This spring, (2010) I got a major bug to start fishing, something I haven`t done since my ultimate moment catching a 2 lb largemouth when I was 12 or 13. For Father`s Day I got a inexpensive Daiwa spinning combo, took the young lad out, went out myself a few times and had some fun with it. However, my contrary nature meant that this wasn`t enough and I *needed* to try fly fishing. So far, I have purchased some quality gear, and gone out to practice casting/fish once. I have a lot of questions, but I figure if I ask them in a format like this, relating my experiences and what went right, and wrong, no one will mind answering them, and someone else can read it later and get some help as well.
The first thing I had to figure out was what rod and reel I wanted to get. And line, and leader, and what is tippet? The Scientific Angler kit looked like good, and the Pflueger kit for $40 seemed like a cheap way to get started. Were those kits any good? How much was I going to have to spend? I wanted to spend as little as possible, but still get something decent. I did a search on the forums here, and found some good threads on the topic. A lot of opinions, but most people agreed that you should go to Float, Paddle and Fly or the Green Drake to get started.
I went to Float, Paddle and Fly, and Paul and the other fellow there (I'm sorry, I can't remember his name) were super helpful. I asked about gear to start out with, and they showed it to me, with a rather large price tag, to me anyway, of $279. Quite a bit more than I was expecting to spend, but I wasn't going to quit yet. Paul set up a rod, and taught me some very basic stuff about casting, enough to get a feel for it. It was fun. So I bought some gear.
So I ended up getting:
- 4 piece, 6 wt, 9 foot Temple Fork Outfitters rod for $209.99. It was $80 more than the two piece rod, but it comes with a great hard case, so I have no worries about breaking it in transport or my son getting ahold of it. Also a lifetime warranty, even when it's my fault. That is hard to beat.
- Snowbee XSD 460 reel, $199.95. It's one with a cartridge system for multiple lines, and it came with two cartridges.
- Rio Mainstream Bass/Panfish floating line for $44.95. Quite a bit more than mono, but I guess it lasts longer.
- Rio leader and tippet, $4.25 and $4.49 respectively.
- Finally some flies, a bunch of 50 cent ones from the bargain bin, a Woolly Bugger, some Clouser Minnows and some feathery green ones.
I left with the reel all spooled up, and some basic instruction in casting, setting up my gear and looking after it. Now I wanted to go fishing.....
Threads on this forum that were helpful:
http://www.fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewt ... ight=setup
http://www.fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewt ... ight=setup
http://www.fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewt ... ight=setup
http://www.fish-hawk.net/hawktalk/viewt ... ight=setup