Opus, long post, you didnt even ask him what he is fishing for!! You
would suggest a 6-8 foot 3-6 weight if he told you he lives in Seattle
and fishes for 40 pound king salmons?????!???

He needs to tell us if he is fishing for 7-12 inch 12, largemouth bash,
striped bass, steelhead, atlantic salmon, king salmon etc.

In article ,
"Mr. Opus McDopus" wrote:

Get yourself an inexpensive rod form Walt Winter at
http://www.ezflyfish.com/ (a very trusted individual, IMMHO), Cabela's,
Gander Mtn...

Fred is probably on with the most popular weight being 5/6wt, but I would
also add that if you are fishin' fairly small trout streams, I would go with
a 3/4 weight rig. Length of the rod is very important as well. Personally,
I like short rods, 6' to 7 1/2', for my fishin', as I fish small steams in
North Carolina. However, a longer rod is better in most cases, for all
around fishin', as you can reach across currents that might create drag on
your line. I have learned to compensate for those situations; but, as a
beginner, you may want to get a rod in the 8' to 8 1/2' range.

You are going to spend more money on flyfishin', per piece of gear, than you
will for spinnin' rigs. Just accept this and you will get over the sticker
shock and get on with the job at hand. Once you get a feel for castin', you
cast other fly fishers more expensive set-ups and learn the subtleties, you
will realize that price does equal quality, in most cases concerning your
rod and *LINE*. Yes line quality matters, and the more expensive lines are
better lines--others may say differently, but I doubt it.

Your reel is simply a line storage unit, for small stream fishin' anyway.
Buy a functional reel, probably made of a composite material for you
original set-up. You will want to get into the more expensive reels as your
taste in rods matures.

Concernin' casting, go to http://www.sexyloops.com/index.shtml and click on
there fly casting link. Buy some books, read up. Get out in the yard and
tie a fly on that you have clipped the hook off of, or tie a wad of yarn on
to the tippet and begin castin'. The advice you get on casting will be
imperative--10 to 2 or 11 to 1 castin'. These numbers represent positions
on a clock. Your back cast should never, generally speaking, go beyond 2:00
behind you and your forward cast should never go beyond 10:00, again
generally speaking. Obviously, you must lower your rod at the end of your
forward cast, but that will come as you practice.

Lawn castin' won't suffice forever. You really need to get on the water.
Find a stretch with no trees to get hung up in. Don't worry about catchin'
fish right away. Learn to cast properly. And, no, your castin' style may
not be exactly what the *experts* say it should be. I for example, use my
wrist a great deal more than would be suggested to the beginner, but then I
can't cast for **** either!

Go ahead and Google everything that you can think of about castin' and
flyfishin' in general and read.

Stick around here, learn to grow a very thick skin, and remember: There are
no stupid questions, just stupid people who ask questions! :~^ )

Op