Fish-Hawk.Net

So last year I tried tubing and loved it. I'm thinking about trying fly fishing this year...

Is there any point in buying one of those fly fishing rod/reel combos at wally world or crappy tire to try it out? I never like spending a bunch of $$ (who does?) to find out I don't enjoy something. Or would it be the spincasting equivalent of fishing with a pool cue?

Thoughts? What should I be spending on my first set?

I don't know what the CT specials are like but if you plan on using it from a tube you will want a 9ft rod to keep the line well above the water when casting. If you end up spending more money on a decent starter outfit, a 6wt will serve you well. Cheap out on the reel so you don't have to cheap out on the line. If decide you don't like fly fishing, you will probably be able to sell a decent starter outfit it fairly quickly for a price close to what you paid.

If you like spin fishing from a tube, fly fishing from a tube will not be any less fun. Spend a few hours on shore learning and practicing casting (YouTube has some really good stuff to help you learn) and it won't be long until you are leaving the spinning gear at home and making sure the 2nd fly rod with the intermediate sink line is safely stored on the tube.

HTH,
Doug

jcorrigan,

There is no shame in a CT special. In fact, I still use my CT special because I consider myself to be still very new to fly fishing. It's not one of the ones in the package or anything like that, just a rod and reel that was on their rack.

So for a beginner, I recommend it.

Fly fishing gear is definitely quite expensive so you do want to be sure you enjoy it before you start investing heavily in it.

Sean.

I second the CT approach. I saw the setup, and yeah, it's exactly what you pay for.. but it will definitely give you the feeling of what Fly Fishing is about and meet your initial needs... and it's cheap.

Used Fly-Gear seems hard to come by, however I do not check that often. I know some of the Fly Fishers on FH have been selling gear... JeanDorais in particular off-loaded some rod/reel combos.

One thing about the CT special, i'm not sure you'll be able to sell this and get your money back, maybe 50% ?? but thats a guess. However, better to spend $100 on the CT gear and decide you hate it, or love it... then spend $400 on a Sage combo or whatever and find out you bought the wrong setup for your "style" or that you hate it all together...

Of course, once the weekly outings start up, i'll happily bring along a second rod ready to go and loan it to you for the outing.. .that's a free approach for sure. We could spend a few min before hand in the parking lot practicing the basic casts, though I'm very new and just learning... but its better than nothing... (well assuming you do not pickup all of my bad habbits... haha)

Hookup,

Is that second rod for loan going to be your Zero-G?

jcorrigan,

Okuma makes a pretty good starter kit for ~$120 + tax. SA also makes a relatively inexpensive starter kit but I wasn't all that impressed with its quality.

As far as I know the only shop in town that carries the Okuma kit is Sport Action on St. Laurent.

Todd B. wrote:Hookup,

Is that second rod for loan going to be your Zero-G?

Um, no, i do not think so...

IT's my sage launch, 6wt 9foot. And it's a one-time loan, as I usually take two rods in the boat with me, at a min...

when i started, i started with the CT special. the reel broke within the first season and will likely break for you within 20 trips or so. when i bought it, it was about $50. the rod was actually ok though.

if okuma sells a package for 120, then i personally i would go that route in a 5wt or 6wt as was suggested already. you'd also need to get fly line, leader and tippet. fly line can be as cheap as $20 and as expensive as $100. leader and tippet you can make out of old spools of berkley mono you have kicking around as long as it's got the right stiffness. the TFO series 1 combo isn't too expensive either.

like was mentioned earlier, you are welcome to try out my fly combos as well. i even have my old CT special kicking around.

This is what I love about these forums...everyone ready to help out!

6wt? leader and tippet? Back to the Internet...I've got wayyy more to learn first!

Ottawa Flyfishers Society meetings are a great place to network with fly anglers of all levels. The annual Open House is coming up in May. (Todd can give you more details about the event. As well, Todd organizes a summer fishing outing every week. It's a good ay to learn a bit more while on the water.

The Okuma package actually comes with line and at least one leader (though it's attached with a nail knot). If you picked up this package I'd cut off the leader and replace it with a homemade or purchased loop connector.

As for wongr's TFO suggestion, having never seen it I'm not going to comment on it one way or the other. Orvis also has a starter kit (Streamline) series, however I don't know what the price is. My best guess would be closer to $200 for rod/reel/line.

For just under $100 lebaron has scientific angler complete setup, with backing, line, and a few flies to get started with.

I have been using it for a year and it works for me.