I’m going fly fishing for the first time and need to buy a rod, reel and waders. whats good and where do I buy?
Posted by admin on Saturday, December 26th, 2009
I heard Sage makes a good rod and I should get a 9 foot 5 weight 4 piece. But I don’t want to break the bank.
Filed in Fly Fishing Reels | 13 responses so far
Ronon 26 Dec 2009 at 7:39 pm 1i’d recommend going to a place like bass pro or l.l. bean to get outfitted. to save some bucks, place an ad on craigslist about used gear and skip the waders.
rhythmatiston 26 Dec 2009 at 8:19 pm 2Fly fishing equipment ranges from cheap stuff that is difficult to use to highly expensive “artisan”. I would suggest a book about fly fishing for suggestions on where to start. Also, places like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s have starter packages that are reasonable quality at a reasonable price. The type of quipment and waders you need depend on where you are fishing and the species of fish you pursue. Sage makes quality tackle and even their lower priced rods are OK. I have had a Sage for years. Talk with a someone at a sporting goods store (a fly fisherman first, salesman second?). Good luck and enjoy. See you on the water.
Bruce Mon 26 Dec 2009 at 9:10 pm 3I am hoping that you have an Orvis shop near you.
Other wise, a good rod reel combo will cost you over $200. Yes you can get them cheaper. Waders, if you plan on use of them for years get the better grade chest waders. Here I use neo. as the water is cold even in the summer and no boot style as I have wading boots that I also use when “wet” wading.
SO, Orvis if you can find that brand of rod and reel.
Most Dick’s sporting goods have good waders and cheaper rod/reel combos.
spock69on 26 Dec 2009 at 9:43 pm 4Scientific American offers good enough for beginners stuff. 20 dollar rods at some Wal-marts.
pheasant tailon 26 Dec 2009 at 9:55 pm 5My advice would be to get a 9′ 5wt of medium fast action as this is considered the best “all around” action
Here’s a rundown:
Orvis makes a full line-up of rods ranging from the Clearwater starting at $169 to the ZG Helios – upwards of $755. They are 4 piece rods. The nice thing about Orvis is that you can choose the action of the rod – they make their rods from full flex (trout bum series) to mid-flex and tip flex in all their other series, and are covered by a 25 year warrantee.
Loomis flyrods are generally fast action. You can spend $660 for a GLX, $300 for a GL3 (which is old technology ) or now they have a new series for beginners called the Neptune – for $215 all are 4 piece rods
Sage makes great fly rods – Introductory rods include the Sage Launch ( I bought one of these for my daughter) which is a medium fast action rod and not too expensive and casts well at $250 and the Sage Flight which is a fast action introductory rod for $280.
You can step up to a Z-Axis for for about $630
All are 4 piece rods
There are others to consider that are not as expensive
Echo makes a great casting rod (called the Carbon) for under $200 that is terrific, check out http://www.kmdtackle.com for a great deal on it.
I like this rod ALOT
St. Croix makes some nice value series rods as well, the Triumph series is not bad for $120, but in my opinion, most St. Croix fly rods have a “clunky” feel to them.
Redington (owned by Sage) makes a decent rod for money as well.
Reel: you don’t need to break the bank here either.
Depending upon how much cash you want to spend, I would argue
that a Bauer or a Galvan is your best bang for the buck in the $300
world of fly reels
Under $200 it would be hard to argue with a Ross Cimmaron,
Under $150 I would hands down say an Orvis Mid-Arbor
Under $100 I would no doubt say a Cabela’s Prestige Plus. I use this reel on occasion for Salmon and Steelhead with no problems at all.
Don’t skimp on your flyline – Rio, or Scientific Angler make good value series lines.
You can get a decent pair of breathable waders for under $120 – Cabela’s makes a good pair in that range and the Orvis Endura’s are in that price range also. If you want to go less, Hodgeman makes a bargain pair for about $79
Aor Son 26 Dec 2009 at 10:16 pm 6I try to find the best place for you to buy a rod, reel and waders.
The prices are good and FREE Shipping.
From this link…
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_n_0?rh=n%3A3375251%2Cn%3A%213375301%2Ck%3Afly+fishing+%2Cn%3A706813011&bbn=3375301&keywords=fly+fishing+&ie=UTF8&qid=1249189255&rnid=3375301&tag=aor-sale-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957
Hope you like some of it. Good Luck!
bjornoramaon 26 Dec 2009 at 11:04 pm 7Well, Sage is a pretty good rod company, but also pretty expensive.
Check out Temple Fork Outfitters… they have a 9 foot 5 weight for about $160. I have 3 TFO rods (2, 4, 9 wts). Also check out Albright. They have some really good deals and low prices. I don’t have any of their products, but have been thinking about it for a while.
As for reels… I just got a Redington reel… their Crosswater series… $50… seems like a solid reel for a beginner. I got it when I was on the road and had a gear catastrophe. The line I got was $65, so, a $50 reel is pretty hard to beat.
For the waders… you need gortex unless you are heading to the arctic. That means you’ll need boots too. There are lots of makers… Cabela’s and all the outdoor gear makers tend to have cheap options. Boots… felt is pretty standard… studs are optional depending on the river.
Where are you headed? That might tweak a recommendation or two… for example… if you are going after steelhead, a 5 wt. won’t do… same for bonefish, stripers, bluefish, tarpon, redfish, etc. For most (not all) trout fishing though, a 5 wt. is a good, all around rod.
I’ll tell you, I have an RL Winston 4 wt. and a TFO 4 wt… the Winston is about $650, the TFO is about $165… my go to rod is the TFO. You can get a good rod for not much these days and it does not make it an inferior stick.
A relationship with a local fly shop is a really good way to get good advice and local fly shops are going away, so, find your shop and give them some business… they may just help you find some fish.
lenshureon 26 Dec 2009 at 11:13 pm 8I got started in fly fishing for less than $100. Following the advixe of a friend I bought one of those beginner complete kits. All the stuff in those kits match. The rods are usually very forgiving. That means you can acutally fly cast without having a perfect form. My beginners rod would put the line out straight faily easily but would not shoot well. My high price new rod shoots well but your form has got to be pretty good. To shoot is to cause line to come out of the rod guides to extend a cast. I went to an Orvis school and basically all I learned is how to cast.
joedon 26 Dec 2009 at 11:22 pm 9Go here: http://www.orvis.com/store/shop.aspx?dir_id=758&shop_id=1446&cm_ven=performics&cm_cat=Cross%20Current%20Guide%20Service&cm_pla=NO&cm_ite=875&adv=875&bhcp=1
There are many items on sale right now. You will also be very hard pressed to beat their customer service.
king of fishingon 26 Dec 2009 at 11:33 pm 10sage makes a good rod but i hate the way they feel when casting. i prefer temple fork outfitters. for a good inexpensive 5wt combo here’s what i would get
tfo prism 5wt
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10200644_175001001_175000000_175001000_175-1-1?ordProd=Y&CMID=TOP_selectitems#itemDetail
9′ 5wt
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_57734_175001002_175000000_175001000_175-1-2?ordProd=Y&CMID=TOP_selectitems#itemDetail
line and backing is your choice
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SportingGoods?RequestAction=advisor&RequestData=CA_CategoryExpand&UseSheet=&ResultsPerPage=25&CatPath=All%2BProducts%252F%252F%252F%252FFly%2BFishing%252F%252F%252F%252FTerminal%2BTackle%2B%2526%2BAccessories%2F%2F%2F%2FLine&OrigCatPath=All%2BProducts%252F%252F%252F%252FFly%2BFishing%252F%252F%252F%252FTerminal%2BTackle%2B%2526%2BAccessories&AttribSel=&submitted=yes&cmSType=N&viewastext=false&eaport=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.basspro.com%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2F&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&categoryId=175003001&deptId=175000000&subdeptId=175003000&ea_sortDirection=&ea_sortColumnName=¤tpage=1
this ain’t expensive when you look at prices of most fly fishing rods/reels.i have reels hat cost $500 alone but they work about the same as a $200 reel.
good waders-http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10209216_175009000_175000000_175009000_175-9-0
MEDOon 26 Dec 2009 at 11:57 pm 11this is every thing about fly fishing
at this link .
good luck
wana bigger bikeon 27 Dec 2009 at 12:52 am 12my set up is…a 9ft st. croix 5wt that is a 4 peice and a 9ft 8wt 4 pc cabelas rod that i havent fished with much…as for line the 8wt has scientific anglers head start and the 5 wt has cabelas prestige plus flyline, as for reels the 5 wt has the prestge plus reel as well and i love it for the price you cant beat it…the 8wt has i dont even know it dont have a brand i guess…its an el cheapo…and my waders are a pair of rubber hip boots made by the company lacrosse i got the hip waders cause i didnt want to spend 300 dollars on other waders untill i get really serious about flyfishing and they serve their purpouse to keep the water off ya and let you out in the stream a little
robbiecougaron 27 Dec 2009 at 1:17 am 13I recommend that you find a friend that fly fishes and borrow their “cheap” rod to begin with to understand how it works before buying. Another method is to attend a fly fishing club to find those friends that will have equipment you can borrow. Wader only have a limited useful life so start with something in the moderate price range. As a beginner, a high end rod will not make that much difference so look to learning on cheaper alternatives.