Beginner's Set?

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

Here is what I want to do and what my applications are:

Alot of my fly fishing will be still water, since we have alot of ponds locally. Most of these ponds hold bream and largemouth. Most of the largemouth are 1 to 3 pound fish with an occassional large fish up to 9 pounds. Most are free of weeds.
I will also be fishing the sand bars and rocks of White River for white bass and largemouth. Most are 1 to 3 pound fish an occasional large fish up to 12 pounds.
I will be also fishing Little Red for trout.
Most are small trout, but I am sure there are some large ones in there… I just haven’t caught any.
Most of my flies will be sow bug, pheasant tail, Wooly Buggers, bream killers, and poppers.
For the most part the waters I fish are murky at best. The Little Red and upper White are about the clearest waters I will fish. In the Red and the White I will be fishing the rapid shoals.

This will be my first fly rig. As with most combos I am sure the fly rod combos are set up for beginners. I don’t want to spend too much on a combo. Wal-mart has the Scientific Anglers Combos that are around $58.00 or so that is a kit with rod, reel, line, and video. If I am not mistaken they are 5-6 weight, 8 foot rod, with med-fast action. The line is weight foward, floating, with the LCL(???) connectors. From what I have read I think this would be the best set for my situation and applications. Any input would be appreciated.

What length of leader, and what test leader should I get? What test tippet?

When I go to get the rod I want to buy pretty much everything else right on the spot.

Thanks,
Ronnie Ladd

2

Run!!! stay away from Wally World. You’ll hate it. Three words here…

Temple Fork Outfitters

In my opinion it’s the best rod for the money.

If you go and buy a cheap kit, you’ll kill your learning curve and you’ll be wasting your money. You sound like you know a lot about fishing so do your self the justice and spend a few dollars for some good gear.

3

SH

I have to agree with JC on this. Forget that the combos are sold at Walmart or Kmart or whatever. These stores are a fact of life and they offer consistantly low prices. The NAME BRAND combos offer pretty good castability for the money. The rods typically have a forgiving action for the beginning caster. The lines are usually forward-weight tapers instead of the old level lines that used to come with combo kits in the 60’s and 70’s. The NAME BRAND companies offer these kits to get people into fly fishing not to discourage them forever. They want repeat customers. It would be really stupid to turn people off with totally uncastable crap. The companies are counting on people moving up the equipment scale to their top of the line products. Most of the combos from NAME BRAND companies are very good packages for the money. You won’t get a lot of fancy extras but you will get a very sevicable rod and reel. 8T

You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.

4

Support your local flyshop first before going to Walfart. They will usually have a beginner set and as from reading your introduction you are already an avid sportsman who will be addicted instantly. You will be able to try the various rods and feel the difference between an ok rod, a good rod and an excellent rod. Then you can make an informed decision about how much you can afford. I wish I could go fishing now instead of going to work!

5

SwanpHunter:

Listen to JC, he knows what he’s talking about. I started fly fishing 7 years ago with an SA kit that was reduced from $79.98 to $59.98 at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Became proficient and thought I needed a St. Croix, then T&T, then Sage, then Orvis, then Gatti…blah, blah, blah.

I taught a friend to FF and gave him the outfit…along with flies, leaders, tippet and my original vest. Oh yeh, had to have the mesh-back shorty vest like all the big guys! If there were a way to gracefully get it back, I’d dump the rest of this expensive crap and continue having a ball landing bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, pickerel, largemouth, white bass and trout on that little SA 9’ 6wt kit!!!

You catch the same fish on that $58.00 outfit that you do a $595.00 rod, $230.00 reel, $59.95 line, etc, etc.

You wanna look like the boys, or catch fish?

Go for it and have a blast, regards, Jim

6

Look at the Sponsors Page on FAOL, these are very reliable companies, they are invited Sponsors. Only companies that meet the “Standards of Business Conduct and Product Quality” are allowed to become Sponsors!

Been that way from the Beginning of FAOL, September 1st, 1997.

~ Parnelli

[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 18 May 2005).]

7

My 0.02$

Look at both, the big chains and the local shop.

Local shops are having a hard time in many regions. Let them know what you want to do and ask to see a combo or package they could suggest.

Good service from a local shop means they get a customer that’ll come back for years over and over again.

I don’t “threaten” the local shop owner with the “prices” I see at “Wally-World”, but he knows they exist.

Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:e60e5]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:e60e5]

8

SH,
Listen to JC & the gang. The inexpensive matched outfits are a good way to go.I still consider myself “so-so” (or a little below) in expertise, but I started with an inexpensive St Croix outfit…loved it & the progression to more stuff started. Why not check with a local flyshop (if available to you) for the SA outfit they speak of, maybe pay a few bucks more, but it’s worth it if it’s a good shop…if you can’t get it there, THEN get it at Walmart. Dicks, or wherever.
Mike

9

I have to say that Mr Castwell knows more than I do times 10. For me the question is, how long do you plan to fly fish, and how serious will you be with it. If your an avid sportsman and plan on sticking with it for a long time, I guarntee that it won’t be long before you go looking for better gear. My point was, if your going to end up with good gear, why not go ahead and get it to start with and save some money.

Now, on the other hand if your just wanting to give Fly Fishing a try and your not sure if your going to like it, then by all means go with an inexpensive kit. If that is your plan, you might think of at least checking out what a local fly shop had to offer. They might have something that compares in price with the WM kit, and you will have someone to give you great advice.

For me, living in the south, there aren’t a lot of flyshops around, but we do have a Bass Pro Shop. They have a great fly shop and have some really good starter kits.

Whatever your plan, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the sport/addiction. Best of luck!

[This message has been edited by jargo432 (edited 18 May 2005).]

10

Check out LL Bean. You can get a very good outfit at a reasonable price with an unconditional guarantee. How could you beat that?

11

me and a few friends have recently entered the fly fishing world. not knowing wether it was for us or not, we bought combo sets at walmart and one at crappy tire sense there is no local fly shop. i dont see one thing wrong with these combos at all. they work very well and they still catch a tone of fish. i am still using my 50$ combo and will be all summer long. next year i am thinking about upgrading.

12

i say start with the inexpensive combo. It will get you on the water and let you decide if you really want to be a fly fisher or not. Later you can upgrade if you choose and then pass the original combo onto a kid or another friend and let them experience this great sport.

13

More 0.02$

Later you can upgrade if you choose and then pass the original combo onto a kid or another friend and let them experience this great sport.

That’s the reason I’m never afraid of pickingup a few sets of less expensive combos when I come across them.

Last spring, Jr. did an expos? en FlyFishing to his Sec. I Class.

To get them in the mood, he broght 12 rods 'n reels to school and gave a 101 class in fly casting. Loads of fun.

Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:a6f48]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:a6f48]

14

Go ahead and get the SA outfit. It’s a good starter. I was in our local LL Bean outlet last evening and they had their starter outfit for $49.94 less 25%.

It will catch fish. It will help you learn. It is definitely not a waste of money. And…if you decide this is not your “cup of tea” you haven’t made a big investment in giving it a try.

Have fun!

15

Here’s some advice I got when I first started fly fishing (actually not that long ago).

By all means, buy a cheap SA or Cortland combo. You can get away with a cheap rod and certainly you can get away with a cheap reel. But you’ll want the best fly line you can afford on that reel.

For some time after starting out, I couldn’t tell the difference between my $40 Pflueger and my TiCR. Now I can.

But, my limited experience with fly casting confirms that the fly line is the biggest factor affecting performance – from the beginner perspective anyway.

So, if you can, throw away that cheap line that comes with the combo and replace it with the best fly line you can afford. Of course, you’ll want it to be matched to the weight rating for the rod.

Or, instead of throwing that line away, do what I did – use it to practice tying knots. It’s easier to learn to tie knots with that bigger and more flexible fly line than with regular mono.

16

You live in some awesome fishing country, the main thing is to get out and fish! Don’t deliberate over this too much. Any brand name kit out there is going to do you right. Whether you get the SA kit or a good intermediate rig from a fly shop that will cost at least 3x as much, you are going to catch the same fish.

This is some unsolicited advice, but I wish I knew this a few years ago when I started. I don’t know how well you cast. But I suggest buying some local fly patterns at your local fly shop and then get the rest of your flies from Hill’s Discount Flies
[url=http://www.hillsdiscountflies.com/:1920b]http://www.hillsdiscountflies.com/[/url:1920b]

or bluefly.com. When I started, I snapped off many flies and learning to fly fish is more fun when you are losing 65 cent flies as opposed to 1.99 flies.

17

Swamp

I’ve got the SA Combo…Yes from Walmart too… as a beginner one, but I also got the Cortland Fairplay combo for my wife…I’ve found that the Fairplay is a whole lot easier to cast and a whole lot lighter. I prefer that one than the SA combo and both were about the same price. The SA combo was rather stiff for me…the Fairplay had a faster tip than the SA…

My vote for beginner is a Cortland Fairplay combo!

18

Ronnie,

That SA combo is fine for trout and panfish for a beginner. Last year, I wrote a series of field test reviews on “beginner” combos. Just in case you want to look around and wiggle a few more rods before you buy, here are some other good “starter” kits:

Orvis Clearwater Classic (around $150 w/line, rod, reel)
Redington Crosswater ($99.95 w/rod, reel, line, leader, backing…FAOL sponsor)
Bass Pro Shops Dogwood Canyon combo (under $100 w/rod, reel, line, leader, backing)

Whatever you get, I’d recommend an 8-9’ 5 or 6wt rod with a weight-forward (WF) floating line (the nomenclature on the line would go WF6F for a 6wt).

For leaders, buy Scientific Anglers Mastery Bass Leaders for panfish…the 5lb test variety should be fine for most of your warm-water pond and river fishing. For trout, buy Scientific Anglers Trout leaders in 5X 9’. Then buy 5X, 6X, and 7X Scientific Anglers Mastery Series tippet in mono and fluorocarbon. SA is also an FAOL sponsor. Use the 5X tippet for panfish when needed. When fishing on the surface, use the mono tippet. When fishing below the surface, use fluoro. You will use all 3 tippet sizes when fishing for trout, depending on conditions and the fly you’re fishing with.

You’ll also need some #6 split shot, some sort of small strike indicators, a fly box or two, hemostats, and a line nipper (you can use a fingernail clipper).

FYI, I’d personally buy the Redington Crosswater combo as my first choice. Also, I still fish with my “starter” combo a lot and I started 7 years ago. It’s also a Redington. My panfish and small creek outfit now is a Crosswater 7.5’ 4wt.

Fishing the Ozarks

19

OK folks…Without being a jerk, this is not about which brand you think is the best or which brand you think is a waste of money.
I thought I gave enough info for what I was wanting to know, but I guess I was wrong.
Let me explain a bit more. I don’t care what brand you like, think I should buy, or whatever. I was not asking about what brand I should get nor where I should buy it from. That already stands. I will be buying a S.A. combo from Wal-Mart.

With the info on the fishing and applications in my area does anyone have any input on the weight, length, and action of the rod? What length of leader, and what test leader should I get? What test tippet?

Thanks,
Ronnie Ladd

20

Thanks Ken, that’s exactly what I was looking for.