What would be the best type of starter outfit for a novice getting into fly fishing.?

Question

which would be the best line rating to go for rod wise and what lenth and how many sections should the rod be,

for someone wanting to start out mainly resevour fishing but maybe a little river fishing thrown in for good measure.

Answer 1

Get a 5 wt... that is a good standard trout rod.  A nine foot five weight is a great place to start.  That is really a river set up, might go heavier if you are looking at bass or something like that... then maybe a 6, but then you start to limit how much river fishing you really can do... a 6 wt. on most rivers is total overkill.  Don't get anything under 9 ft... just doesn't make sense.

It doesn't really matter if you get a 2, 3, 4, or 5 piece rod... they all cast about the same these days (thanks, technology).  If you plan on doing a lot of travel, a 4 piece is great.  If not, get a 2 piece... less things to go wrong.  I love Temple Fork Outfitter rods... they are cheap ($170 or so) and they cast just as well as a $600 rod... I own about 7 rods and the TFO rods are just as good as my Sage or R.L. Winston rods.

A reel... unless you are catching HUGE fish... you don't need to spend a lot on a reel... Reddington, Orivis and Dan Bailey all have pretty good, cheap reels.

Answer 2

Thats a tough question.

If you havn't even "touched" a fly/rod/reel in your life,  and don't even know if your gonna like it, I would probably buy a "Pflueger/Medalist-series Reel 1594 1/2 RC"; they cost approx. $32.

Matched with a "Redington Rod" model CRF 907/8, 2 piece, 9 FT  OR  "St. Croix, Premier Rod" model P908.2 , 2 piece , 9FT. Both these rods will cost about $100.

Matched with any #7 "weight-forward" line in green/clear color ; and 15-20 Lb backing.

This is a good starter combo, for a person who is a novice, and doesn't want to spend $1000 + on a rod & reel!

If you KNOW you are addicted to flyfishing and want to upgrade to something more "savy" try "SAGE", "SCOTT", "G-LOOMIS" rods  &  "SAGE", "LAMSON", "ABEL", "ROSS" , reels.

Remember that your rod is really more important than your reel in fly-fishing. I've seen guys with $500-900 SAGE rods attached to a Pflueger reel from 1975,( it also depends on the type of fish you will be engaging).

Fly-fishing is a wonderful sport that has only recently become an "elite" sport because of the price of the equipment. I started fly-fishing on an old St. Croix rod, 15 years ago, and it STILL catches fish. Don't let the price tag "fool" you on some of those more expensive rods & reels. Unless ,you plan to become a professional fisherman , & fly-fish 200 days a year, you could not feel the difference between a "SAGE" & a "REDINGTON" rod anyway!

Best start out inexpensive and go from there!

Besides, you'll need extra money to buy "flies" & "stuff". Thats REALLY where it starts getting expensive! Lose 4 flys at $5 a piece , and you start getting mighty "concerned" where that fly lands! (LOL)

Start easy: go to a local pond, (that has plenty of "back-cast" room), and try to catch some bluegill or small bass. It's fun, you'll learn the "basic's" , & it's cheaper on the wallet!

Go to cabelas.com for further info.