eric1978

What the hell does that mean? Either that's the most transparent marketing trick ever, or they're junk and they can't get rid of them...which one is it?

I'll check those out, ness. You know, this is going to be the only fly rod I'm gonna have for a while, so I'm willing to spend a little extra to get something I'm going to enjoy using, will make learning easier, and that will last a long time. I've spent far more on reels than $130, so it really feels like a bargain. I'm sure there are plenty of $50 reels that work great and would be all I'd need, but $80-$100 dollars isn't like a life-changing amount of money, so it doesn't really bother me to spend it. I just want to give myself every opportunity to enjoy my first experiences with fly fishing, because I know it's going to be difficult and frustrating in the beginning, so I might as well be able to have fun with my equipment in the meantime.

Perfectly clear, because I took the 15 seconds to read it. I think a lot of it is just willfull ignorance and people plan on using the "oh sorry Mister Agent, I just didn't know...no, I didn't see any signs" routine and roll the dice. Your chances of getting caught are clearly not that great. I would assume that most of the people who are breaking the rules are aware that they are, they just don't think it's a big deal.

Lifetime Warranty, whatever that means. The rod's a done deal. I got the Sage Launch 590 for $132 on ebay. I think they've discontinued the Launch models, so it was a good discounted price. Cabela's wanted $220 for one, which they said was their sale price. I had it side by side to another Sage model that was $600, also a 9' 5 wt. It was 1/16 oz lighter, I couldn't tell any difference on the action of it, and other than having prettier wood below the grip and a little nicer reel seat, I really couldn't tell the difference. I did go ahead and get the two piece...just two less things that can go wrong for a beginner is I guess how I looked at it. Honestly I don't see myself bringing it in the canoe much (maybe I'm wrong), but if I do, there's plenty of room for it. No biggie. I've been hauling around 6 foot rods and longer in the cab of my truck all my life, so I'm really not concerned about the space a 4.5' tube will take up. At this point I'm leaning toward the Konic because I really like the conical drag. I haven't seen the Albright Bugati yet, but I'll definitely take a look. I don't think I saw them at BPS or Cabela's. You know who carries them? I may have just missed them there...I'm on confusion overload right now. I'll keep sifting through opinions on line and figure that out later. I won't have my rod for a week or so anyway so I have some time to figure it out. And of course I spent the money that was supposed to go toward replacing my old leaky waders, so I can't really go anywhere anyway...I might have until Christmas to wait. Maybe I'll take it out to Busch in the meantime. ..........I don't even wanna hear it from you guys...but I know it's coming. Oh, and Ronnie, I'm with you on the pig's feet.

I think we'd be able to help you a lot more if you told us where you planned on fishing and what kind of fish you'd like to catch. There are just so many variables that it's hard to give any specific instructions without knowing some basic info about what you intend to do. Lakes, ponds, rivers? Which ones? Bass, trout, bluegill, catfish, crappie? Do you plan on walking the banks, wading a stream, fishing from a boat or canoe? Are you going to try fishing this fall and winter or are you going to wait until spring?

Well, I stopped by BPS today and found a rod I really liked. It's a Sage Launch 9' 5 wt, med-fast action 2 piece. I'm seeing them on ebay for less than $150 which is about half of what I expected to pay to begin with. It seems like a good beginner rod and I think I'll be going with it. There is also a 4 piece that's identical, but I really kind of like the 2 piece better...does someone want to talk me into the 4 piece? I asked the guy about reels and he was really pushing the Lamson Konic 2 (5/6 wt), which I think was like $130. What do you guys think about that reel? Is that the right size or should I look for a little smaller one like a 4/5 wt? What other reels in that ballpark would you recommend? He was also pushing the Rio Gold XS line. Any opinions on that? What are you guys' favorite lines? I definitely want something WF.

Yeah, that thing was camo'd out for sure. Really cool looking.

And they look better, too!

I guess what I thought was a mutated goggle eye was what you called an "Ozark Bass?" Never seen one before. That thing is wild looking. Nice job!

Cool. Think I've narrowed down the search to a couple good options then. Just gotta go and play around with them a bit. I have to say, I kind of like the idea of a two piece. I was messing around with a really nice Sage smallmouth fly rod at BPS the other day, which was a 4 piece, and I had a little trouble getting all the guides perfectly aligned. I think if I found myself with the money to fly to Argentina, I'd have enough to get myself a 4 piece rod to travel with...I also have the feeling that if and when I'm traveling on a plane to go fly fishing, by then I'll have more than one rod. Thanks for all the pointers, guys...many more questions to come...

I just got a new Symetre, too, and it seems real nice. But they're always nice when they're dry...go get her wet and report back, or I will hopefully by Wednesday...gotta trip planned if we're not blown out.

I think your buddy caught the agent flat-footed on that question. He had a really good point. Gate or no gate, if he was on private property, he should be legal. You can tell the agent probably realized he was in the wrong by his response.

So from what I'm hearing so far, the only advantage of a 4 piece over a 2 piece is travel convenience? And it sounds like a med-fast would be fine, and maybe more appropriate for a beginner...

I like that, Kevin. Like Al said, the rocker would be the only thing that would turn me off. I always look to patronize local small businesses when I can, and I'll definitely consider a Two Brothers when it's time to get a new canoe. Just found out the wife's got our first poopy-pants bakin' in the oven, so it looks like I'll need a three-seater some time in the future.

Okay, a few more questions: I've noticed that many of the mid-grade rods are 2 piece, while most of the high-end rods are 4 piece. Is there some advantage having a 2/3/4 piece? I must be stupid to think a 2 piece would be better...could someone tell me why? Also, I found a Loomis GL3, 9' 5 wt. 2 piece that's in my price range...its GLX counterpart is also a 2 piece, but it is fast action while the GL3 is med-fast. What are the pros/cons of med-fast to fast? I know what they are on BC and spinning rods, but I'm learning a new language here. Both the GLX and the GL3 are med-stiff power. (There's no way I'd buy the GLX, just using it for comparison). I'm also looking at a lower-end Sage, which is also 9' 5wt 2 piece, but it doesn't say what the power or action is...??? The model is a 590 Flight. Any opinions on handles? It looks like they're pretty universal according to the length and weight of the rod, but they are different on the GLX and the GL3, which are the same length and weight.

No doubt about that. My wife is a public school teacher and I guarantee you she isn't properly compensated for the effort she puts in. Many of the schools are a mess, though. But's that's a whole other story. Where ever the funds go, if MDC would hire more agents, they could easily pay for themselves and then some by getting tougher on the regs. Responsible fishermen who care about their waterways wouldn't notice the difference, except you'd have to think fishing would improve if anything. I'd be happy to have an agent ask me for my license and make sure I'm not breaking any other regs. He'd see it and then he'd be on his way.

Ah, did not know that. Still, more tickets would mean more deterrence. Couldn't be a bad thing, right?

It's such a shame. To me it's just misallocation of resources, as stated before about the deer. It would only take one active agent to run up and down the lake handing out tickets...word travels fast and I think the poachers would talk among themselves about how risky it is...if there was a risk. Those who were just oblivious to the rules may still break them, but there would be a better chance they'd overhear talk about it, too. Rules don't mean anything if there's no one to enforce them. I was catching crappie a few years ago off the dock of a friend's place at LOZ. I ran up to the house to get something, and while I was gone a fish took my minnow and one of my buddies, who didn't have a license and was not fishing, reeled it in and tossed it in the live-basket. An agent had been watching from across the lake with his binoculars (might as well have been a telescope, you should have seen those things). He gave my buddy a ticket for $100, even though I explained the story to him. He said he watched the whole thing, and even though he believed us, he had no choice but to issue the ticket. I split the cost with my friend, but I still feel guilty about it and feel like I should have paid the whole thing. What was he supposed to do, let that fish drag my rod off the dock and into the lake? The point is, that was an innocent and minor infraction on a giant lake, and it's hard for me to believe MDC can't do a better job curbing major infractions at Taney, which has a lot of fishermen and a lot of rules. You'd think they'd want to anyway...sounds like revenue city for MDC. The more tickets written, the more money for the MDC, the better the fishing will be...win, win.

I simply can't see any rubber having as much traction as felt, although I've never tried the new generation rubber. I don't mind rubber until you get on super-slick flat rock or greased cannonballs, when anything short of felt, in my experience, just doesn't work. If they outlaw felt, I sure hope the new rubber works well, or there's gonna be a lot more injuries. I didn't read the Fly Fish America article, but I'd be hesitant to believe the results of anyone's test who might have some alterior motive to give a better grade than is justified...I'm not saying they are necessarily full of it, but you never know...

Wayne is right, and I would also suggest trying plugs and spinners at first instead of the plastic worms, but I figured I'd explain it since you asked. You really will need someone to show you how to use a Texas-rigged worm, because as Wayne pointed out, you have to be able to know the difference, by feel, between the worm hitting stuff on the bottom and when a fish picks it up and carries it away in its mouth. If a fish eats a T-rigged worm, and you just start reeling it in, the hook won't penetrate through the worm and into a fish's tough mouth...you have to know when to give a sharp yank on the rod, which is called "setting the hook." If you don't set the hook when using a plastic worm, you won't land many fish. There is an art to it that you can really only master with lots of experience. Plastic worms are a very effective lure, especially in the summer, and especially on lakes and ponds, although they can be used year-round on all types of water. But there are far easier lures to play with for beginners and ones that are really more effective for stream fishing and fishing in colder months. This is another way to rig a plastic worm, called a "wacky rig." It's a much easier way to rig a worm and can be just as effective, and setting the hook is not as critical, but you will wind up snagging it more often since the point of the hook is exposed. The biggest advantage of a Texas-rigged worm is that it is relatively "weedless," since the point of the hook is buried in the plastic. The type of worm you see in the picture is more commonly used for wacky rigging. The worm pictured is often refered to as a Senko, which is the name of a bait made by a particular company, although many other companies make similar baits (It's kinda like "Band-Aid," it may be a different brand, but you always call it a Band-Aid)...just for future reference. This type of worm slowly sinks without any weight added.

Those weights that have a groove in them are actually called "split-shots." While you can use them for a Texas-rigged worm, it is more common to use a "bullet" weight, which looks like...well, a bullet, with a small hole through the middle. I'm sure you have some. These are bullet weights: These are split-shot weights: You put the bullet weight on the line with the pointed end facing the tip of the rod, and the hollowed-out larger end resting on top of the rigged worm. This type of weight works to get the worm to the bottom as a split-shot does, but allows the worm to move around more freely, thus giving the lure a more natural appearance. 2/0 is a hook size, and will work fine with a 6-8 inch worm. You could also use a 3/0 for that size bait. VMC is a brand of hook, and a fine brand at that...Gamakatsu and Owner hooks are also very good brands. The most important consideration when picking a hook for a Texas-rig, aside from the size, is that it is an off-set shank. This is an off-set shanked hook: This is a straight-shanked hook: The difference of course is at the eye of the hook there is a bend, where the top of the worm is hooked. This allows the worm to be rigged perfectly straight on the hook. You don't want the worm to be twisted or bent at all on the hook, or you will have problems with line twisting, which will cause tangles on your reel.

Great post cricket, and absolutely true. Aside from the ultimate learning experience, which of course is going out and hitting the water, I don't think you can learn more about fishing from any other resource, period. I know that since I've discovered this site just a few short months ago, my skills have noticably improved. It's amazing how a minute detail you read in some old thread can add a whole new dimension to your base of knowledge. Thanks forum members!

Good thing you kept the picture of you and your buddy with your three thousand pound squirrel.

All these replies have been very helpful fellas...keep 'em comin'! Thanks for taking the time to post such a comprehensive tutorial, Al. That was a big help. What are the knots that are used to tie backing to line, line to leader, leader to tippet? That's a lot of knots! Do you guys just use the good 'ol palomar knot to tie your flies, or is there yet another knot I need to learn? Are leaders' sizes determined by the thickest part of the line, or by the tapered part? What I mean is, if I was using a 3X leader, does that mean that it starts out thicker than 3X and tapers down to 3X?

You guys have a tendancy to talk like I know anything about fly fishing...I don't. Pretend I'm a retard...what would you say then.... I do have to say that normally if I was going after smallies, I guess I'd be using my regular spinning and BC rods anyway, so I suppose I should consider a fly rod that is more appropriate for trout, since that's really the point. I just figured since my first fly rod will probably be the only one I have for a while, it should be a versatile one. So what reel should I look for with my 9' 5 wt.? Drew gave a bunch of good advice, but I don't know what the hell he's talking about. I appreciate the detailed response, but again, you should pretend you're talking to a kindergardner....say I have a 9' 5wt, which reel would be good to go with it, with fatty browns in mind? Keep it simple. Quality, versatility.