Fly rod newbie questions

Hi All

This is my first post on this group.

I've never fished w/ a fly rod - I'm a baitcast/spinning type,
panfish, N Pike and Bass are my normal quarries.

Today I found a fly rod in my shed - a remnent from a
previous owner. Its a South Bend 8ft, 2 pc, med action,
7wt rod. The labeling on the blank says "graphite re-inforced" -
what ever that means. No reel. I've been a bit curious about
fishing w/ a fly rod, so I've read a few books I've picked up at
my local library.

I assume that this was made in Korea or China, and that
the blank is mostly glass.

Can some of you give me some ideas and direction on this rod
/ fly rods in general.

To much for a newbie? To little? To much rod for
panfish & trout? To little for bass and pike?

How about a reel?

As a newbie - should I even bother w/ this rod, or
pick this up later on after I've gone thru a more
entry level rod?

Any suggestions as to getting myself equipped from
this point (assuming this rod would be useful for my
needs)?

Thanks

Jim

"Jim Laumann" wrote in message
...

This is my first post on this group.


Boy did you ever take a risk

I've never fished w/ a fly rod

Today I found a fly rod in my shed - a remnent from a
previous owner. Its a South Bend 8ft, 2 pc, med action,
7wt rod. The labeling on the blank says "graphite re-inforced" -
what ever that means. No reel. I've been a bit curious about
fishing w/ a fly rod, so I've read a few books I've picked up at
my local library.

It's one of the early model graphite rods from when the industry was
transitioning from fiberglass to graphite.

[snip]

To much for a newbie? To little? To much rod for
panfish & trout? To little for bass and pike?

Now a days, most folks don't use 7 wts for trout and panfish but a
generation ago it was not uncommon and the rod is just fine for bass and
pike.

How about a reel?

If you could find one, a Pfleuger Medalist would be appropriate to the era
and the rod. However the modern Pflueger is not near as well made as the
original Akron assembled models. There's plenty of servicable reels for it,
the line would be more important, a Scientific Anglers Mastery DT or WF
would be a good fit.

As a newbie - should I even bother w/ this rod, or
pick this up later on after I've gone thru a more
entry level rod?

Any suggestions as to getting myself equipped from
this point (assuming this rod would be useful for my
needs)?

Today most folks would not bother with that rod but it should be servicable
and like I said earlier, a generation or tow ago, that rod would have made
many anglers happy. I have a small collection of modern graphite fly rods
but love to fish an old fiberglass Shakespeare Wonder rod which is probably
older and heavier than your rod.

If you don;t have a decent fly shop or a gander mountain type store nearby,
go to www.ezflyfish.com or any other online store and grab a starter reel
and line, take your library books and give it a shot. If nothing else you
would not have much invested and could probably get $50-$75 for the rod on
ebay plus some of your reel cost if you did not like it.

As to other stuff, man the rod and reel just scratch the surface, tippet,
leaders, flies, tools.....when you order your reel and fly line, ask the
store about some basic flies and supplies for your chosen species and area.

"Jim Laumann" wrote in message
...
Hi All

This is my first post on this group.

I've never fished w/ a fly rod - I'm a baitcast/spinning type,
panfish, N Pike and Bass are my normal quarries.

Today I found a fly rod in my shed - a remnent from a
previous owner. Its a South Bend 8ft, 2 pc, med action,
7wt rod. The labeling on the blank says "graphite re-inforced" -
what ever that means. No reel. I've been a bit curious about
fishing w/ a fly rod, so I've read a few books I've picked up at
my local library.

I assume that this was made in Korea or China, and that
the blank is mostly glass.

Can some of you give me some ideas and direction on this rod
/ fly rods in general.

To much for a newbie? To little? To much rod for
panfish & trout? To little for bass and pike?

How about a reel?

As a newbie - should I even bother w/ this rod, or
pick this up later on after I've gone thru a more
entry level rod?

Any suggestions as to getting myself equipped from
this point (assuming this rod would be useful for my
needs)?

Thanks

Jim

Whatever "graphite re-inforced" might mean, it's nothing you need to worry
about. Bottom line is that South Bend never made anything that would be
considered top quality by anyone who takes this sort of ****
seriously........and you don't need to take it seriously. Find a retailer
you feel you can trust......a shop that specializes in fly fishing is your
best bet......but there are no guarantees.....and ask them for a moderately
priced reel suitable for a 7 weight rod, and line and backing to match.
Weight forward or double tapered floating line will do quite nicely. Get a
couple of leaders, some tippet, and a selection of flies. Once again, a
local fly shop is your best bet for these items. Tell the folks there
where, when, and for what species you intend to fish. They should be able
to tell you and sell you everything you need.

The best alternative is to sort through whatever advice you may get here.
This is not a BAD alternative but, as you will soon find out, it can get
rather time consuming.......and quite possibly more than a bit confusing.

Good luck, and enjoy.

Wolfgang
and, remember this one thing.......YES, the rod IS worth bothering with.
you're welcome.

Wow, what luck.

With an e-bay reel and line and backing from you're local shop you have the
undisputed 'perfect' rod for learning.
what luck,
john
"Jim Laumann" wrote in message
...
Hi All

This is my first post on this group.

I've never fished w/ a fly rod - I'm a baitcast/spinning type,
panfish, N Pike and Bass are my normal quarries.

Today I found a fly rod in my shed - a remnent from a
previous owner. Its a South Bend 8ft, 2 pc, med action,
7wt rod. The labeling on the blank says "graphite re-inforced" -
what ever that means. No reel. I've been a bit curious about
fishing w/ a fly rod, so I've read a few books I've picked up at
my local library.

I assume that this was made in Korea or China, and that
the blank is mostly glass.

Can some of you give me some ideas and direction on this rod
/ fly rods in general.

To much for a newbie? To little? To much rod for
panfish & trout? To little for bass and pike?

How about a reel?

As a newbie - should I even bother w/ this rod, or
pick this up later on after I've gone thru a more
entry level rod?

Any suggestions as to getting myself equipped from
this point (assuming this rod would be useful for my
needs)?

Thanks

Jim

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 04:16:16 GMT, Jim Laumann
wrote:

Hi All

This is my first post on this group.

And hopefully, you've lurked long enough to get a feel for the place.
That said, the posts I see, Wolfgang's and Wayne Knight's, give solid,
and IMO, accurate, advice.

About the only thing I'd add, esp. if you are a spin/bait caster, is to
find an instructor for at least some basic lessons. If not, remember at
least one thing as to the casting itself - you ain't chunking a bait,
you're chunking a line.

In other words, rather than a "heavy" bait being the main part of the
tackle for casting/carrying a line off a reel (whose characteristics are
somewhat important) and whose main characteristic is the strength to
fight the quarry, in fly casting/fishing, a line, matched with a rod,
and both chosen for their characteristics, are casting/carrying a bait
of no real weight, with the reel being not material at that point. This
can play hell with experienced spin-casters (and their muscle memory),
but as always, your mileage may vary.

TC,
R

In article ,
wrote:


In other words, rather than a "heavy" bait being the main part of the
tackle for casting/carrying a line off a reel (whose characteristics are
somewhat important) and whose main characteristic is the strength to
fight the quarry, in fly casting/fishing, a line, matched with a rod,
and both chosen for their characteristics, are casting/carrying a bait
of no real weight, with the reel being not material at that point. This
can play hell with experienced spin-casters (and their muscle memory),
but as always, your mileage may vary.

Yes, I agree. I tell beginners to imagine that they're launching a
paper airplane. The important thing is aiming it right, rather than how
hard you throw.

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

Lazarus Cooke wrote:

Yes, I agree. I tell beginners to imagine that they're launching a
paper airplane. The important thing is aiming it right, rather than how
hard you throw.

I pick out the biggest kid in the group, hand him a rubber
band and tell him to throw it as far as he can. I measure
the throw then give the rubber band to the smallest kid
and have him put it on his finger, stretch it back and
let it fly. (Be sure to pick a kid who knows how to shoot
a rubber band. ;-) That's followed by the "loading the
rod" mini-lecture.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Lazarus Cooke wrote:

Yes, I agree. I tell beginners to imagine that they're launching a
paper airplane. The important thing is aiming it right, rather than
how hard you throw.

I pick out the biggest kid in the group, hand him a rubber
band and tell him to throw it as far as he can. I measure
the throw then give the rubber band to the smallest kid
and have him put it on his finger, stretch it back and
let it fly. (Be sure to pick a kid who knows how to shoot
a rubber band. ;-) That's followed by the "loading the
rod" mini-lecture.

That is an excellent teaching technique. Was that passed down from
someone or did you come up with that?

And do you call the kids "****tards" if they screw up? ;-)
--
TL,
Tim
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Tim J. wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Lazarus Cooke wrote:

Yes, I agree. I tell beginners to imagine that they're launching a
paper airplane. The important thing is aiming it right, rather than
how hard you throw.

I pick out the biggest kid in the group, hand him a rubber
band and tell him to throw it as far as he can. I measure
the throw then give the rubber band to the smallest kid
and have him put it on his finger, stretch it back and
let it fly. (Be sure to pick a kid who knows how to shoot
a rubber band. ;-) That's followed by the "loading the
rod" mini-lecture.

That is an excellent teaching technique. Was that passed down from
someone or did you come up with that?

And do you call the kids "****tards" if they screw up? ;-)

I think it was Joe Fleischman who came up with that or at
least I think that's where I got it from. And yes, any of
those rude little pricks starts casting upside down and
they're slapped with the ****tard label. ;-)

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Lazarus Cooke wrote:

Yes, I agree. I tell beginners to imagine that they're launching a
paper airplane. The important thing is aiming it right, rather than
how hard you throw.

I pick out the biggest kid in the group, hand him a rubber
band and tell him to throw it as far as he can. I measure
the throw then give the rubber band to the smallest kid
and have him put it on his finger, stretch it back and
let it fly. (Be sure to pick a kid who knows how to shoot
a rubber band. ;-) That's followed by the "loading the
rod" mini-lecture.

That is an excellent teaching technique. Was that passed down from
someone or did you come up with that?

And do you call the kids "****tards" if they screw up? ;-)
--
TL,
Tim
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj