Entry level Fly Fishing Rod/Reel Combo?
Posted by admin on Saturday, February 6th, 2010
I don’t want to spend more than 200 dollars, and I need it to be a 2 peice at least, a 4 peice if possible.
I intend to fish for Smallies, largemouth, and possibly some small pike and carp. I’m not sure if that’s going to affect whether or not I should use WF or DT backing, and to be honest I’m a little confused as to what the difference is. Thankyou; Matt.
Filed in Fly Fishing Rods | 7 responses so far
Maton 06 Feb 2010 at 7:57 pm 1well if you go to your local sporting goods store, they already have prepackaged fly rods with reels and some tackle, usually inexpensive, great way to start out, good luck to ya!
Unknown Truthon 06 Feb 2010 at 8:06 pm 2I agree with Mat, for starting out you will want an inexpensive combo. It takes a lot of practice to get very efficient, and the local sporting goods stores will carry this. It is not as important as many advertisers want you to believe, they are in the business of making money, and use a lot of jargon to sell. Get some flies that look like the local wildlife as the lure is more important than the actual pole.
m gon 06 Feb 2010 at 8:25 pm 3The Cortland or Scientific Anglers packaged rod/reels they sell at sporting goods stores are total crap. I broke two of those combos while learning to fly fish just by casting too hard, and came to the conclusion that unless you are skeptical that you want to pick up the sport they will be a waste of your money in the long run.
For the fish you mentioned, you probably want a 7 or 8-weight rod that is 9′ long.
IMO, for similar money it’s better to find something quality that is used, than to buy something that is new but built cheap. The graphite won’t have any feel and as I mentioned just won’t hold up to regular use, plus they are heavy and clunky and won’t flex in the correct location to load line properly. Your casting technique will develop based on the first rod you fish with, and you don’t want to train yourself to cast in a way that compensates for an improperly flexing rod because it will be hard to unlearn if you ever move up. The result of that will be putting too much effort into a cast and not having it travel as far or accurate as it should. A properly flexing, balanced rod with the right line is a joy to cast though you won’t notice the difference until you get a little more experience.
A good deal is to get a Temple Fork Outfitters rod like a TICR or TICRX which usually retail for around 200 bucks and performs almost as well as much more expensive rods. You will find several on Ebay used, paired with a reel and line well within your price range. You might need to put new line on though. Sometimes you will also come across entry level rods by other manufacturers used in combo on Ebay in your price range too – if you see one do some research and find out if it’s the right size and length for what you want and that will be a good buy. Don’t worry about what kind of reel you have, as long as it is the appropriate size. If it comes with a cheap one, it doesn’t matter nearly as much as the rod. Another thing – line is actually very important, but since you’ll be changing lines every season or so don’t worry too much about that at first. Just get a Weight-Forward floating line for all purpose fishing. It’s the easiest to cast and most versatile.
James Ton 06 Feb 2010 at 9:19 pm 4http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431-cat20457&id=0051114320386a&navCount=10&podId=0051114&parentId=cat20457&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20457&hasJS=true
This rod and reel combo is from cabelas. It comes with a Ross reel which a nice reel. The rod is a 4 piece 5wt. you can use a 6 wt line also. Since this is your first rod, I recommend that you get at least a 9ft rod. You can do more with it like float tubing and fish for trout. The price is $109.99, rod model 905-4 It comes with rod, reel, line and backing. A great deal.
Go with a WF line. It is easier to cast. WT means Weight Forward which puts the main weight of the line in the front section of the line. DT is Double taper which puts the weight in the middle of the line. The idea of DT is to save money to so you can use both ends of the line and the presentation is lighter. However, I have used DT but I like the distance you get from a WT line.
Rogeron 06 Feb 2010 at 10:11 pm 5mg has so much to say that is easy to endorse. I have been fishing and catching and landing lots of black bass and larger striped bass on a 5 weight rod. This is not ideal because it means that the fish has to be played too long to avoid lots of stress on the fish. Also it is extremely difficult to cast big bass poppers and clouser minnows with such a light weight outfit. Since I do not have lots of muscles, I run out of steam after two hours casting a 9 weight with heavy flies. I can handle an eight weight for several hours. I can handle a seven weight all day and get back on the water the next day with enjoyment. All this to say that you need to assess your personal physical strength and how much time you hope to enjoy an excursion on any given day.
Bottom line, for the species, you will be better served with a seven weight weight rod. Cheap rods are good. Pfleuger Medalist rim control reels are not good but ok for what you plan. Get a floating line matched to the rod for your first purchase. Get a spare spool for a sinking shooting head for the second purchase. Get the highest quality line that you can afford. Backing is loaded on the reel first. Floating line is loaded next. Double taper is ok, but most of us prefer a weight forward floating line because it is easier to cast a longer distance. Backing is loaded on the spare spool first. Next shooting line is loaded. My Personal preference is Sufix 30 pound monofilament, but others will have reccomendations that ought to be ok. Next a shooting head is loaded. The first head to buy is a number 2 sink rated one weight too heavy for your rod. This will not satisfy every condition, but will be a good start.
Plead the fifthon 06 Feb 2010 at 10:22 pm 6http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/outfits/nxt.html these guys Temple fork outfitters are great in their warranty see the ad on it below a no fault warranty,I have one of their rods and it broke on me and all i had to do was send 25$ and pay shipping and a less than a week it was sent back to me,But those scientific outfits aren’t bad either but i would go with the temple forks for their warranty it is the best in the industry for quick turn around on repairs or replacements their rods and reels have that warranty.
ColoradoTroutBoyon 06 Feb 2010 at 10:23 pm 7scientific angler’s bass rod comes with three bass flies and line. a 4 piece rod and extremely dependable, $80 at wally world and a great combo. I don’t agree with mg, the rod is sturdy and dependable, as long as you don’t have a temper and throw your rod into the river.