# beginner



## berganm (Feb 22, 2008)

I am a beginner at fly fishing and I am thinking about getting a rod/reel.Any suggestions on what would suite me best? I would be using it for mostly trout,reds inshore fish.


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## FlyLipps (Oct 3, 2007)

I will assume you have no experience at casting a fly rod. Most fly casters will tell you to buy the very best equipment you can, and that is good advise. However, even low end fly fishing tackle is not cheap. For some reason, once they add the word fly to fishing the price doubles or even quadruples. My belief is until you have tried fly fishing, it is difficult to commit $600 for a good fly rod alone, not knowing if it is going to be something you like to do. On the other hand, really cheap tackle is very difficult to learn on. Learning to throw a fly line is hard enough with good tackle and some experience, try to do it with poor quality stuff and your learning curve looks more like a learning circle. I would always recommend Temple Fork rods, an 8 weight is a good all around size. But there are many others that are decent as well. I think the rod and line are way more important than the reel, especially for the beginner. An Okuma reel in a matching size is not a bad buy. Then you will need a good saltwater weight forward floating line, they are not cheap and will run between $50-$75, not much way around that. You might shop a bit and find them somewhat cheaper. You can also go to either Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle or Tin Lizzy on Cervantes at Bayou Texar. They will both be able to help and I know Steve at Tin Lizzy has a few decent rods in stock and not a bad price either. Hope this helps,

Greg


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## Macman08 (Apr 6, 2008)

Been fly fishing (salt and freshwater) for more years than I care to admit and have worked with many beginners over the years, so here is my 2-cents worth.



You don?t need to spend a fortune to get started, but as Greg said, if you go too cheap, or get the wrong gear, the whole experience can end up being very frustrating.



Fly rods come in a variety of ?weights?, lengths and actions. For basic salt water fly fishing, an 8 weight rod, in a 9 ft. length is ideal. The action should be medium to medium fast. A very fast rod is capable of making longer casts (more line speed) but is much more difficult for a beginner to use and normally, fast action rods are much more expensive $600 plus.



Greg mentioned the Temple Fork rods (Lefty Kreh?s brand), but I have not tried one of them yet but have heard they are pretty good. For me the best value out there in fly rods are the St. Croix rods. They are finished well and cast like much more expensive rods.



I would recommend one from the Avid series, the A908.4 (4 piece-and great for travel) which retails for about $260-or you can save a few bucks and get it in a 2 piece model (A908.2) for about $230.



If you want to go even cheaper, there are the Reign series rods, the 908?s which go for around $140 (2 piece) and $160 (4 piece). I have not tried them, but St. Croix does make good rods.



Fly reels vary greatly in quality and price. For freshwater fishing, almost anything that will just hold the fly line will work (unless you are going for salmon). But, for saltwater fly fishing you need a reel with a very good drag system and for that you will have to spend a few dollars.



I think (and most of my fishing friends agree) that the best bang for the buck in saltwater fly reels are the ones made by Ross. They all have excellent drag systems, plenty of backing capacity and are reasonably priced.



I would recommend one of the Cimarron series. Either the Cimarron #5 (standard diameter reel) for 7-10 wt. lines that holds about 250 yds of backing and sells for $190. Or the CLA (Cimarron Large Arbor) #4. fpr 7-9 wt lines that holds about 205 yds of backing and sells for $230.



Large Arbor reels have wider spools and allow you to recover more line per spool revolution.



I know there are cheaper reels, but I am not familiar with them and I feel that for the wear and tear a saltwater reel takes you need a quality product.



For saltwater fly fishing in this area, a weight forward floating line is a great line to start with. If you really get into this sport, you might find that a floating line with a sink tip, or even an intermediate line (one that sinks) might be appropriate for certain situations. If you advance to this level you will probably want to purchase a spare spool for your fly reel so that you can just change spools instead of installing a new line on your reel ( a lengthy process)



Hope this information helps. If I can be of any more help, let me know and I?ll give you my phone number.



Macman


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