mdk77 wrote:
My 14 year old son and I would like to try fly fishing.

Good for you. It sounds as though you've done a lot of homework
already.

Are there any other sources that you would recommend we check out to
get started?

If you don't mind separating the wheat from the chaff here, this is a
fine resource. Don't be shy, but don't be thin skinned either. Good
specific questions will get you good information from the group; but
vague questions will not.

It looks like my son and I will need to "learn on our own" how to fly
fish. Can a person learn this from books/DVD's or are we fooling
ourselves?

It's not rocket science, and you should have no problem. Just pay
attention to what the books & DVDs tell you. The toughest part will be
unlearning the mechanics of bait casting; fly casting is different.
The 11 o'clock - 1 o'clock thing you'll see regarding fly casting is
just a crude approximation of the actual action, but it is nonetheless
illustrative of the basics. As you practice more, watch the motion of
your fly line, and learn/feel how the rod changes the shape of the
cast. Don't try to lay out 60' feet of line when you're just starting.
The basics are easy, proficiency takes longer. Watch the line. Feel
the rod. Nananananana.

From our reading we feel like we now understand what equipment we need
to catch the fish we're targeting.

For a novice, I'd recommend staying away from Ebay & the used stuff at
first. Try an inexpensive medium outfit from BPS or Cabelas & see how
it goes. By the time you decide to either chuck the whole mess or move
up to something better, you'll have a much better idea what your needs
and preferences are.

Your rod choice isn't so much aimed at the fish you want to catch, but
more at the flies you'll need to throw to catch them. For poppers &
minnow imitations for bass & panfish, you're probably better off with a
6 wt., but a 5 wt. is also a great all-around rod & should toss the
smaller stuff okay IF you get proficient at it. Personally, I think a
5 wt. is a great weight to learn with. Bigger bass flies will send you
up to a 7 wt. I'll leave the rod size discussion alone for now. Others
will no doubt be chiming in on that score and proving me wrong. g

Joe F.