First time fly-fisher

[jnbsigma]

Hello all. I've been a member of BFT for a while, but this is my first visit to this board. I've decided it's about time for me to take up fly fishing since I'll be moving to British Columbia in the fall for grad school.

So, I just barely starting learning about rod types and such, and what I'm thinking is that I should get a smaller rod for the troutskies around here to learn on, then closer to the fall I can pick up a bigger/better one for the salmon and steelhead up in BC.

Does anyone have any suggestions/pointers/opinions on what I should start with and how I can start learning? I plan on spending some time on the archives board once it's up and running (currently under construction). I'm sure a lot of my newbie questions can be answered there. I also just discovered the general fly fishing board, so I'll start putting in my due diligence there. I just want to get a setup and start my casting practice as soon as possible! []

I've got probably around $100ish to throw at my first combo. I really just don't even know the right questions to ask at this point so any and all advice would be most welcome! Thanks a ton!!!
[signature]

[kochanut]

well, this is my opinion. i am by no means a master fly fisherman, however i have yet to go wrong with a 5 weight or 7 weight. i have run the gaumet of fish on them also. from blue gill to a king salmon in oregon, even on a 7 weight. check out cabelas, they have combos priced pretty decently. i was starting to get the hang of it about a year ago and got sent to korea, now im in germany and back at it. im aout to lay down some serious money and buy either a sage or g-loomis, havent decided yet. in my opinion a 5 weight is a great starter, but go with what you feel comfortable with. i myself have alot to learn about fly fishing and i have been doing it for 8 to 9 years now and love it.
[signature]

[lunkerhunter2]

I am by no means a "master" either, but if you look at my ff posts in the last month or so you will see i can hold my own. Here is my advice.
If you are going to start on trout around here i would suggest a 5 or 5/6. It will handle pretty much any condition you will encounter around here for trout although you might find yourself in a situation that you feel underpowered. Been there, done that a few times lately.[crazy]
A 9' will serve all purposes and is nice to have when you are making longer casts or need some extra power and reach. A floating line is a must. You can use lead or sink tips if you need to get deeper. Go to sportsmans or the like and grab 5 or 6 rods of about the same price range as you have a budget for. My first rod was a $35 shakespear Intrepid 5/6 weight and i caught plenty of fish on it standing next to guys with $700 rods and $300 reels.[] You don't need an expensive rod to catch fish although the more $$ you spend the better the feel and features. You can get reels(all they do is hold line in my opinion) from $15 to unbelievable amounts. I have a less than amazing Okuma Sierra 4/5 on my Reddington RS2 and it serves it's purpose most of the time. I will be upgrading to a Reddington CD 5/6 in the next 2 weeks.
Walmart has some great starter kits for under $100 with rod, reel, and line. Different stores have different kits and brands to choose from. Sportsmans also has starter kits with decent rods and reels. Hope this info helps. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.[cool]
[signature]

[Saberfish]

[black][size 3]The most common and preferred rod is a 5 wt. 9 foot.[/size][/black]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]For the money, I feel that the rod/reel/accessory package at Cabela's is about as good a deal as available on the market.[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]This combo provides much of the equipment that you would need, and it comes with a good warranty.[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]I have recommended this combo before, and have never had any complaints.[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[size 3]See attached[/size]
[size 3][/size]
[signature]

[fishned]

My advice would be to get into the classifieds on local flyfishing message boards (including here) and look for a decent quality used setup rather than to settle for and try to learn with cheap equipment. There are plenty of guys who have medium grade tackle lying around gathering dust since they have upgraded. And don't just look for what is on sale, ask if anyone has a decent 5 wt outfit they would be willing to sell.

The 9' 5 wt that has been suggested is probably a good place to start, but since you are thinking of getting something heavier later on, I think a 4 wt would work well for trout on local waters, then a 7 or 8 wt will serve to complement your collection later.

I have a decent 5/6 wt St Croix that I would be happy to let you borrow while you are looking for one to buy. You will have to get a reel and a line for it, but you are gonna need to get those eventually anyway. All I ask is to have it back for a week when my 14 year old goes to scout camp. I built him a rod that is worth about $350 and I am not going to let him take it and take a chance that those little heathens accidently step on it.

PM me if you are interested.

Ed
[signature]

[UtahMan]

I was in your same boat just a few months ago. I looked at all the options and ended up choosing the Cabelas Three Forks combo with a Ross FlyStart reel for $100. I looked real hard at the Genisis combo but in the end I chose to go with the Three Forks because I thought that the quality of the rod and reel were significantly better than the Genisis. I know that I spent a lot more on the other accessories and gear by buying it all separate, and I didn't get everything else that came in the Genisis pack, but I got the things that I need the most for the type of fishing I will be doing and I got good quality stuff that will last me for a little while. I don't think that the Genisis would have been a bad choice but I have been very happy with my set up so far. I went with a 6 weight because I plan on fishing mainly the larger rivers and some lakes here in the area.

I hope that the bug doesn't bite you the same way it has me. I went extremely cheap on waders, vest, boots, etc. and now I just got all the stuff to start tying flies. Even buying all the cheap stuff, it sure adds up in a hurry so be careful. You may not know what your getting yourself into!
[signature]

[flygoddess]

I totally agree with fishned. In fact I sold a Orvis Power Matrix here about a month ago. The rod was a 4 pc. 5 wt 9' and sales for $350+, I sold in in NEW condition with tube for $175. There are some great deals, but you have to look. You find something don't be afraid to ask a seasoned ff if it is a good deal or not.
I also agree with the custom built. So, many people are doing that now. Even some blanks have warranty.
I personally do NOT care for a rod marked 3/4, 4/5, or 5/6. It is not a true taper and it is always way confusing on which line to use. And to put it bluntly, the CRAPPIER the gear the harder it is to learn on.
By no means am I saying that CHEAP/CRAPPY is the same as INEXPENSIVE

And like Lunkerhunter said, you don't need the UPPER end rods to catch fish, but it is always much better to have a GOOD one that you can grow into, instead of a CHEAP on you out grow.
Reels, not that important however a good drag is something you might not need but can save the day if you have it.
LINE!!!! DON'T SKIMP! This is the most important part to ff next to the fly. In fact you can cast a line without a rod[]

Feel free to bounce questions off any us as you go along, daily if need be.
We can all help you avoid mistakes we made also.
FG
[signature]

[sinergy]

I too am no master far from it but Ive been able to pull some nice fish out of the surrounding Utah waters. I started with a 9 ft 5wt rod and think for beginners it would be the best way to go. It will help you lay the foundation for casting. I eventually upgrade to a 8' 4 wt and I have allot more control and accuracy with it. I would suggest the Cabela's Three Forks/Ross Flystart Fly Combo. You get a decent rod, a Ross reel and fly line for about 100 bucks. The other option would be the St. Croix Triumph combo decent combo it was a bit stiff for my taste tough.
[signature]

[jnbsigma]

Thanks for all the quick replies everyone! That gives me a good kickoff in the right direction.

So ya'll brought up another question...is it better to get higher quality used (like on the classifieds) or go with new stuff at a place like Cabelas to get the warranty and customer service? I've not had many problems where I've had to take stuff back often, but I have returned a fairly pricey spinning rod as well as a leaky float tube, so it was definitely worth it in those cases, but I guess there's no way of knowing for sure until something goes wrong. Any thoughts?

Sounds like the 9' 5 wt is the way to go for starters, so that's where I'll start. I'll start looking into all the aforementioned models and comparing stats.

Also, from what I gather, it sounds much more important to get a high quality rod & line whereas the reel isn't as big a deal. So what should I look for specifically in a line? Also, are there certain "no-no's" to avoid in any of the gear?

I spent about an hour tonight on youtube watching "how to" casting videos. Can't wait to get going! [cool]
[signature]

[sinergy]

Fly Rods are like cars you'll first want to test drive all that you can, and then once you got a feel for the right one then you'll know what is right for you. Basically try to cast every rod you can, and go with the one that feels and is aesthetically pleasing to you.

In my opinion if you can find a high end used rod for a cheap price id buy it allot of these rods have life time warranties you just have to pay shipping & handling to get them fixed.

As far as line goes FFgodess is right DON'T SKIMP ON THE LINE a good high quality line with general maintenance will last you several years I like Cortland, im using 555 but the 333 weight forward & 444 rocket taper are great lines oh and make sure its tapered at both end that way you can use the tag end one the front is chewed up.
[signature]

[orvis1]

First of all welcome to the sport! I am and expert (j/k) flyfishing is something you never master just continually get better at. Start of nyphing catch some fish build some confidence. Then this summer trow some larger dries caddis, hoppers, beatles ect. Get prepared because it is expensive sport to get into but cheap to maintian once you have the gear. I would also highly suggest PM some of the members here and going out fising with them. You can learn a ton and most are willing to give you some pointers. If you can swing it buy a good quality rod and skimp on the reel. Otherwise a year from now you will be wanting new equipment. Most of all have fun!
[signature]

[kochanut]

make the trip down to cabelas there in UT. tke a look at their rods. ask for some help and tell the guy/girl that you want to cast the rod you feel most comfortable with. they will let you test cast the rod. at least they have let me in the past.
[signature]

[jnbsigma]

Well, I haven't been able to get out and test drive anything yet (finals season), but I found a guy who's selling some rods & reels here locally. I sent him an email and here's what he wrote me back:

Hi Justin, I have sevral rods that might be appropriate for British Columbia...what type of fishing will you be doing the most? Salmon, Steelhead, Trout, ? Let me know what you may need.. I have a 6wt. Sage DS 2 That I have fished maybe 6 times is all.. Looks brand new and basicaly is. I would need to get about $100.00 for. I also have a 9' 8weight Fenwick HMX. It is brand new and still has plastic on handle.. I would need about $90.00 for that rod. I have a couple 5 Weight Rods in Powell, Loomis or Lamiglass rods.. I think that I have a couple of reels.. One Brand New ,a Scientific Anglers System 11 with the nice disc brake systems.. It is for Line weights 5, 6, 7, and I have 3 brand new spools in box to go with. I will probably need to get $80.00 for the reel and $30.00 each for the Spools.. I have a Cortland Crown Fly Reel that I would sell for around $35.00. and others... Let me know which type of fishing you will be doing...

So I kinda have an idea of what he's talking about, but obviously don't have any experience with any of them. Any thoughts on these? I know I'm going to want something I can attack salmon, steelhead, and trout with, but I'll mainly be doing local lower-mainland fishing (closer to the cities) so I imagine I won't need anything too huge. Thoughts???
[signature]

[pa]

Welcome Justin,
I"m pretty new also so this is just my opinion. The most important is the fly line. Get the best you can afford. My wife gave me the ScientificAnglers 9ft 5/6 rod with their concept 58 reel. It is pretty forgiving I think and it was around 100.00 for the combo. There are better stuff for sure but this works great for me. I can cast it 40-50 ft with no problem and that is good enough for me. I will upgrade sooner or later, but this one works fine. As far as flies go just start with a few proven patterns( hares ear,phesant tail,woolly bugger, wd40 iswhat I started with.Once I learnedd to use these I expanded. I know there is a ton of flies out there and it can be very confusing when starting out. Just start slow and dont get overwhelmed with stuff. Whew! Guess I should shut up. Drop by Willow Pond at the outing and I will let you try my stuff if you want.
Will be there tuesday most of the day. Good luck.
pa
[signature]

[flygoddess]

I would say the Sage sounds like a heck of a deal. I had the Discovery rod back several years ago and I know it has changed, but it was the sweetest rod I had...miss that thing now. For $100. I would snarf that thing up. Then maybe the Cortland reel. Pa is right, get ready to shell out $55. to $65. for line however, also check e-bay. I have found Killer line there for half price.
The Rio Selective Trout is awesome. Not sure the difference on the original and the II. Also Rio Windcutter II. The Air Flo Ridgeline is dynamite, but it has a lot of memory. I have heard the II addressed the problem though.
I got a chance to cast the Cabela's Genisus series yesterday and I am totally impressed. A light med/fast rod.
[signature]