First fly rod

[Smallie Seeker]

As far as trout go I've been a spinning set up guy and after many years of putting it off I've finally decided to take the plunge and pick up a fly rod. I'm fully aware of the addiction it can be and have been warned that I may end up selling off all my heavy bass gear by the time it's all said and done. But I'm willing to take that risk!

Now, my dilemma.

I happen to have access to a very nice, vintage, Heddon Pal Pro Weight #8381-7' Fly rod weight 5.

Would this be a good rod to learn on? Or would I be better off getting a modern graphite say 5w 8.5' setup? Thinking new so I don't bang up the nice Heddon glass rod? Or would I be missing out on using a great vintage rod?

[trythisonemv]

That's a neat rod! You may want to get a cheap one until you get used to it. That way you don't hate yourself if something goes wrong and it's broken. Academy has some good start up fly rod rigs. So does Wal-Mart if it's with in so many miles of a trout water.

[RSBreth]

Yeah - save that Heddon for when you have the hang of it already. Don't get something super cheap, but something "affordable" but decent. 8.5' 5 weight is about standard, so I'm leave it to others to chime in here.

[Lancer09]

That Heddon will be a blast to learn on me thinks.

Being an old glass rod you'll have to properly learn the mechanics of a cast, focus on slowing your stroke down and letting the rod do the work.

Those old Glass rods are awful resilient and as long as you don't do something like crush it in a door or ceiling fan I don't think you'll have any problems using it.

I just think the older glass stuff is a better quality rod, and more responsive, even if slower than most of the low end graphite stuff.

If you do decide to go graphite look at something like an echo Ion for $120, you'll have to get a reel and line but that will suit you so much better off than a bass pro branded rod.

Also, buy yourself the nicest line you can afford, the hardness adn slickness will truly make your life easier learning to cast. I know the BP combos with a reel and line are tempting but for just a little more you can get yourself SOOOOO much more rod, reel, and line for the money. I'm a big fan of RIO lines, and I'm pretty sure SA just introduced a very affordable series of lines as well.

Let us know how it goes!

[Ccox1982]

You can find some really good fly rod and reel combos on Amazon.com. Some also come spooled up with line. My buddy got a Redington 5wt rod at 8"6 and reel with line for around $280. I just started fly fishing this year. And yes, it's addicting. I love it.

[stlfisher]

Your 5 weight will work for bass in open water situations and it is plenty of rod for the fish, but if you want to cast larger flies a 7 weight is really an ideal smallmouth rod. Your shoulder will thank you.

[Al Agnew]

Those old glass rods are nice, but a 7 footer can be a little frustrating when you're just starting out--a longer rod is easier for a beginner to keep the line in the air. And the biggest problem with glass rods is that they weigh more than a decent graphite stick, so can be a little tiring, though the shortness of it would mitigate that somewhat.

To tell the truth, I'm not a big fan of glass rods. When you are used to decent to good graphite rods, it's tough to try fishing a glass one. On the other hand, if you can learn to handle that glass rod well, then if you "upgrade" to a good graphite rod you'll probably love it.

A 5 weight is the all around size...handles everything okay, handles some things very well. You can use it for small dry flies for trout or big streamers for bass. If you're mainly focusing on bass, though, might as well go ahead and get a 7 weight. Of course, pretty soon you'll start feeling like you need a rod for every occasion. So far I have everything from a 3 weight to an 8 weight.

[Smallie Seeker]

Cabelas has a bunch of nice set-up's on sale right now. Cableas Prestige, Cabelas RLS, TFO Professonal series II. Kinda hard to narrow it down since I'm not familiar with any of them.

Heres a link if any one wants to make a reccomendation.

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/browse.cmd?N=1102570

Thanks for the replies!

BTW I'll primairly be using this rod initially for Maramec, Montauk, and Taneycomo. Pretty much handle all my smallie stream fishing with 90% bait casters/10% spinning. But I'm sure once I'm hooked on the fly I'll be looking for a 7wt as well.

Good thing I'm recently single haha!!!

[Greasy B]

Don't give up your heavy bass gear. Coming from from a gear background will make it a little difficult to get the hang of fly fishing but once you do you'll be better for it. Likewise learning to fly fish will make you a better gear fishermen.

[stlfisher]

Cabelas has a bunch of nice set-up's on sale right now. Cableas Prestige, Cabelas RLS, TFO Professonal series II. Kinda hard to narrow it down since I'm not familiar with any of them.

Heres a link if any one wants to make a reccomendation.

http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/browse.cmd?N=1102570

Thanks for the replies!

BTW I'll primairly be using this rod initially for Maramec, Montauk, and Taneycomo. Pretty much handle all my smallie stream fishing with 90% bait casters/10% spinning. But I'm sure once I'm hooked on the fly I'll be looking for a 7wt as well.

Good thing I'm recently single haha!!!

TFO professional series is a pretty good rod in that price range. I really like the Cabela's RLS reels too...I have 3 of them. If trout is your game initially, with occasional bass fishing, then you can cover many of your needs with 9ft 5 weight TFO. If you get really hooked on bass you can buy a 7 weight later. That is exactly what I did. Don't skimp on a cheap rod or fly line. You can skimp on the reel if you want at first.

Just like gear fishing you may find you want a different fly rod for different species and different presentations all of which may add to your enjoyment of fishing and probably cause you to spend more money than you would like! However, any medium weight fly rod gets you on the water at first and will catch the vast majority of fish in our area. Really the weight of the fly rod has as much to do with species as to the size/weight of the fly you want to throw. I like length to my fly rods as they help with distance and playing fish. Shorter rods are more specialized and for me I don't see the need for them, but this is preference so cast a couple and pick the one that feels right...that is the most important thing at first.