starting flyfishing

[FEESHAMAN]

Hi all

Ive recently decided to take up flyfishing. I was wondering if I could get a suggestion on what gear to buy for small trout and panfish. Since im starting, i dont want to spend too much, but any specific brands are appreciated. Thanks
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Hi there feeshaman and welcome to the world of swatters. I would venture to say a 3 or 4 wt would work for you just fine. With that said, what kind of waters will you be fishing? Lakes, rivers, ponds, brooks or creeks? Do you plan on wading, tubing or just working the riparian? Also what kind of budget did you have in mind? Besides a rod you will need a reel, line, leader, tippet, flies, fly box, nippers, etc, etc. Oh yea getting into fly fishing [/size][/#008000][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]is like getting pregnant. One cannot be just a little pregnant[/size][/#008000][/font].
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[flygoddess]

TFO or ST. Croix are priced right along with Cabela brands. All have warranties that can be a must for a newbie...LOL
Reels are not too important as they are just a place to hold your line on small gear.
A 3 or 4 weight rod should be great. I personally would lean more toward a four weight as it would be more versatile.
Don't skimp on the line. You can go with DT (double taper) which is basically two lines in one. When one end wears out, you flip the line the other way.
Plus DT is great on small creeks and streams and after 30' there is no difference in a DT and a WF (Weight forward)
Get a good name brand line, as it will make or break it. Much easier to load up and less memory.
Budget line would be like the Cortland Peach.
To welcome you to FF, pm me an address and I will send you a couple of Furled Leaders. You will never need to buy a leader that way. They are very reusable and you just replace the tippet so the leader stays the same.

FG
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[macfly55]

feeshaman,

first off welcome to the site and we are glad you want to be a ff'er.. :-)

next.. I can personally attest as to the quality and strength of the furled leaders that FG is offering you.. you will not have any problems with them..

as for gear.. as newbie not that long ago I searched for combination setups.. if you get a good brand such as those suggested by FG (and Im sure others) you will not regret it.. you may spend a little more but in the long run it will be worth it..

as for other gear you may need.. we have covered the rod/reel, the line, you got leaders coming.. so that leaves a few other things..

tippet.. you can buy tippet in spools from any number of quality manufactureres such as bass pro, cabelas, orvis.. etc.. you can also go in a little different direction and get several small spools of a good flurocarbon line and use that as your tippet.. it may cost a bit more but again in the long run you will not regret it..

depending on where you will be fishing the most you may in the future want to look at waders, fishing vest of some sort etc.. but tools I think essential on the water would be small pair of snippers, a set of locking pliers/forceps, and a good pocket knife.. I always have my swiss army on me when on the water..

Im sure others will be piping up with suggestions so I will leave my list at that for now..

again.. welcome.. and please dont hesitate to ask questions.. we are here to help..

MacFly
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]If you have access to a local fly shop, that would be the best place to start your adventure. A good shop will help you get started with your equipment. They are in the business of making and keeping customers & not about picking your pockets clean. They will let you test their equipment and even give you a casting lesson or two. At Kmart, Big 5, Sports Chalet & even Wally's World most of the clerks don't have the expertise or interest in seeing you again. If you were getting into spin or bait casting I wouldn't have a problem recommending any of these retailers.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[FEESHAMAN]

Hi All


Just winding down tonight but wanted to say thanks for all the help. If I can think of any other questions I guess theyll wait til morning.

Thanks again
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Hey there Feeshaman - what is your home city? If you live in SoCal I can recommend several fly clubs that you visit, and if not, check Google for a listing of any fly clubs in your area. If there is one close by, plan on attending one of their meetings as most club members would be most willing to help get you started. Many offer free casting lessons which would certainly help when it comes time to test a few rods before you purchase one.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[macfly55]

dang.. I knew Id forgotten that important point.. :-)

MacFly
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[FEESHAMAN]

hi again


I was just wondering if i could get some help on what to look for when buying gear, for example, my rod and reel. For the rod, what length and action. What should i look for in a reel?

Thanks
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[rockroller]

Well, THAT opens a can of (San Juan) worms!

You need to answer the question re the size of the water you'll be fishing.

For example, growing up in Utah, I loved an 8'6" 5 or 6 weight. Now that I live in Virginia, I live by my 7' or so 3 and 4 weights. Someone who loved fishing out of kayaks or float tubes would absolutely hate a 7' 3-weight. But where I live, I cannot imagine living without it.

Action? Oh boy. For a first fly rod, how about a medium fast.

I suppose that the most common trout rod nationwide is probably an 8'6" medium fast 5-weight. I have one. A great one. (And I never use it.) But if I moved back West, I sure would.

All the prior advice is spot on. Get to a fly shop and meet folks who know your area and can let you try a few rods. You'll find what suits you.

Oh, and here's a tip. Stop thinking dry flies and think nymphs. And then you can go back to dry flies.[]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]Right on rockroller. BTW for tubing I would want at least a 9' rod. Longer would be better if one only FF from a tube.
We still don't know what type of waters that Fees will be fishing for that do make a difference. Hey there Fees why don't review what has been mentioned above and perhaps give us some feed back on questions asked. Don't be embarrassed to tell us what your budget is. Like a good fly line [which is more important than the reel itself] will set you back $50-60. We certainly want to help but right now we're fishing in the dark - at least I am.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[FEESHAMAN]

Hi


Ok, Ill get some of those questions answered. I will be fishing in rivers, with the occaisonal smaller stream. I would either be wading, or fishing from the bank. My budget is around $300.

thanks again for everything so far
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[peter805]

[quote flygoddess]TFO or ST. Croix are priced right along with Cabela brands. All have warranties that can be a must for a newbie...LOL
Reels are not too important as they are just a place to hold your line on small gear.
A 3 or 4 weight rod should be great. I personally would lean more toward a four weight as it would be more versatile.
Don't skimp on the line. You can go with DT (double taper) which is basically two lines in one. When one end wears out, you flip the line the other way.
Plus DT is great on small creeks and streams and after 30' there is no difference in a DT and a WF (Weight forward)
Get a good name brand line, as it will make or break it. Much easier to load up and less memory.
Budget line would be like the Cortland Peach.
To welcome you to FF, pm me an address and I will send you a couple of Furled Leaders. You will never need to buy a leader that way. They are very reusable and you just replace the tippet so the leader stays the same.

FG[/quote]


Furled Leader- I was wondering about those.Dont the
fish see it? How does it cast? Is that what you fish with?
How do you like it?

Peter
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[macfly55]

I dont think the fish see them.. if they do it would look more like a stick in the water or grass than a shiny line.. I hd no problems whatsoever with fish being spooked by them last time I fished..

how do they handle.. wonderful.. I love them.. they are as tough as nails.. like the old Timex commercials.. they take a licking and keep on ticking.. :-)

MacFly [cool]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]The furled leaders cast like a dream. In fact if you hold one end of the leader and give it a flip it will lay out straight. Try that with a mono leader and you will wind up with a coiled mess at your feet. I make them using different colored threads. [mostly 6/0 waxed Uni_Threads] I like them about 5' long and then add 4 to 6' of tippet. Light olive or a pale yellow seems to work well. FGD had sent me a couple a while back and I was so impressed with them that I wanted to get one for each of my reels. Well when I dicovered that the go for around $12.50 a copy I quickly resorted to making my own. The leaders are tappered as this one is a 6/8/10. Meaning there are 18" of 6 strands, 24" 8 strands and 24" 10 strands.
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[macfly55]

they do cast like a dream.. I am a rock at casting and these things make me look good.. LOL..

and they are strong.. very strong.. in fact a long time ago when FG sent me one to try I got it all tangled up with the tippet.. I mean it was a birdsnest ... I got it as untangled as much as I could but I had to cut a part of the leader to do it.. I ended up tying a small perfection loop in the end of it and was able to continue fishing.. I mean I got my hook hooked on rocks etc.. I had to tug hard to clear them.. on at least two occassions I lost the fly because the TIPPET broke.. not the leader or the knot I had tied..

ever since then I have been "hooked" on using furled leaders..

MacFly [cool]
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]The 6/8/10, 6/0 leader shown will break under a weight stress of 8 lbs. I haven't tested a 3/0 or 8/0 but one of these days I will. For sure the tippet will break first. They can be made with mono or fluorocarbon material if one is concerned about stealth.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[peter805]

I seeeeeeeeeee
I need to try one of those, Im just not sure about
the price tag.

Peter
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3][img]../../../images/gforum/happy.gif[/img]Believe that flygoddess ask you to PM her your address and she would send you a couple. Now how about that for a cool moderator?[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[peter805]

No,I dont think that anyone asked me anything[:/] Maybe
I did not see it or something. I may ask FG if I can
buy some from her.

Peter
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