wonderful, magical and occasionally frustrating endeavor. And Like someone else mentioned, very addictive.

Good luck

Mike

[poutpro]

Thank you everyone for all of the useful information. Tomorrow I think I am going to go and check things out at Sportsman's Warehouse again. If I find what seems to be a good combo or setup, I will tell you what I got, and you can tell me if I got a decent one or not. If I don't find anything, I may order one from Cabela's. I'm sure I will be having a lot more questions in the upcoming months. One I have right now is: how do I know what type of flies to use? It seemed like there was so many to choose from last time I was out browsing. Thanks guys!!!

[Matt Breuer]

I am by no means an expert, these guys can point you much better than I can. But as an avid bluegill fisherman with a flyrod I can tell you what I use.

I bought a St. Croix Premeir Flyfishing Outfit, 4 wt. specifically for 'gills and crappies. It was under $200 and came pre-spooled and ready to fish.

For flies, take your pic, I've had luck on a lot of different stuff. I love fishing pannies with poppers during the spawn. Wooly worms are great pannie getters too. I'd invest in a few clouser's as well if you can find 'em. They sink nice and can get down to some of those bigger 'gills.

Good luck and welcome to panfish on the fly!

[Stiff]

My guess is that you would like it, but after even a little casting you may form an opinion about what you might like "just a little different", which is where the sickness creeps in.

If I were buying a set up like this I'd go buy a Pflueger (inexpensive, but decent quality) reel to match the rod and a good line. Others have suggested starting with a good quality Weight Forward line - and I completely agree with that advice. I'd either get a Scientific Angler, Orvis Wonderline, or Cortland - pretty much in that order. Either buy it "on sale", or buy it new on eBay.

For panfish - there are lots of things that will work. I'd start out with some wet flies - something yellow, and something black in about size #10-12.

~t

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[poutpro]

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[wall-i-king]

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[poutpro]

well I got my first fly rod today at Sportsman's Warehouse. It is a scientific angler package that I got for $70. Ill have to go and try it out. Can anyone give me some flie types that I can go get? Be specific so I can just go look for that name or ask someone for it. I looked today, and bought some that were small enough for panfish, but I don't know if they are good or even what they are called.

[wall-i-king]

Do you plan to just hit panfish with it around home or what do you plan to do with the new rod? For Panfish I have found that they will hit just about anything you throw at them as far as sunfish are concerned. If you are looking for crappies look for basically any type of marabou fly like a wooly bugger. I have a couple friends in the underwood area and I hope to be up there flyfishing panfish this summer and if you would be interested in getting together to hit some of the lakes in the area let me know. I don't know the area all that well but they know what they are doing. Let me know what you think. Post here or e-mail me.

keep fishin'

wall-i-king

[poutpro]

Yeah I will probably just go and try for sunfish, unless I find somewhere where I can try for trout sometime. I might try the St. Cloud quarry sometime because it is so close to SCSU where I go. That would be fun to get together if I can get the hang of casting.

[Matt Breuer]

Quote:

---

For flies, take your pic, I've had luck on a lot of different stuff. I love fishing pannies with poppers during the spawn. Wooly worms are great pannie getters too. I'd invest in a few clouser's as well if you can find 'em. They sink nice and can get down to some of those bigger 'gills.

---

Three good ones...

Clouser

Wooly Worm

Popper

It all depends on when you'll get out the most and where the fish'll be at that time. Flies are spendy, so you may want to target a specific time of year you'll fish the most and target the flies that'll work best for that time of year. Ex. Spawn, Post-Spawn, Mid-Summer, etc...

During the spawn I almost always throw poppers or dry flies like an adam's .

Post spawn is where I start using clouser minnows and slower falling wet flies like a mosquito .

Mid-Summer and into Fall you're going to want something that'll fall a little quicker like a beaded nymph. I've had good luck on lightning bugs and orange beaded hare's ear nymphs .

Pick up a couple of each of those and you're good to go for all seasons! Welcome to the addicting world...

[poutpro]

If I go to a store, will I see those names on the flies? I guess when I was at Sportsman's Warehouse, I didn't even realize if there was names on the flies or not. I am sure there was. I have no idea as to what I got for flies though.