Frequently we get questions from people that find FAOL on the Internet. They either indicate that they found our site through some search engine or I can tell by the way they form the question that they are not regular readers. The writer will often begin their question with a statement like; “I have never been fly fishing,” or “I’ve been fly fishing a few times.” Then they want me to tell them, in fifty words or less, what type of rod to buy, what length of leader to use, etc., etc., etc. It always proves a challenge to provide an answer to those types of questions, and basically there are no easy answers.
I will never be a casting instructor, but I have fun catching fish.
Rick
Over the years I have been approached by many people who want to go out and fly fish. They have zero experience. I always start my answer with “First you need to learn to cast.” Then I suggest where they can find a casting instructor. I suggest a basic introductory rod/reel combo based on what species they are going to target. Then I tell them they really need to learn to cast before they go out fishing. I suspect many of those people ignore that and just head out with some old rod and mismatched line and often have a horrible experience. Fly fishing can be such a wonderful experience if they would just take a couple of hours to learn the basics.
Larry —sagefisher—