# I want a fly rod/reel



## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

I know there is a fly fishing section, but I wanted to make sure jcoss15 read this. Cabelas has their Cahill starter combo on sale for $39.99. I think this will be good enough for me to start with. What weight do I need if I am going to fish in the river with popping bugs? They have 5, 6, 7 and 8. Do I need an 8'6" or 9' rod?


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

I'm no "fancy" fly fisherman so I can't imagine 6" would matter. I have two and have no idea of the length if either

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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

I use a 5wt, 8'6" rod, it's good for all bream and most bass on the river. You don't need nothing real fancy for the river just something to flip a bug with. Get you some chartreuse poppers and you'll be good to go.

Check here for some good bugs for the river.
http://www.breambugs.com


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## sureicanfish (Sep 30, 2007)

Don't get whatever I have, I swear it's 15 feet long and seemingly impossible to get any consistency from. I need a new one too.


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

sure said:


> Don't get whatever I have, I swear it's 15 feet long and seemingly impossible to get any consistency from. I need a new one too.


90% of people who have trouble with fly rods all make the same mistake. When you make your back stroke and the fly goes behind your back and out of your vision WAIT! One second before you send it forward.

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## sureicanfish (Sep 30, 2007)

Yep, I do that. My dad set it up and I don't even know what's on it. He was new to it as well so it could be all wrong. The leader is tapered and maybe 7 feet long but no matter what I do the fly ends up right at the end of the main line with the leader balled up around it like the cast just ran out steam.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

Try'n Hard said:


> 90% of people who have trouble with fly rods all make the same mistake. When you make your back stroke and the fly goes behind your back and out of your vision WAIT! One second before you send it forward.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner


yep, i totally agree.
this what we were trying to tell ptpainton last monday. some disagreed but it has worked for me for the last 50 years.

jack


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

billyb said:


> I know there is a fly fishing section, but I wanted to make sure jcoss15 read this. Cabelas has their Cahill starter combo on sale for $39.99. I think this will be good enough for me to start with. What weight do I need if I am going to fish in the river with popping bugs? They have 5, 6, 7 and 8. Do I need an 8'6" or 9' rod?


i would start with the 8-6 5wt. that combo comes spooled with weight forward (wf) floating line, leader, and backing so your good to go. 
when you fish the river, take some vasoline to clean the scum off when the line starts to sink. get an assortment of flys to try. see what bites.
i've got rods ranging from 5 to 9 wt. but i have caught 5 lb. bass on the 5. sounds crazy but i did it. took a while. you get the most action with small bream on a longer rod.
i think mostly everybody i know who targets bonita usually use 9 wt.

jack


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

I don't ever use a tapered leader anymore, just about 6' of 8 lb suffix tied to the fly line works for me.


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

jcoss15 said:


> I don't ever use a tapered leader anymore, just about 6' of 8 lb suffix tied to the fly line works for me.


....what's a tapered leader?.....never mind. I do use the little broke off pice of bream hook shoved up into the fly line to tie the leader to.

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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

Try'n Hard said:


> ....what's a tapered leader?.....never mind. I do use the little broke off pice of bream hook shoved up into the fly line to tie the leader to.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner


Yea I use those also...a tampered leader is just mono line that starts at a bigger diameter where you tie to your fly line then it tapers down to maybe 2-6 pd test at the fly. 

Like I said earlier, I just tie an 8-12 lb strip of mono to my fly line eyelet for the river because you never know when a good bass is gonna smash your bug.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

jcoss15 said:


> Yea I use those also...a tampered leader is just mono line that starts at a bigger diameter where you tie to your fly line then it tapers down to maybe 2-6 pd test at the fly.
> 
> Like I said earlier, I just tie an 8-12 lb strip of mono to my fly line eyelet for the river because you never know when a good bass is gonna smash your bug.


i think the trout (browns, rainbow, etc) fishermen use leader and tippet which is usually tapered. the size is labeled as "x". trout are extremely sensitive to vibrations in the water so you want to present the fly to the fish with a natural look. this is why you would use a tapered leader (depending on the target fish) down to 2 lb. i don't use a tippet because a 6 lb. leader is about all you need in this area unless your targeting tarpon. that's a whole different story. backing, fly line, leader, fly. good enough.

jack


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