First Fly Rod

[Zach Beach]

I'm looking to buy a fly rod for a weekend down at Bennet Springs. I have never used a fly rod before but would really like to learn. Wondering what would be a could combo kit for a beginner to buy or should I buy the rod and reel separate? I am not looking to spend 250 dollars on the pair. Then if I was to buy them separate, what size of backing, line and tippet should I buy?

[ness]

I'd probably start with an 8-1/2 foot 4-weight.

Cruise on over to Cabela's -- they've got a wide range of products for you to touch and feel, and knowledgeable staff to help you out. I bought a couple low-end rods from Cabela's last year (Traditionalist II and something else) for my sons. They're pretty nice rods, both with a medium action.

They've got several reels to choose from -- from pretty economical to stupid. Personally I'd steer away from the plastic ones, but that's just me.

[trizkid]

are you only going to be fly fishing for trout? or do you plan using it for multi species. and as ness suggested cabelas has some decent rods for decent prices. my first rod was a cabelas FTplus...i loved it untill breaking to tip being stupid....they have good warranty also...i took mine back and gave me full store cred due to the rod model being discontiuned. as for the backing, line, leader, and tippet. the backing i would say 20lb would be sufficient, for the line get the same weight line as the rod you purchase, the leader knotless 5x-7x i would say but 5x is getting heavy if you are fishing really clear water or picky trout. for tippet you would want to match it with the size of leader or you may have trouble connecting the two. this is the best i can do for ya , iv only been fly fishing for a year and a half now probably so i am sure there are alot of guys on here that have more experiance and might be able to help you more.

[ColdWaterFshr]

I agree on Cabelas. I picked up a 3-Forks, 7 1/2 foot 3-wt rod last year for $29. It casts as well as other rods that cost me many times more. I think a 4 wt 8 1/2 footer is perfect for Bennett. If you don't have a Cabelas near you, or even if you do . . . might also check out www.albrightflyfish.com. They're running their ridiculous sale again. Breathable waders for $39, complete fly-rod outfits are also available. Here is a pretty nice rod:

http://www.albrightflyfish.com/fly-rods/gp...s/gp-86454.html

[AZ_Trout]

I would have to Ditto --everyone's suggestion of Cabela's. You're in KC --there's one in KC - even if it's across town, it's worth the drive. Also the link to Allbright is a bargain at the discounts.

I would also suggest it is a fine balance between spending too much on something you might not like or only do once, versus getting good equipment in the first place. But the better the rod and reel -- the easier learning can be, too often I see people get something cheap (a kit for <$100) and usually it's hard to cast - no feel, and they end up spend more money to get something better. Yet you don't want to spend too much if you find out you don't like to flyfish.

If you are going to chase bass at some of the farm ponds -- you might want to go with a 5 weight, but I use my 3 wt more than any other set up I have.

If you go to Cabela's -- check out the bargain cave, I've found a few great deals over the years.

[Zach Beach]

Thank you all for the information. I was looking at the albright website and was a little confused on the line size and weight size. Are these set up like other fishing rods. Such as in there is an ultra light compared to a med/heavy rod, like a 3wt to a 7wt. And is the weight size is the size of the line that the rod is supposed to be able to handle.

I am also confused on how the line is set up. I know it goes backer then the floating line but I get confused after that.

I can't believe how much of a discount that the albright website is giving. If any of you had a choice would you go to Cabela's or get one at that website?

[Zack Hoyt]

Watch the shipping on the Albright website. Also, most kit rods will already be setup and ready to roll. If you can get to a local shop, that would be best because then you can see and feel exactly what you are buying.

For fly rods, line wts to fish goes like this:

0wt-4wt - trout, sunfish

5wt-7wt - trout, sm bass, lm bass, white bass, rock bass

8wt-?? - lm bass, bigger trout, striper, etc

If you buy a 5wt rod......you will want to pair a 5wt line with it. Leader and tippet size very much depend on what species and size rod you have.

I would recommend a 9' 5wt rod. This will cover the gamit of smaller bass, trout, panfish, etc. I use a 9' 6x leader. This means 9' in length and it will taper down to 6x. Tippet material I would buy a spool of 6x or 7x tippet.

Also, if you buy a reel seperate, most places will put on backing for you, no charge. You should be able to walk into a shop with some general information and make a good purchase.

Hope that helps.

Edit: The line setup goes: backing is tied onto the reel, fly line is tied onto the backing, leader is tied onto the fly line, and tippet is tied onto the leader, fly is tied onto the tippet.

[ColdWaterFshr]

I don't have any Albright rods, but I have a few friends that have quite a few each, and they like 'em as well as their Sage, Loomis, and Winston rods. I haven't seen what kind've deals Cabelas has going right now, but you may feel more comfortable buying from a local store like Cabelas that will take it back w/ no questions asked, and who will spool up the reel for you, put the loop end connector on the end of the fly line, set you up with a couple leaders, and spools of tippet.

Albright - looks like they rate some of their rods as 3/4wt, 5/6 wt, or 7/8 wt, which means you could put either of the lines on and be okay. Probably go with the heavier line for being a newb, it will make casting easier.

As a compromise - get the rod from Albright, then take it in to Cabelas and get the reel, line, etc. from them. They won't care.

As for spooling up, it goes backer (usually nylon), then fly line, then leader, then tippet.

Good luck!

[ness]

Here's a quick tutorial on fly tackle:

Fly lines are set up in a three-piece system:

Backing -- which is kinda like thin string. It's purpose is to lengthen the system beyond that of the fly line, and add diameter to the reel's spool, making it easier to retrieve the line. Backing lasts virtually forever.

Fly line -- a plastic coated line that is built with a taper. The most common and best taper for a beginner is a weight-forward taper. This expands slightly towards the tip end (if you put it on correctly), adding weight which makes the cast easier to manage. Fly lines will last quite a while (years), especially if you take good care of it -- keep it clean, keep it off the ground so you don't step on it. The fly line should match the rod's weight -- which will be on the rod.

zhoyt gave a good set of guidelines for line and rod weight and fish type. Rod weights go from 1 to 10 (with some smaller and larger). The practical ranges for fishing for trout, panfish and bass are about 3 to 8. Smaller means lighter tackle, larger number means bigger.

Leader -- a section of monofilament (like regular fishing line) that also is built in a taper, from thick at the butt end to very thin at the 'tippet' end that's tied to the fly. When the tippet end gets too short or tangled up, you can tie a piece of new tippet on. When the whole leader gets messed up, you can replace that. Leaders are sold in length/tippet size combinations like 9-foot 5X.

Tippet sizes range from very fine 8X to pretty stout 1X. Ten minus the tippet number equals the approximate pound rating, i.e 1X is about 9 pound test, 8X is about 2. Practical tippet sizes for trout would be about 4 to 7X, favoring the larger number (smaller size) for small flies in trout parks, larger size for larger flies and/or fast/broken water.

Sing along: The back-ing's connected to the fly-line. The fly line's connected to the tip-pet. The tip-pet's connected to the fly-eye.

Rods range from 6-1/2 to 9-1/2 feet (again, with some shorter or longer). A practical range for most is 8 to 9 feet.

So, about an 8-foot 4 weight with a 9-foot leader tapering to 6X would be a pretty good setup for Bennett Springs, give-take.

Hope this helps.

PS: Cabela's will sell you a package with all this put together.

[Zach Beach]

After looking at both the Cabelas and Albright I looked at Bass pros Fly rods. They are a little more expensive for their combos but I live only 5 minutes from them and 40 minutes from a Cabelas. Has anyone used the BPS fly rods and if so are they a good rod or are they like the one you can buy at walmart for 20 dollars? I know I'm asking a lot of questions but I just don't want to get stuck with a rod that I don't like and can't cast.