Fishing - Long rambling post about travel rods.

Dan wrote:

ok, dan... here's my suggestions based on my personal experience -

1) Given that I am a beginner, is a slow rod appropriate? Might I end up by
preferring a faster action and should I not therefore start off with a rod
that is more "in the middle" speedwise?

quit worrying about it... you'll never figure any of this out until
you've personally experienced the different rods and done some
flyfishing. tag along with some more experienced folks if you can.
isn't dan'l out near you (mt. palomar area)? a medium action or slow
action will be fine for starters...but so will a fast action, imo...
you'll find that you figure it out and adapt after a while on the water.
just get started and spend the time and it'll all work out. the
indecision and fretting is the worst thing a beginner can do... trust
me, buy something and wade on in. you'll be buying another rod soon
enough. there's rarely a right or wrong to the first rod...

2) You say that where I plan to fish should determine rod length and weight.
I think I will, as I say, probably be fishing in the Eastern Sierras.
(Everything I have read suggests that that is the best trout fishing in CA.)
I believe this encompasses both lakes and streams, so I want to make my
(first) rod as versatile as possible. My thought was for a 5 weight 8' 6"
rod. Does this make sense, or is 9' better?

get a 9' 5 weight. there, that was easy enough, wasn't it?

3) Do you have any knowledge of the other rods I mentioned? Could you put
the Stowaway in context?

they will all work just fine. i have an 8'6" five piece stowaway with
the drake reel combo. it casts ok, catches fish. it's heavier than i
prefer, but it'll do. you provide the context, not the rod. however,
you'd be well-served to contact wally at ezflyfish.com and tell him your
price point and your needs, then trust him (yeah, i know) to send you a
good starting rig. that way, you can blame it all on him. g bill
kiene's shop is out your way somedamnwhere in the californication
territory. check with him too. before you give cabela's a buck, think
about shopping with one of these fellas.

4) And, finally, the Stowaways cost $90 each. The matching rod case costs
$30. For only $5 more I can get a "kit". This would get me a rod case, which
I want, and a reel and line, which I don't. Do you have any idea whether I
could could buy the kit and return the reel and line?

figure the money, buy what you need, move on. btw, you can always use
the extra reel as a loaner for a "beginner" you might help along the
way. get some gear, go fishing. you are overthinkin this stuff. judging
from all this difficulty, you're gonna be in a real dilemma when you
start studying waders and boots, not to mention the maddening (albeit
cheerful)process involved in selecting those damn scotch and beer
spirits... and then, ...well, your troubles are only beginning.

good luck...

jeff