If You Could Only Have One Fly Rod

[FishinCricket]

I have two 8' 6" 5wt's (still learning what all this jargon means, honestly) and I have caught all sorts of different fish with them.. Largemouth, smallmouth, trout, catfish, honker gills, etc.. I really like the feel, action, and cast thusfar.. (as you know, Eric, I just started learning)

But I readily admit that I will fish with junk and enjoy it.. It so happens that both of these rods are fantastic and anything but junk.. But all the same.. lol (my spincast reel goes squeak, squeak, skip, squeak all day, but still catches fish..)

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Great advice by Al. I guess I will echo his thoughts exactly.

9ft 5wt 2pc, maybe a 3pc.

Just a good true all around rod that will handle way more than you think.

If you get one that is too stiff - you end up with more of a 6wt.. and there are days you might want to throw really small dries and really light tippets - and the 6 might be too much.

If you get one that is under lined.. it might not handle windy conditions or night fishing.. or the occasional bass that will pop up when youre bluegill fishing.

* Most importantly - cast any and all rods before you buy. *

I say go for broke by the way. Spend as much as you can once you find the rod you like.

my .02 - Brian

[drew03cmc]

9ft 5wt 2pc, maybe a 3pc.

Just a good true all around rod that will handle way more than you think.

If you get one that is too stiff - you end up with more of a 6wt.. and there are days you might want to throw really small dries and really light tippets - and the 6 might be too much.

If you get one that is under lined.. it might not handle windy conditions or night fishing.. or the occasional bass that will pop up when youre bluegill fishing.

* Most importantly - cast any and all rods before you buy. *

I say go for broke by the way. Spend as much as you can once you find the rod you like.

my .02 - Brian

Go for broke? Brian...some have to pay to go fish too. Dude, you know I am screwing with you. If you get the opportunity and can finance it, check out a Winston WT 8'6" 5wt 3pc. That is one of the all time classic trout rods, but it can handle streamers as well.

[eric1978]

Reels, for the species you specified, can be economy models. I like my Albright Topwater reel that I have on my 4wt, and they are also on sale for $20 right now. Bass Pro has a nice reel in the Hobbs Creek Large Arbor and many "cheap" reels from companies such as Ross, Lamson, etc are either OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive or very heavy (see Ross Flystart). That is not to say that the cheap Ross is a bad reel, but it is VERY heavy without the necessary capacity IMO.

Thanks for all the pointers Drew. You lost me a little on the line. When I hear line, I think test and diameter...I got a lot to learn.

I just want a quality reel that matches the rod and does what it's supposed to do. Not worried about the money that much. What are the major differences in models? Mostly capacity?

[drew03cmc]

Well, you can compare something like the Lamson Litespeed which has a super smooth, infinitely adjustable conical drag (great for hard running, long running fish), the Galvan Open Back, which has a super smooth infinitely adjustable disc drag and something akin to the Albright Topwater 3/4, which has a click pawl drag. For most warmwater species short of 20# carp and the like, you will be just fine with a click pawl or a low end cork disc drag reel. There are cork drag reels like the Hobbs Creek that can be had for $40. There are also cork drag reels like the Orvis Vortex which are several hundred dollars. Click pawl reels are my favorite on lighter rods like my 4wt and lighter sticks. They are lighter and possess enough drag to keep the spool from overrunning. The Lamson and Galvan drags are great, especially on light tippet or for long running fish. For the fish you are after, any fly reel that is smooth operating will suffice. If you decide to chase large carp on the flats of Table Rock, you may wish for a light saltwater reel, but that is another story for another time. I hope I have not confused you beyond belief, but my best advice is to browse your local fly shop's reels and see how the reel feels under wind and pay (wind it backwards) and see what balances the rod you are going to get the best. If possible, cast the rod with that reel and the line weight, model and taper you would want as well.

Here is an excerpt from the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide by Tom Rosenbauer: http://knol.google.com/k/tom-rosenbauer/li...mzrj4t85lit/17#

[fishinwrench]

I guess I'm committing to finally getting my first fly rod, but I have no idea what to look for. I'd like to get something to chase bows and browns with, but versatile enough to be able to sling bigger flies for smallmouth with it, too. What length and weight would you guys recommend for a good all-around fly rod and what reel to go with it? Thanks all.

I think I'd lean towards a 6 wt. if you want to throw Smallie bugs, big streamers, and clousers. But if technical nymphing and drys on 6X is in your future then you'll want the 5 wt.

There's not a lot of difference between most 4's and 5's....and also not alot of difference between 6's and 7's....but there's a ton of difference between 5's and 6's

Consider your lightest tippet used, to dictate the rod weight. I personally do not fish tippets below 4x on a 7wt., Nothing below 5x on a 6 wt. And no tippet below 6x on a 5wt.

If you originally stick to that then everything else will balance out fine.

I know there are guys that throw #4 clousers and Sneaky Pete's on a 3 wt. but that's just crazy. I've had a couple of 3wt. rods and I consider them "toys"...they are fun, but they are not actual fishing tools, unless you are chasing little brookies in small sheltered streams.

[eric1978]

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.

[fishinwrench]

Pretend I'm a retard...what would you say then....

Put that fly rod down boy.... and put your helmet back on, we're going to the Moon

http://www.flyfishingforbeginners.com/index.html

[Al Agnew]

Eric, I kinda figured you were in the situation you described...also figured that like me, you'd find the fly rod more useful and enjoyable for trout, with smallies as a once in a while thing. Since we fish pretty much alike on smallmouth and really LIKE the spinning and baitcasting tackle for them, if you're like me even if you take the fly rod along it won't get used much. You'll probably only use it smallie fishing if you go wading on smaller streams, and in that case the 5 wt. is definitely what you'll want to be fishing with.

The 9 footer is a little better at getting distance on your casts, but the 8'6" is probably good enough, especially if you are mainly fishing it on smaller creeks for smallies.

For trout, I have to say I've never used my 6 wt. for Ozark trout, although it gets used out West for fishing streamers all the time...wind is so much more of a factor on the big Western trout streams, and the heavier rod handles the wind better. So if you're sticking to Ozark trout for the time being, the 5 wt. will definitely work for everything you might use.

Reels...for normal trout fishing and smallmouth fishing--by "normal" trout fishing I mean the kind of trout you'll usually catch in the Ozarks and not those humongous knuckle-pounders you might catch up in Alaska--the quality of the drag on the reel is rather unimportant. A cheap reel is all you really need. However, cheap reels are usually noisy and rough. I used Scientific Anglers reels for a long time, but whenever I'd pick up my fly fishing buddy's rod and reel (he uses more expensive stuff than I do) his reels were always so much more smooth and quiet and felt so much better. So now I'm using a couple of Ross reels and a Lambson. Definitely try the reels as Drew said and spend whatever you feel like spending, but keep in mind that you don't have to buy the MOST expensive reel just for trout and smallmouth.

Line...this, of course, is your other major expense in buying a fly rod. The line is important because with the fly rod, you're actually casting the line, with the fly on the end of the leader just going along for the ride. Get a WFT (weight forward taper) floating line that matches the weight of your rod. Weight forward means that the thickest part of the line is near the front end of it--since you're casting the line, not the fly, it helps to have a line with the heaviest part of it out in front. Floating lines are all I ever use for trout and smallies, since if I gotta fish something so deep that I'd need a sink-tip line (a line where the front few feet sink) I ain't gonna be fishing with a fly rod, it's just no fun for me. Heck, you can always use a lot of lead to get stuff as deep as I care to fish with a fly rod. Any decent quality line will do--figure on spending $40-60 for your line. You'll need backing (a thinner, cheaper line that goes on the reel first as filler and in case you hook into a fish so big it will strip off your relatively short length of fly line), but the people wherever you buy the reel with fill it with backing and line.

If you're really just starting out and have not cast a fly rod enough to know what you're doing, it probably won't help you just to try out rods and reels at the store. This is one time when it REALLY helps to go to a fly shop and not a big box store, and ask for them to show you the casting ropes. The last couple rods I've bought have come from T Hargrove in St. Louis, and in both instances we took four or five different rod and reel set-ups out in the parking lot and spent a good half hour or more casting them. The first good fly rod I ever bought came from Feathercraft, just down Manchester from T Hargrove, and the late Ed Storey, the owner, took me out in their parking lot and basically gave me 45 minutes worth of casting lessons before he even brought out several more rods and had me try them to decide which one I liked best. Once you've fly fished for a while, trying out a bunch of different rods is really useful, but if you've never done it before, you probably won't know what you're supposed to be "feeling" when just trying them out on your own, so find a very knowledgeable person to help you try out rods.

Other than that, to get started you'll need leaders. A leader is the monofilament line that attaches to the end of your fly line. Actually, for fishing heavy streamers and wind resistant bass bugs, I sometimes just use a 6 foot length of regular monofilament, 6 or 8 pound test. But for most fly fishing, you need to buy tapered leaders (the mono is thicker back where it attaches to your fly line, and tapers to thinner at the end where you attach your fly). Tapered leaders cast unweighted flies much better than a simple length of mono. With heavily weighted flies (or even when fishing nymphs--sinking flies--with a lot of lead) you don't really need them. However, since I've almost always got a tapered leader on the end of the fly line anyway, I go ahead and use it no matter what I'm fishing. Leaders usually come in 7.5 ft. and 9 ft. lengths. The 7.5 is usually all you need, but as you use it and break off or re-tie flies it will quickly shorten. Which is why you also need tippet, which is little spools of mono (or fluorocarbon these days). You add a length of tippet to your leader to replace the length you just broke off hanging your fly up in the snags.

Leaders and tippet go by X numbers instead of pound test, although the spools usually have the pound test on them as well. The X numbers (like 3X, for instance) denote the diameter of the line, not its strength. Since you're using a leader that tapers down to thinner at the end, it would make no sense to add tippet that's thicker than the end of the leader. So if you buy a leader that's 3X, say, and gradually lose a couple feet, the end is now probably about 2X or 1x (the smaller the number, the thicker the line--go figure) so you'd add 3X tippet to it to get it back to the taper it originally had. If you've just put the leader on, but want tippet on the end (for fishing a double nymph rig, for instance), you'd add a length of tippet that's either the same, or one number thinner, than your leader. For smallies, 2X leaders and tippet is as thin and light as you'll ever need, and it's no problem using 1X or 0X. For trout, most of the time I use 3X, sometimes if I'm using pretty small flies I'll go to 4X, and if I want to use a really small dry fly like a size 18 or 20 (the numbers get bigger as the flies get smaller, too--go figure) I'll go to 6X, which is about 1.5 or 2 pound test. Personally, I really like to use fluorocarbon tippet for any sinking flies, but you almost have to use regular mono tippet for dry flies because it doesn't sink as quickly and take the fly down with it.

We can get into flies and other stuff you might need for trout if you want--others will want to chime in there as well. I'm pretty sure you'll have your own ideas on smallies. Welcome to the world of fly fishing--if you're like me you'll find it the most interesting way to fish for stream trout. I sometimes think I have a split fishing personality--love fishing the fly rod for trout, dislike using spinning tackle for them even though I know that sometimes it's a lot more effective for pursuing the bigger fish, love fishing spinning and baitcasting for smallies and can take the fly rod or leave it when I'm pursuing them.

[Danoinark]

Eric, here is the easy way out. Lets say you picked the

TFO Pro. If I recall correctly you can purchase that rod as a combo.

You get a 9ft, 5wt TFO rod, TFO reel and line all matched to the rod.

The price is usually better also when bought this way.

Dano