What type of fly rod and reel would be best?
Posted by admin on Monday, March 1st, 2010
Im a 16 kid and im wanting to get into fly fishing. I have fished all of my life but never fly fished and i wanted to know if anyone knew of a sturdy fly rod and reel for a beginner with a budget of only about $500.
Filed in Fly Fishing Rods | 4 responses so far
KittyKaton 01 Mar 2010 at 2:01 pm 1Anything from orvis…don’t shop any where else. Trust me
Hunter Justynon 01 Mar 2010 at 2:37 pm 2i wish i had a budget like u im 15 and my budget for a beginner fly rod and reel combo is like 50$ i would suggest anything from orvis cuz that is the best around. My dad and grandpa use it. I agree with the girl.
nikomat77on 01 Mar 2010 at 2:55 pm 3take it from someone who averages more than 20 hours a week fishing year around.
orvis is nice stuff, but not the best and they are over priced, your not likely to find much in your price range. 20 year ago they were the best, but over the years quality has not kept up with their price increases.
I wouldn’t spend to much on a new rig, you’ll likely break it anyway.
TFO rods are totally decent and well priced, good rods to learn on and they will warranty the rod if you break it (most companies will actually for a slight fee, usually $50). cabela’s actually has some really good deals on rod/reel combo’s on their own brand and they are actually nice rods and you have several prices to choose from, anywhere from $70 to close to $400 for their top of the line L-tech series. I’ve had a chance to cast the L-tech and they are nice casting rods, might be a little to medium action for a beginner though. I’d go for something in the PT or LST line for about $250 and save the rest of your money for flys and leaders, even their $70-$120 outfits are nice and they usually come with line and backing.
if you want the best, but you’ll pay for it. Winston and Sage are some of the nicest rods you’ll find anywhere short of custom stuff like thomas&thomas. for gear like waders, boots and vests Simms is by far the best you’ll find. My orvis super tak-l-pac vest lasted less than a year before the seams around the pockets started to rip (and I hate chasing my fly boxes down the river), my Simms G3 vest is much better and handles the load much better (after about 4 hours of fishing the my back would start to hurt with the orvis, not with the simms) and when it comes to boots I haven’t had any boot last 1/2 as long as my Simms and none are more comfortable, and I really like my new guide boots with the rubber sole, much lighter. they make the best waders you can find but if you have a budget Cabela’s better lines are the only others that I’ve seen that copied Simms inseam design and moved it from between your legs to the front or back of the leg. the inseam is where most of the waders I’ve had in the past have worn out, the two inseams rub together while you walk and next thing you know your legs are wet.
I had an orvis zero gravity and hated it, the action just didn’t work for me. it would have been a good rod for large rivers but I like small fast rivers and the orvis just wouldn’t load up unless I had a lot of line on the water and didn’t cast well under 40ft, my winston (my favorite) and sage rods both out performed it both near and far. keep in mind though that a rods action is a very personal thing that you’ll learn as your experience increases. good luck.
Steven Mon 01 Mar 2010 at 3:50 pm 4Cabela’s Wind River series are good quality fly fishing kits that are inexpensive. They come setup so you can just tie a fly on the end and fish.
You can get a nice combo kit for around $150. Of course you’ll need leaders, waders, boots, vests, flies, etc… That will eat up most of your $500 right there.
Good Luck and Enjoy.