1st Fly Rod 4wt Or 5wt

[wgm]

I think the consensus is you've got to find a shop and try some rods. You're finding good deals, but they may not fit you. You may find a $100 rod at retail price that fits you better than a $500 at half price. The fish don't care if you are using a $15 Eagle Claw or a $1000 handcrafted bamboo. I would go to a shop, tell them you want a moderately priced combo and that you've never cast before in your life. They will set you up with what you need, what will be forgiving of beginner mistakes knowing that you'll get into it and they'll make a long-time customer.

Ok - I live in Little Rock Arkansas, where can I find a shop that will let me try out some fly rods?

The only one I know of is the Orvis shop in Little Rock, I did visit there the other day just browsing on my lunch hour, I didn't ask if I could try out a rod because they only have one rod in the $200 starting price range, the Orvis Clearwater II and no one so far has recommended this as the best rod for the price.

I would love to try some other brands but I have no idea where can I find a find shop that has several brands of rods that I could try?

Where is everyone going to try out rods in Arkansas & what brands of rods should I expect to get to try out when I get there? I guess this is going to call for a road trip...

[Danoinark]

Try these

The Ozark Angler - Little Rock - 501-225-6504

http://www.ozarkangler.com/

and the Lil Red Fly Shop at the swinging bridge on the Lil Red River

http://www.littleredflyshop.com/shop.htm

Dano

[vanven]

If you are going to start a list of rods to try in the sub $200 price range, here are a few that I have heard positives about:

Sage Launch (~$198) Most of their high quality rods are considered the best available. Med-Fast action.

TFO Professional Series (~$150) Great warranties. Fast action.

TFO Finesse Series (~$180) Great warranties. Fast action.

TFO Signature Series (~$100) Great warranties. Fast action.

TFO TICR Series (~$199) Probably the fastest out of the TFOs listed here.

TFO Series 1 (~$100) Great warranties. Med-Fast action. This is a new line of rods by TFO.

I know G Loomis, Redington, and a bunch of other companies sell quality equipment in the same price range but i just dont see a lot of information out there about them. I am not a TFO fanboy, but the do make some quality stuff. Your first rod may be a stepping stone for a couple years, but it will likely be your backup rod for many more. Dropping $100 on a throw away big store combo isnt something i would advise doing.

-Jerod

[wgm]

Well I made it out to The Ozark Angler at lunch today, got to try out a couple of rods and am really glad I did.

First let me preface this report back, by saying two things... today was the first time in my life I have ever casted a fly rod & the second is I am glad I found this forum & the advise I have received for the forum members in this thread!

The 1st rod I got to try was one that I though would be most like the G-loomis Experience 4wt fast action rod, I though I was most interesteded in, it was a Sage 590 Launch 5wt 9' (was described to me as a fast action rod, thought I can't really tell if this is the case by look at the website now) & the second was Orvis Clearwater II 865 Mid 6.5 flex 8'6" 5wt.

I only spent about 5 mins casting each of these rods... I was able to cast the Sage about 30-35' about one in every 5 or 6 tries, the rest of the time I was using my wrist to much I was told or had my timing off & trying to throw it to hard or to slow... and the line piled up out in front of me about 15 feet out, being I have fished all my life & consider myself to be a proficient bass angler... it was somewhat humbling ... but I was happy that I could cast the rod & though I might have even been able to cast to where I could have caught a fish if they were in a feeding frenzy.

The second rod I tried the cheaper Clearwater II rod, I actually casted it better than the Sage to my surprise, I was able to cast it 35-40' like maybe 4 out of every 6 cast or so...

Not sure what all to make of this... but I am now thinking... I really do need to start out with a 5wt rod & not a fast action one. I am not sure how much of the differences I was seeing was related to flex & how much could be related to thr rod length, I am assuming the action had the most to do with it.

I am still interested in G-loomis rods, I am now going to look into a GL3-FR1085-2 Classic 5wt. 9' in a MedFast and I am going to get to try this rod once it comes in too, before I made my decision. Anyone have any input on the GL3 series?

The main reason I got interested in G Loomis fly rods was the sales rep I met at Arkansas Rod & Reel (this is really a bass store here in Little Rock that sells a few fly rods), the young man I met worked at the The Ozark Angler for a number of year & I have heard nothing but good things about him, I was told when he was younger he won a state wide contest for flyrod casting distance (108') & he also won the accuracy casting catagory too, anyway he seems to know a lot & taught casting for several years for The Ozark Angler... and more importantly he said he is willing to spend a couple of hours teaching me.

Having read the above... if anyone was interested enough or kind enough to follow all this... and you have any more seasoned advice or thoughts to post, it would be very much welcomed - thxs glenn

[Danoinark]

Glenn

Good for you. I am glad you got to cast a couple different rods with different actions. I would presume that the Clearwater with the medium or mid flex action is the reason for the improved casting you mention. Typically mid flex actions are more forgiving thereby allowing a new caster to make a few mistakes. The launch being a faster action rod takes a bit more timing to get used to. G. Loomis rods are excellent and a good choice if you like the way it casts and you feel comfortable with their warranty and other amenities.

As to being able to cast 30-35 feet. I would venture to say that most of the fly fishermen on here, with me included catch the bulk of out fish within that distance.

Dano

[vanven]

Nice to see you are getting your hands dirty and getting some quality help in picking out a rod. It makes a lot of difference.

-Jerod

[soggyfeet]

"My questions is am I going wrong with selecting a 4-wt rather than a 5-wt for my 1st fly rod?

I will only be using this rod to trout fish with, primarily on the Little Red & occasionally on the White."

Go with the 5 weight - will give you the more versatile rod. Make sure you pair it GOOD quality line - don't scrimp on the line. Good line will work well on even a cheaper ($100) rod. Lousy line on a good rod (say $200+) will cast like crap.

I have found flyfishing like golf cause it is just as if not more addictive. Wether you are fishing for trout or not you will start to try to flyfish for anything. Thats the way I am anyway I dont even want to get my other rods out heck I would fly fish for my crappie minnows if I thought they would bite.

[Terry Beeson]

Ditto to the above three posts...... 'nuff said....

[BrowningFisherman]

I would go with 5 over the 4 either one is gonna work but it seems to me like a 5 wt is more forgiving, I handle hobbs creek reels almost daily and they are fine, the venture is nice but it is a small arbor vs the large arbor, your call on that one. I would pay twice as much for Scientific Angler over rio, Get GPX it is the most versatile. Then just have fun with it and don't let yourself get discouraged. No matter what your getting a hell of a combo

[3wt]

boo.

Rio over SA ANY DANG DAY OF THE WEEK!!!

If I had to choose 2 it would be my 3 and 5wt model. But I like light lines when I can get away with them. I'd rather work to chuck a wooly bugger than struggle to get a Trico to fall perfectly.

For most I might suggest a 4 for a single stream rod, a 5 for a single tailwater rod. For a 2 rod combo, ...probably 5 and a 7 would be good if you don't dry fly on small streams much. I would never suggest for most to go over a 5 wt unless you're doing some night fishing on a tailwater where a submarine of a brown might bite. 6 is a pretty clumsy weight for trout, just in the middle of light enough for delicacy and heavy enough for the monsters.