Info

[whtlion]

Hello
I am brand new to your family and to flyfishing as well,
I am so glad i came across this site, its loaded with info. I have not bought a rod or reel yet need to save up some cash for that first, I am going to tie my own flies ..... well try anyway
the reason I am posting here is because I came across this site..
http://www.1a-fly-fishing.com it looks mostly for salt water and being in delaware I plan on doing both salt and fresh
has anyone ever tried their product? if so can you please let me know your thoughts?
thank you in advance

Rob

[JRA]

ROB WELCOME TO THE SITE I myself started fly fishing in June . I started fresh fly fishing first then I began to learn tying my own flies . Of course like any sickness it only got worse . Last month I purchased a 9 wt fly rod and have also started tying my own salt flies. I think its terminal!

I really dont know much about buying online although most members will say ..."hey checkout our sponsors".
If you ever get the chance slip down to Salisbury and check out the local fly shop(the only fly shop) .

Casting lessons at the very beginning make things much easier.Try to see if your local shop offers them . My local shop includes them with any rod purchase. Ive also gotten lots of tying lessons because I purchased material there.
Oh and most importantly when you do start casting remember even the best caster started out as the worse.

[whtlion]

Thank you for the welcome,
Well i have not found a fly shop here yet, there is a lack of bait and tackle places here as well.
thank you for your kind words, i have a 14'' jon boat with a 15 HP merc along with trol motor, maybe one day i will slip down that way and you and i can wet some lines.

Rob

[peregrines]

Hey Rob,

Welcome to FAOL. There?s a lot of helpful info here to help get you started in both fly fishing AND fly tying. Since you?re new to this craziness you might find links on the main page of FAOL helpful:

Fly Fishing Basics, has a ton of info on rods, reels, lines etc and
Fly Tying has links to an excellent series of flies for beginners with detailed step by step photos and instructions as well as helpful info on getting started with tools and materials.

Feel free to post any questions as they come up. Lot?s of knowledgeable folks here that are very generous with their advice.

As far as the site you linked to, I?ve never heard of them, but I checked out the site and it looks like they are decent? but ??. it also looks like they?re in ALASKA!

If you decide to go the mail order/online route, I?d recommend checking out some of the FAOL sponsors. I?ve personally dealt with Hook and Hackle and have found them to have excellent prices, very good customer service and they?re very helpful folks with experience helping new comers to the sport get started. (BTW, I don?t have any affiliation with them other than being a satisfied customer.)

JRA made some good suggestions as far as getting casting lessons. I haven?t dealt with them but Google lists a couple of shops in your area:

http://www.amarbleheadflyfisher.com/Flyshop.htm in Wilmington, DE and http://www.quiettimesflyshop.com/ in Lancaster, PA

BTW, Mason that runs the fly shop in Salisbury, MD that JRA mentioned has an excellent reputation

Another thing to consider is checking out some local organizations like the Delaware Chapter of Trout Unlimited at http://www.geocities.com/delawaretu/
and Saltwater Fly Anglers of Delaware http://www.sfaod.com/ .These groups usually have fly casting sessions, group outings where you can learn a lot, and tying classes as well as monthly meetings. It will really cut time off the learning curve. If you decide to check out the Delaware Saltwater club, I know one of the guys down there so let me know.

As far as a rod/reel outfit goes, there?s good news and bad news. The bad news?. you?ll probably want two, one for freshwater and one for salt. The good news, is that you have lot?s of options for relatively inexpensive, but very good gear to get started. A 9 foot 5 weight rod and matching reel would be a good choice for PA trout streams, panfish and occasional freshwater bass fishing. But would be too light for throwing bigger saltwater flies in the wind for stripers.

A 9 foot 9 wt rod and reel would probably be the best all around choice for stripers blues, sea trout etc., but would be overkill for trout and panfish (but would be great for small tarpon, redfish, snook, bones, permit in Florida, and large LM Bass, pike, steelhead, salmon). I?d probably get the saltwater one first, since fishing should be picking up for the fall run of Striped Bass which should be happening now through October and November, and perhaps getting the freshwater for spring trout season, if Santa doesn?t drop one off in December.

If you want some make/model suggestions, let us know what you?ll be fishing for in fresh and salt water (and if you?re going to be fishing from shore or boat in salt) and your price range and I?m sure you?ll get a lot of recommendations. It would also be helpful to know whether you plan on taking it on airplanes or not (if so, you?d probably want 4 piece rods instead of 2 piece) For the most responses, post on the main FAOL forum, since fresh water folks may not pop into the saltwater forum. And for advice/questions getting started on tying, there?s some really great folks on the Fly Tying Forum.

Glad you joined the family! Welcome aboard.

peregrines

[Eric-WD]

As been pointed out before, If you have to mail order go with the sponsors, if going local buy the sponsors products localy

Sponsors here are more than just advertisers they have been selected not only for their products but for there customer service. by buying from sponsors you can be assured that friends here have recomended them as companies that stand behind what they sell and sell a good product.

BTW welcome to fly fishing and FAOL. cant be much help with your local fishing as Im in Idaho but read the beginners section, and ask questions and you will learn much in a short time

Eric

[whtlion]

Thanks to all, you are such a friendly bunch ..... i will go with the sponsors, i thing im going to start with Scientific Anglers for now due to there cost.
i'll keep you posted

Rob

[peregrines]

Rob,

You may want to post on the FAOL main forum (under the FAOL Community Section of the BB Menu/Index Page) asking the opinions of other folks regarding combos.. I know others have bought a variety of them from Cabelas, LL Bean, TFO, Redington, Orvis, Bass Pro etc. and they may have some words of wisdom regarding SA or other combos and/or relatively inexpensive rod and reels. As I remember SA has two types of combos, Concept (approx $100) and Ultra (approx $200). If you are thinking of the Ultra, and spending $200, you may be better off mixing and matching rods and reels from different companies.

One problem with inexpensive combos is that you?ll likely want to upgrade every thing, including rod, reel, and line soon, and in saltwater, especially so, in which case you?ll be back to square one. If your budget is limited to $100 or so, you may want to also consider buying used equipment from a fly shop, or the For Sale Forum here on FAOL, etc. to get more bang for your buck and have something that will both get you off to a good start and to be happy using for the next several years. If you go that route, look for a medium-fast action rod since this will help you feel the rod load during casting, and is a little more forgiving than the generally more expensive fast action rods. Most rod companies make rods in a variety of actions. Reels are generally less important than rod and line IMHO. A click and pawl drag system is fine for FW trout, panfish and bass. You could also use one in salt, but I?d recommend a disc drag there.

Another option is to go for a good rod and line and cheapo reel like a Pflueger Medalist 1494 for the 5 wt at approx $25 and the Pflueger Rim Control Medalist 1598 for the 9 wt at $45. These are click and pawl adjustable drag reels, with the 1598 having the ability to palm the reel for additional control in salt. These reels have caught a ton of fish, and I have them and use them, along with some much more expensive shinier ones.

Finding the sweet spot between price/performance is tough. For a SW rod and reel the consensus up here in the NE is a TFO Series 1 rod and Tioga 10 reel. Both made in the USA and have excellent warrantees and customer service.


SW Outfit

Rod 9 foot, 9 weight, medium-fast action
Recommend:
TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) Series 1 (2 piece) approx $110
TFO Professional (4 piece) approx $ 140


Reel mid arbor, dual disc drag, holding 200 yds 20lb backing
Tioga 10 approx $155
Tioga Teton 8-10 approx $220

Line 9 wt WF either floater (shore) or intermediate (shore and boat) by SA or Rio $40-60

I?ll defer to others on fresh water recommendations, since I just use the same stuff I?ve been using for years, but throw it out on the FAOL forum to get lot?s of opinions. Hope this helps?..

peregrines

[BigFlatBrook]

Equipment-wise, I think those are great recommendations.

Just as important as the rod and reel is a good stripping basket. You can make one. Do an internet search for instructions on how to do that.

[mdram]

if you wanna get a crash corse id suggest this

2nd Annual Saltwater Fly Fishing Conclave
Sponsored by
THE SALTWATER FLY ANGLERS OF DELAWARE (sfaod.com)

Announcing the 2nd Annual Saltwater Fly Fishing Conclave sponsored by the Saltwater Fly Anglers of Delaware fly fishing club. All interested saltwater fly anglers and clubs are welcome to attend. Fish possibilities are stripers, blues, weakfish, shad, flounder and croakers. A SPECIAL GUEST, STEVE FARRAR, CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE ATLANTIC SALTWATER FLYRODDERS, HAS GRACIOUSLY ACCEPTED OUR INVITATION TO PRESENT HIS EXCELLENT TYING INSTRUCTION & DEMONSTRATION IN OUR HOSPITALITY SUITE. WE ANTICIPATE STEVE?S APPEARANCE AS A BIG PLUS FOR OUR EVENT!

The event is free and is scheduled to bring together fly anglers and clubs to fish our area?s waters. Help us to make this event a success by attending and adding your own expertise!

The Sand Palace motel in Dewey Beach (Sand Palace Motel in Dewey Beach, Delaware) has been selected to accommodate visiting anglers, if needed, and a special rate for the Conclave has been negotiated. Rate for Friday or Saturday is $59.00 + 8% tax per night; Sunday is $35.00 + 8% tax.

Reservations are to be made by each interested individual at their own cost by mentioning that you are with the Saltwater Fly Anglers of Delaware Conclave to get the special rate. The motel phone number for reservations is (302) 227-4000 or 800-775-SAND.

* - Please notify Don Avondolio, (302) 937-9487 or Bill O?Connor, (302) 368-9386 or bill_oconnor@verizon.net in order to provide adequate club preparation and for any questions about the event.

The event dates are Oct. 19, 20 and 21, 2007. The Hospitality Suite at the Sand Palace will be open from Friday at 1 PM until 10 PM and Saturday from 9 AM to 10 PM. It will be cleaned up Sunday morning prior to check-out time, so there will be someone there for reports. Those who are able to fish Sunday morning can report any catches via cell phone or e-mail after that. The event will terminate when the last person?s fly leaves the water on Sunday!

Hospitality Room Features:
1 - FREE coffee, soda, water and snacks (pizza has been known to appear from time to time!)
2 - Fly fishing videos on display daily
3 - Fly tying of local patterns by club individuals
4 ? FREE guiding and instruction on local beach spots
5 - FREE map showing fishing locations
6 - Cell phone communication with room regarding where fish are immediately active
7 - Raffle prizes