When talking about beginners, it would be interesting to have some understanding as to when folks tend to develop an interest in fishing/fly fishing. It seems like if it's often at a younger age, the beginner may not have much in the way of discretionary income to be able to invest a major outlay. If the interest usually comes later in life, cost may be less of an issue.

So when did you become interested in fishing and/or fly fishing?

I personally got started fishing (with a cane pole and thru the ice) around the age of 6 or 7, and got interested in fly fishing around the age of 12.