Intro To Fly Fishing Advice

[Bimmer]

First off, I'm well aware of how broad my question is and I know I'm going to get a ton of differing opinions. I've been wanting to get into fly fishing ever since I was a kid. I'm 58. My dad was a fly fisherman and I remember I was about 8 years old when I bought him his first complete real fly tying kit. Fishing has been in my blood forever and my wife is just as dedicated to it as I am. I think there are a lot of time when it's just simpler not to have to hook up the boat and just head down after school, and go fishing. I know that sounds weird being 58 and going to school, but I decided to go to MSU and get a degree in wildlife conservation and work in the fisheries. Unfortunately, 3 months into school I hurt my back and now I can't perform physical work so I changed my major to a Creative Writing degree so I can maybe learn to be a good grant writer. I am currently starting my senior year. Who knows? Maybe write grants for the fisheries department. Anyway, I'm getting off topic a little but that's one of the hazards of being a creative writing major.

I'm wanting to find some affordable gear for my wife and I and I know it's going to take some time to put it all together but I obviously don't want to be looking at junk on Craigslist. I'm sure there is stuff on there of reasonable quality and that is what I'm looking for. Being disabled I don't have a ton of cash to fork out. I probably can't afford both a top of the line rod and reel, so one of the questions I have is, "If given a choice, where is the best place to put quality? In the rod selection or the reel selection?" Also I never thought of rod length as being a factor before, why is that significant to fly fishing and what factors play a part in choosing the right length of rod?

As far as technique, I don't think I'm going to have a problem learning as last Spring the wife and I took a trip with the MSU recreation department up to Cassville and fly-fished the State Park up there and having watched my dad for so long, I kinda had some of the technique in my head and I did pretty well for my first time out. I apologize for this being so lengthy, but I seem to always have a lot to say or question and I strive always to make sure that I am understood.

Maybe some of your folks would like to chime in and give some pointers and tips so I can make some good informed decisions when perusing for adequate gear. Thanks friends!

~Bimmer/David

[exiledguide]

The rod , most MO fly fishing doesn't need a high dollar reel. I think a quality line is also very important. I emphasize quality not cost , if someone tells you that you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a rod that is not true,you might need that if you are fishing up in an Alaskan river for salmon ..........I think a good place to start would be at the fly shop at Cassville or Plateau Fly shop on Campbell ave in Springfield.

[Bimmer]

The rod , most MO fly fishing doesn't need a high dollar reel. I think a quality line is also very important. I emphasize quality not cost , if someone tells you that you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a rod that is not true,you might need that if you are fishing up in an Alaskan river for salmon ..........I think a good place to start would be at the fly shop at Cassville or Plateau Fly shop on Campbell ave in Springfield.

Thanks exiled. I live 2 blocks from there as it is right next to Fin and Feather. Being orginally from Seattle, I've fished for salmon. Down-riggers, flashers and 20 ounces of lead. Love, love, love smokin' salmon!

[duckydoty]

To be honest with you, as a beginner, the most important thing to spend your money on is fly line. Any rod, and any reel can cast a good fly line. Those cheap lines you can pick up for $10-$20 will just aggrivate the tar out of you. They will keep coils in them, sink when you want them to float and hinder your ability to cast. You can get away with going cheap on a rod and reel, but spend the money on a good fly line. Make sure it is matched to the rod or even oversized by one weight. A medium action (full to mid flex) rod will be a little more forgiving while learning to cast and getting your timing down for back casts. Fast action rods give you less of a window to keep your cast good. Any reel that holds line will work as long as you can pull the line off it without breaking 7x tippet. Some of the click and paw reels are a little too tight and if you get a fish on that needs to run, you will end up breaking him off. If you purchase a combo or set up from a flyshop, try casting a couple of different rigs in the parking lot to see what feels good. I'm sure they will give you some pointers also.

[laker67]

Some real good advice Bimmer, you should visit that fly shop today. The great thing about this website is the wealth of practical knowledge from a variety of ozark sportsmen.

[Phil Lilley]

There are some good fly rods for entry level anglers for about $100 - Templefork, Orvis - I'd stay with companies that offer good warranties if you break one. If you're just fishing Taney, stay with an inexpensive reel because you don't need much of a drag system with most of the trout you catch here.

If you're wading, make sure you buy boots with no felt. It's illegal in Missouri.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Be sure and get a moderate, medium, or something in a similar action, rod and one of the lines designed for beginners. This will make casting easier and allow you to develop good habits. Too many people try to start with a fast rod and special line and end up with bad habits that are hard to correct.

There's a very good line priced right that even has a bump at the point you should have at the reel in order to have the right amount of line out for casting.

[podum]

Great advice so far on gear. My add: learn how to mend. No matter how you get it out there, or what rod you are using, the trout won't eat it if it doesn't float naturally in the current.

[Bimmer]

There are some good fly rods for entry level anglers for about $100 - Templefork, Orvis - I'd stay with companies that offer good warranties if you break one. If you're just fishing Taney, stay with an inexpensive reel because you don't need much of a drag system with most of the trout you catch here.

If you're wading, make sure you buy boots with no felt. It's illegal in Missouri.

Right now I'm looking at a near new Berkley 556 reel, and a Berkley 8-foot New Dimension graphite rod at what I think is a very reasonable price. I DO have a set of waders I bought and they are feltless.

Great advice so far on gear. My add: learn how to mend. No matter how you get it out there, or what rod you are using, the trout won't eat it if it doesn't float naturally in the current.

I'm pretty good with words, but the term "mend" with regard to line and fly presentation is unfamiliar to me.

Be sure and get a moderate, medium, or something in a similar action, rod and one of the lines designed for beginners. This will make casting easier and allow you to develop good habits. Too many people try to start with a fast rod and special line and end up with bad habits that are hard to correct.

There's a very good line priced right that even has a bump at the point you should have at the reel in order to have the right amount of line out for casting.

If you wish not to specify exactly what line you're referring to, you can PM me. I'd appreciate it!

To be honest with you, as a beginner, the most important thing to spend your money on is fly line. Any rod, and any reel can cast a good fly line. Those cheap lines you can pick up for $10-$20 will just aggrivate the tar out of you. They will keep coils in them, sink when you want them to float and hinder your ability to cast. You can get away with going cheap on a rod and reel, but spend the money on a good fly line. Make sure it is matched to the rod or even oversized by one weight. A medium action (full to mid flex) rod will be a little more forgiving while learning to cast and getting your timing down for back casts. Fast action rods give you less of a window to keep your cast good. Any reel that holds line will work as long as you can pull the line off it without breaking 7x tippet. Some of the click and paw reels are a little too tight and if you get a fish on that needs to run, you will end up breaking him off. If you purchase a combo or set up from a flyshop, try casting a couple of different rigs in the parking lot to see what feels good. I'm sure they will give you some pointers also.

I can break a tippet just by peeling off line? I'm a lefty and last Spring what felt natural to me was to uncoil a few yards of line off and just sort of cradle it in the middle and index fingers of my right hand while casting with my left. Maybe that's bad form. I don't know.

All in all, excellent responses from everyone and I appreciate them very much! I should have learned this stuff long ago but I had my reasons for not investing time and money into the hobby. Now, things are very different and as they say, "It's never too late to learn."

On another note, as I mentioned, I am a Creative Writing major. And I thought I'd share a piece of a story I'm currently working on as one of my last fictional works towards my degree. It's still in the editing phase. I hope you don't mind my sharing an excerpt.

By early next morning, Skyler and his father stepped into the small boat with their fishing poles and tackle. The water on the lake was lending itself to a slight breeze as it sparkled in the sun as if someone had thrown jacks made of diamonds across the surface. Preston quietly rows the tiny boat to a cove some hundred and fifty yards to the east, behind an outcrop of giant firs. When they reached a spot about thirty feet from shore, his father quietly lowers the anchor into the sparkling lucid water, watching air bubbles surface at it found its resting place on the bottom. Skyler carefully manipulates the art of crafting a worm onto his hook, as the hapless creature writhes and flings its body in fits and twists desperately seeking a method of escape. Satisfied with his dexterity, he cast his rod in the direction of an outcrop of water lilies. As the line began to sing out of the reel, the bail suddenly closes on him. The line snaps and the line, hook and sinker most likely soars into the woods as he never did hear the plop of the lead disturbing the surface of the water. Skyler looks around at his father, hoping he wasn’t going to be mad about losing his father’s gear. “I hate it when that happens,” his father says with a smile. They both giggle and his father rigs up another line for him. Another worm on the hook, and he carefully cast in the same direction as before and this time the sinker went plop, in the water just at the precise edge of an outcrop of water lilies. As his father had once taught him, he waits until the line has stopped running along the surface of the water. The sinker hit bottom. He clicks the bail shut and as he starts to take in some of the slack line, it immediately became a tight-wire as the tip of his rod surrenders in a wide arc pointing far out to a spot where the line meets the water.

“Set the hook, son!” his father exclaims.

But before his father got the words out, Skyler already set the hook with a quick high jerk of the rod and was reeling while keeping the tip of the rod pointing up, another rule of thumb from his father. As Skyler plays the fish, his heart heaving in his chest, his father reaches for the net, to keep at the ready. The deep burgundy rod bends nearly in half, the place where the line met the water was now plowing the surface of the lake as if an invisible ice skater was carving circles and long crisp lines in all directions near the boat. After a few minutes of reeling and relenting line, from the drag of the reel, Skyler was making progress getting the fish closer to the boat. He saw momentary flashes of silver as the fish was exhausting everything in its bag of tricks to escape. A few more turns of the handle on the reel and the fish began breaking the surface. Its tail flapping, in desperation to elude the inevitable, it sent fantastic sparkling splashes of water into the air. Skyler, hardly able to control his excitement, manages to get the fish up close enough for his father to retrieve it from the water. In one quick swoop, the net came out of the water and into the boat. Once inside, his father held the net up exposing the glistening body as it gleams in the sunlight, still twisting and turning in the net, as if expecting freedom at any second. The long and yet thickly sleek body, mostly silver is peppered with an array of tiny black spots and the most beautiful thin purple line that runs from the gills to the tail.

“That’s a fine trophy of a rainbow trout son!” his father exclaims in his own excitement, proud of his son. The rainbow displaying all the magnificence of its brilliant colors, its mouth gapes at the cool mountain air. The eyes are huge and appear as gold platters serving as a backdrop to Prussian blue orbs staring up into the sky in submission.

“Let’s get a picture, son!”

His father dislodges the hook with a pair of needle-nose pliers while Skyler struggles to hold the net. The fish is easily twenty inches long and all of seven or eight pounds, maybe more. While Skyler got the camera, his father takes the net and lowers the fish into the water to keep it wet and not exposed to the air for too long. He then took the fish out the net and placed it in Skyler’s arms.

Several pictures later, his father asks, “He’s your fish, son. What would you like to do with him?”

Skyler replies, “Let’s put him back Dad.”

“You sure?” asks his father.

“Yeah, Dad, he probably has a brother out there somewhere.”