First Fly Fishing Rig

I am retired and recently became interested in fly fishing. Have been
reading and studying on the subject and am about to purchase my first
rod and reel. What is the best rod for learning - a 9 foot or a
smaller one, perhaps 7 ft? Would appreciate any info and tips.
Don - KC9FQG

Depends on what your fishing for . . . What type water etc etc . . can you
tell us what you are looking to catch and on what type water?

wayne


"DonE" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am retired and recently became interested in fly fishing. Have been
reading and studying on the subject and am about to purchase my first
rod and reel. What is the best rod for learning - a 9 foot or a
smaller one, perhaps 7 ft? Would appreciate any info and tips.
Don - KC9FQG

Depends on what your fishing for . . . What type water etc etc . . can you
tell us what you are looking to catch and on what type water?

wayne


"DonE" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am retired and recently became interested in fly fishing. Have been
reading and studying on the subject and am about to purchase my first
rod and reel. What is the best rod for learning - a 9 foot or a
smaller one, perhaps 7 ft? Would appreciate any info and tips.
Don - KC9FQG

"DonE" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am retired and recently became interested in fly fishing. Have been
reading and studying on the subject and am about to purchase my first
rod and reel. What is the best rod for learning - a 9 foot or a
smaller one, perhaps 7 ft? Would appreciate any info and tips.


Don:

Welcome to the dark side.

You could ask 10 different *experienced* fly fishers what is the best rod,
best reel, best way to begin, etc and get 10 different answers. What I might
consider the *best* rod might not work for you.

What kind of fishing are you wanting to do? Trout-east of the mississippi or
west?, warm water bass and bream, or warm water bass and pike? Sal****er?

I would suggest you start by seeking fly shops or clubs in your area and
show up and start asking questions. If possible buy your first outfits from
the local dealer, they should at least offer to show you the basic casting
stroke. And then practice. Regardless the local shop will have the better
repository of knowledge for the fishing in your area, will probably know of
places you want to visit, and can outfit you accordingly.

It is also the fly fishing show season and if there is one near where you
are, I would suggest starting your search there because you will have access
to many shops and rod makers in one place. I would also pick up a couple of
books, The LL Bean or Orvis Guides to Fly Fishing or a book by a guy named
Lefty Kreh, The Complete Guide to Fly Fishing (or something like that).

The more versatile and conventional starting outfit would be a 8 1/2' to 9'
5 or 6 weight. Prices range from under $100 for a temple fork/cabelas/bass
pro up to beyond $700 tho i would not suggest a beginner start there unless
they just wanted to and money was not an issue.

And in the off chance you live somewhere near Indianapolis IN to Kalamazoo
MI, drop me an email and we can get together and try a few different types
of rods and help with some basic casting functions.

Some thirty-odd years ago, I learned casting an 8 1/2 footer and it came
fairly easy to me. Since then, I've fished with rods from six to ten feet.
I really can't say that any length has been harder or easier to cast.
They're just, for lack of a more precise description, a bit different.

Pick a rod, get some quality instruction and get to know whatever it is you
begin with and then adapt from there. Everybody is a little different.
Some folks here are totally thrilled with rods I wouldn't use to prop open a
screen door and vice versa. So? I still have my first rod and I still fish
with it now and again, just for old time's-sake, but...the truth of the
matter is that it's highest value was to provide a reference point for
comparing rods other folks let me borrow against... I liked some better
than what I already owned. I was much happier with my second rod.

On the other foot, be wary of getting in a hurry to pass judgement on the
second rod. It may cross you up a little bit, but that isn't neccessarily a
bad thing. Some of my best lessons came from working with a different sort
of rod and learning how to get the best out of it. It's a dance. Take a
little time to get to know your partner.

-Doc
"DonE" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am retired and recently became interested in fly fishing. Have been
reading and studying on the subject and am about to purchase my first
rod and reel. What is the best rod for learning - a 9 foot or a
smaller one, perhaps 7 ft? Would appreciate any info and tips.
Don - KC9FQG

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

...in the off chance you live somewhere near Indianapolis IN to Kalamazoo
MI, drop me an email and we can get together and try a few different types
of rods and help with some basic casting functions.

And I'll take the liberty of stating that the same offer stands virtually
anywhere that ROFFians (that's those of us who read and write all this crap)
dwell.

Wolfgang
somewhere in the upper great lakes region.

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

...in the off chance you live somewhere near Indianapolis IN to Kalamazoo
MI, drop me an email and we can get together and try a few different types
of rods and help with some basic casting functions.

And I'll take the liberty of stating that the same offer stands virtually
anywhere that ROFFians (that's those of us who read and write all this crap)
dwell.

Wolfgang
somewhere in the upper great lakes region.

"Doc Elder" wrote in message
nk.net...
...It's a dance. Take a little time to get to know your partner.

Amen. I'll add only that in 20 years or so of fly fishing I have myself
wiggled and have witnessed countless others wiggle thousands of rods and
practice casting with them at their owners behest, and NEVER heard anyone
say, "well now, that's a real piece of ****, that is."

Strip the rods of identifying features and 99 out of a hundred fly fishers
won't have the slightest clue of what they are casting with........and you
can make a TON of money betting consistently that the other 1% will get it
wrong.

Wolfgang
who didn't find his shiny new nickels growing on a tree.

"Doc Elder" wrote in message
nk.net...
...It's a dance. Take a little time to get to know your partner.

Amen. I'll add only that in 20 years or so of fly fishing I have myself
wiggled and have witnessed countless others wiggle thousands of rods and
practice casting with them at their owners behest, and NEVER heard anyone
say, "well now, that's a real piece of ****, that is."

Strip the rods of identifying features and 99 out of a hundred fly fishers
won't have the slightest clue of what they are casting with........and you
can make a TON of money betting consistently that the other 1% will get it
wrong.

Wolfgang
who didn't find his shiny new nickels growing on a tree.

Yup,

No matter what you're going to use a 8 1/2 five weight, of a not too
expensive variety - if only as a back up.

john
KQC889

"Wayne Knight" wrote in message
...

"DonE" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am retired and recently became interested in fly fishing. Have been
reading and studying on the subject and am about to purchase my first
rod and reel. What is the best rod for learning - a 9 foot or a
smaller one, perhaps 7 ft? Would appreciate any info and tips.


Don:

Welcome to the dark side.

You could ask 10 different *experienced* fly fishers what is the best rod,
best reel, best way to begin, etc and get 10 different answers. What I
might
consider the *best* rod might not work for you.

What kind of fishing are you wanting to do? Trout-east of the mississippi
or
west?, warm water bass and bream, or warm water bass and pike? Sal****er?

I would suggest you start by seeking fly shops or clubs in your area and
show up and start asking questions. If possible buy your first outfits
from
the local dealer, they should at least offer to show you the basic casting
stroke. And then practice. Regardless the local shop will have the better
repository of knowledge for the fishing in your area, will probably know
of
places you want to visit, and can outfit you accordingly.

It is also the fly fishing show season and if there is one near where you
are, I would suggest starting your search there because you will have
access
to many shops and rod makers in one place. I would also pick up a couple
of
books, The LL Bean or Orvis Guides to Fly Fishing or a book by a guy named
Lefty Kreh, The Complete Guide to Fly Fishing (or something like that).

The more versatile and conventional starting outfit would be a 8 1/2' to
9'
5 or 6 weight. Prices range from under $100 for a temple fork/cabelas/bass
pro up to beyond $700 tho i would not suggest a beginner start there
unless
they just wanted to and money was not an issue.

And in the off chance you live somewhere near Indianapolis IN to Kalamazoo
MI, drop me an email and we can get together and try a few different types
of rods and help with some basic casting functions.