Help getting started.

mdk77 wrote:
My 14 year old son and I would like to try fly fishing. The nearest
fly fishing club is about 50 miles away so there isn't a local place to
go for help (I live in downstate Illinois). There isn't a fly fishing
store near here either.

Near or far a fly shop is your best bet for gear and advice.

http://www.midwesttroutfishing.com/i...isAllShops.asp

I've never been to Fly Fisher's Outfit in Springfield but I've
visited their booth at Outdoors Shows here and they know their
stuff. There's a couple of fly shops in St. Louis that are good,

http://www.feather-craft.com/flyshop.asp

and

http://www.thargrove.com/

snip
From our reading we feel like we now understand what equipment we need
to catch the fish we're targeting. But we need advice on where to get
a decent deal on affordable equipment (like a lot of people we're on a
limited budget). I've read in this group about Cabella's, TFO, Bass
Pro and Orvis being places to check out starter equipment -- and we've
done that. But we were wondering about "used" equipment. Is that a
way to go?

Forget the used stuff until you know what you like.

It will be well worth the trip for you and your son to visit a
fly shop at least once before you take the plunge. If the sales
staff tries to talk you into the expensive stuff you can walk
out no worse for the wear but you stand a better chance of being
able to glean a lot of info in a short amount of time in a fly
shop than by reading books or watching videos.

My $.02, and worth every penny. ;-)

Oh, be sure to get sunglasses for the both of you and never cast
a fly line with a hook attached without wearing them.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Oh, be sure to get sunglasses for the both of you and never cast
a fly line with a hook attached without wearing them.

Probably the best advice thus far. In fact, I'd go so far as to delete
"with a hook attached".

Joe F.

"rb608" wrote in news:1164751918.821499.318990@
80g2000cwy.googlegroups.com:

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Oh, be sure to get sunglasses for the both of you and never cast
a fly line with a hook attached without wearing them.

Probably the best advice thus far. In fact, I'd go so far as to delete
"with a hook attached".

Joe F.




If you keep deleting your attached hooks, you won't catch very many fish.
You certainly wouldn't have caught anything like the nice Steelie I
caught on Sunday!

In all seriousness, this can be a good forum, but it's nowhere near as
good as direct in person instruction.

Regardless of the approach you take, you'll eventually learn. If you
can't find a local organization offering a beginners course, the next
best fastest shortcut, would be to buy a functionable new rig in about a
4 or 5 weight line, and book yourself a guide on the nearest
"destination"-type stream you have. Be absolutely sure to tell the guide
before you book him that you have zero flyfishing experience, and that
you would like the outing to be an on-stream getting started lesson. If
the guide isn't interested in entertaining this, he'll let you know then.


--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

"Ken Fortenberry"

Forget the used stuff until you know what you like.


umm...that's about the only part I'd disagree with. Many folks get into
flyfishing and upgrade. That means there are good deals on beginner outfits
on ebay, club bulliten boards and the like.

A biginner outfit is often a good way to go...even used.

Then, patronize your local fly shop for the rod. Search the net more...look
in the local shops...they may seem to be a 'bass' shop but if it is the
local type with the coffee pot brewing you can bet flyfishers frequent
there....

john

Oh, be sure to get sunglasses for the both of you and never cast
a fly line with a hook attached without wearing them.

Excellent advice, but be sure to get *polaroids*. You can see *into*
the water much better.

vince norris

"vincent p. norris" wrote ...
Oh, be sure to get sunglasses for the both of you and never cast
a fly line with a hook attached without wearing them.

Excellent advice, but be sure to get *polaroids*. You can see *into*
the water much better.

Umm... "polarized" me thinks.

Dan
....tho polaroids can be lots of fun, too.

Daniel-San wrote:
"vincent p. norris" wrote ...
Oh, be sure to get sunglasses for the both of you and never cast
a fly line with a hook attached without wearing them.
Excellent advice, but be sure to get *polaroids*. You can see *into*
the water much better.

Umm... "polarized" me thinks.

Vince is showing his age. The first polarized sunglasses on
the mass market were called polaroids. So it's like calling
a copy machine the Xerox machine or paper tissue a Kleenex.
Folks know what you mean.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help us out. My son and I will
be taking a "road trip" to a fly shop first (probably a long trip but
sounds like it will be well worth it). We will stay away from Ebay and
buy new, but modestly priced equipment -- maybe at the fly shop we
visit or from another source.

I am curious. There are reasonably priced combination outfits targeted
at beginners like my son and I. The ones that I found online were in a
fairly consistent price range that we could afford. Are any of these
better than others? Or any that we should stay away from?

Redington Crosswater Series
Orvis Streamline Series
Cabella's Genesis
Bass Pro - Hobb's Creek
Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) -- NXT outfit

"mdk77" wrote in message
oups.com...

There are reasonably priced combination outfits targeted
at beginners like my son and I. The ones that I found online were in a
fairly consistent price range that we could afford. Are any of these
better than others? Or any that we should stay away from?

Redington Crosswater Series
Orvis Streamline Series
Cabella's Genesis
Bass Pro - Hobb's Creek
Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) -- NXT outfit

I don't know Bass Pro but do know Cortland and
L.L. Bean (and the others) as suppliers. All offer
starter outfits at two or three prices. All are probably
competitively i.e. fairly priced. But consider also:

1. It is worth more than a few bucks to choose
a fishing rod that you simply like, even if you
cannot say exactly why -- therefore more desirable
to choose in a store from an array of rods you can
wave about and perhaps dry-cast with.

2. It is more enjoyable to get started as soon
as the weather permits than to spend a month
hesitating about how to save $20.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

mdk77 typed:
snip
Cabella's Genesis

Check out the Three Forks series rods, as well.

Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) -- NXT outfit

I've heard good things about the TFO rods, but haven't tried any myself.
--
TL,
Tim
-------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj