Beginer's Fly Rod Choice

[gramps50]

Been thinking about trying g my hand at fly fishing for awhile. So on Black Friday I picked up a Cabela's Wind River Combo, 9' 6WT. I practiced with it in the yard for awhile using a practice fly & practice leader. Today I went to a local pond to try it with an actual fly. It seems to cast okay, they talk about feeling g the rod load which I don't seem to feel. I'm also thinking I should have bought a 5WT instead of the 6WT. I'll be fishing for trout in the urban stocking program at some local lakes and for sunfish & small bass (8"-15") for the most part.

I'm thinking now that maybe I should have gotten a 5WT so I'm thinking about returning it and getting the same combo in a 5WT or upgrading to a 9' 5WT Cabela's RLS combo.

Will I be able to tell the difference between the 5Wt & the 6Wt? Also would it be worth the upgrade to the RLS combo?

Thanks

[JCW355]

Did you watch your line on the backcast? You said you didnt feel your rod load which makes me think you went forward too soon on the forward cast. Hard to truly diagnose your problem without seeing you cast.

[grizzly]

I concur with JCW regarding your forward cast beginning too soon. A 5 wt won't make a difference until you properly load the line in your cast.

[marcusearlt]

You might not be feeling your rod load because it is laying too flat on your back-cast. Try stopping the rod at 12 or 1 o'clock and pausing and see if you can feel it load then. If you can afford the RLS combo then go ahead and buy it. Always get the highest quality equipment you can afford at the time, especially fly gear.

[Al Agnew]

Either a 5 wt. or a 6 wt. rod will work, though I'd probably go with the 5 wt. if I was only going to use one rod.

You should be able to feel the rod load if you are doing everything right. Try this...

Go back out in the yard. Stand so that you are sideways to where you want to cast; if you're right-handed, stand with your left shoulder pointed toward where you want to cast. Get some line out by casting about three quarters overhand, not overhand and not sidearm. With the line lying fairly straight toward where you want to cast, bring the rod back SHARPLY to "throw" that line back, keeping to the three quarter casting motion and watching your line all the way. Stop the rod SHARPLY at about 1 o'clock, like it hit a wall. Pause and keep watching the line. It should keep going back until it gets straight on the backcast...keep watching it, and wait to see if you really feel the rod load when the line gets straight back. THAT'S when you come forward for your forward cast. Since you're watching the line the whole way, you will know when you should feel the rod load. You will also get a good idea of how long to pause on the backcast to wait for the rod to load before coming forward on your forward cast, and know what it feels like when the rod loads.

This will hopefully also get you into the correct casting motion, especially the stop on the backcast. The biggest mistake beginners make is to let the rod go back too far, and then come forward too soon. Even if you think you're stopping the rod at 1 o'clock, you're probably actually stopping it at 2:30 or 3, so I've trained myself to stop when I think I'm close to 1 o'clock, and it actually turns out to be closer to 2. Second biggest mistake is not stopping the backcast sharply enough, so that the rod drifts back after you've intended to stop it. Third biggest mistake is to not lift the line up on the backcast sharply enough, and then try to make up for it by bringing the forward cast a lot harder. Your backcast should be at least as hard, probably harder, than your forward cast.

Nothing beats having somebody else who knows how to do it watching you to see your mistakes, but by doing what I suggested, at least you can see yourself what you might be doing wrong.

[gramps50]

Thanks Al I will give that a try, I have thought of video taping it to so I could see what I was doing.

Was at Cabela's tonight and they had the RLS combo on sale so I picked one up, they had one setup in the store and it felt much lighter than the Wind River. The Cabela's clerk told me that if I call during the day they will give me casting lesson(s) for free. Can't hurt.

[podum]

gramps, you wont regret the upgrade from wind river to the RLS combo. Cabelas sells good stuff, but there is a big difference in weight from the bottom to the middle end rods. Take Al's advice on casting and good luck!

[gramps50]

Took the new RLS out in the yard today between rain drops and did what Al suggested. It did help but as soon as I turned straight and tried it I was back to the more sloppy cast. Think I just need to keep doing it Al's way until I get the timing down.

[jdmidwest]

One major thing to consider would be the types and sizes of flies you are planning on using and the target species of fish. Second would be the size of the water you are going to fish.

Fly lines are really designed to cast the size of flies you want to toss. Lighter weight like 3 and 4 are usually limited to smaller size flies. 5 to 6 mid range flies. 7 to 9 are bass weights and anything above is mostly saltwater, as a rule of thumb.

Fly rod lengths are for casting distance. Shorter rods to 8' are for smaller water, 9' and longer for larger waters. Line weights tend to fall along the same lines as the rod lengths, the larger the number, the longer the cast.

[gramps50]

Took the RLS to Walker Lake Wednesday to try my luck at catching a few trout and get some practice in. While I was there I decided to video myself casting. The angle is a little strange as I laid the phone at my feet and videoed looking up from the ground. After watching the video I think I see a problem. Wondering if you see the same thing?

http://youtu.be/JHtaaOMTYG8

Watching the video it looks to me like I'm using my wrist to cast more than my arm. Which is causing the back cast to go past 1 o'clock