Rod and reel question

[CharlaineC]

Ok so here we go my first major fly fishing questions

I have a berkley cherrywood c40 8 recommended line aftma (whats that mean) 6 wt or 7 wt with a shakespeare (ok) free stripping automatic no 1824reel.

The rod is in great shape as is the reel. I understand it is a 6 or 7 wt is the line I should use but wich one should I go with and should it be waight forward or dbl tapered.

should I stick with the automatic reel or get myself a standard one?

also what is a good price to pay for line? one place has them for $30 each but others have them for 60 and up

Also is it good to have both floating and sinking or does the type of flys you plan on useing call for the line?

thanks

[peregrines]

I'd go with a weight forward taper, 7 weight, floating line, often referred to as a 7 WF-F.

Although I haven't used them, I've heard very good things about the Hook and Hackle House brand fly lines. Hook and Hackle is a sponsor of FAOL so it's a win win:
http://shop4.mailordercentral.com/ho...number=HHFWF7F

The aftma stands for American Fishing Tackle Manufacturer's Association. They use a standard system for weighting the first 30 feet of fly lines, so that you can compare apples to apples when shopping for fly lines for different rods designed to cast specific "weight" fly lines.

As far as the weight goes, i think a 7 weight might be a bit easier to cast with your rod than a 6 if you're new to fly fishing, and the weight forward taper will let you throw wind resistant flies like poppers and stuff for bass a tad easier than a double taper. A floating line is the most versatile for most types of fishing- you can use it with poppers and dry flies on the surface, as well as flies that sink a bit like streamers and nymphs, and heavily weighted stuff like clouser minnows if you need to get a bit deeper. Down the road, if you find you need to get deeper you can add a sinking line or sink tip line, or a much cheaper alternative is a 5 or 10' sinking poly leader that you can attach to the front of your floating line. But you'll get the most use out of a floating line for most situations.

Good luck.

mark

[CharlaineC]

thanks i'll look at them

[deathb4disco]

I would prefer a standard reel. It's lighter and will be fine for most fishing situations.

For line, it's hard to go wrong with Scientific Anglers, Rio, or Cortland. Even their cheaper lines are good.

If you haven't already, check out the "Fly Fishing Basics" section of the site -- lots of good info in there.

[rainbowchaser]

Another reason to go with a weight forward line is that your automatic reel probably doesn't have a lot of capacity and weight forward lines take less room. Without casting the rod I can't reconmend a line but a six weight will also take up less room on the reel if that appears to be a problem. For now the automatic reel will work fine. If you keep fly fishing you will eventualy want another outfit.

[Silver Creek]

You probably won't like this advice, but I think you are making a mistake.

Most of the replies assume that the rod is satisfactory although you have not told us what species or where you are planning to fish. I also doubt that anyone of us has ever cast the rod you are referring to so how can we give you information as to whether it is a good beginner rod?

It sound to me like you want to build your fly fishing outfit around this rod. I'm not sure that this is a rod that is best for a new fly fisher. Berkely is not a brand known for fly fishing equipment or design.

I'm going to recommend that you take the rod to someone who is a experienced fly fisher and see if he/she thinks the rod is worth using. I suspect that this rod may be a "buggy whip" rod that is too flexible, so before spending money, have the rod evaluated.

I googled the rod and found this, which is probably not the same rod but it indicates to me that the Berkely Cherrywood rods were and are of lesser quality construction.

http://www.troutlet.com/Berkley-Cher...Rods-P219.aspx

An accomplished fly caster can cast with virtually any rod. But a beginner will have a hard time casting a floppy rod, especially if they are transitioning from spin fishing. So I think you need to examine the rod and see if it is graphite or fiberglass. If it is fiberglass, it is most certainly very old and probably not suitable for you. If it is graphite, it could be OK but you need to have someone look at it.

If the rod is not suitable, then there are plenty of high quality but lower priced rods and reels that you can buy either as a kit or separately to learn on.

My question to you is what species are you planning to fish for? Are you planning to fish rivers or lakes. If rivers, how large and how brushy are they. I think that is where the discussion needs to start.

[CharlaineC]

i fish bass and trout as well as cat but cats are bottem lol

[harleybob87]

CharlaineC the rod you have and the reel you have are fine if you are happy with them. I happen to have one of the rods and give casting lessons with it. It is fine. Although a lot of people do not use the auto reels they are fine as well. If you are fishing lakes and ponds then you will want a intermediate sink line in a 7 weight. You will get better casting with a 7 weight line, the rod will load better, and although ron's lines (hook and hackle) are outstanding lines start with something a little less expensive. I recommend aquanova lines and you can get seconds for about $10.00. I have used these lines and they are good. If you don't want seconds then go with firsts for about $14.50. Here are the sites I use for them

new lines http://www.dorber.com/product.html

seconds http://www.discountfishinginc.com/Or...gorySystemId=0

[SW Ladyfish]

with no offense meant to harleybob87...

I have also taught with the Cherrywood stick and likened to using JC's broomstick. I would not recommend learning with it...

There are better inexpensive rods out there...and used rods are always coming up for reasonable prices.

As far as the reel, for freshwater species, most can be landed on any reel. I don't like the trigger models because they do not allow the caster to really learn how to manage a typical fly reel. I would prefer the use of an inexpensive Pflueger Medalist to a trigger reel.

I think I still have an old 7 WFF that would be an OK line for starting out. Bmail me your snail mail address and I'll send you the line.

Regards,

Dianne

[harleybob87]

Dianne no offense taken. I don't take ofense to anything in general. My only thing I was in my backwards way trying to point out is that if you are happy with what you got use it. To many times people get hung up on price of equipment and miss the point of fly fishing which in my opinion only is to go out and enjoy mother nature and all the wonders she has to offer. If you catch fish that is a plus Just a old man's rantings LOL