re: The Fly Fishing Thread: Questions, pics, discussion all here

Disclaimer: I know literally nothing about freshwater trout fishing.

I don't fish it too often anymore, but I spent years learning how to fish Lake Pontchartrain and I still don't have the place figured out. Things that took me months of trial and error to learn could have been learned in one trip with a guide. It just never made a difference to me because I was young, had all the free time in the world, and wanted to learn the place by myself (and of course with help along the way).

Point being, you can save yourself a ton of time, energy, and money hiring a guide. Do it.

I'll let someone else chime in on which combo to buy, but get an 8wt. 10 is too much unless you're specifically chasing bulls, and even then I find it to be too much.

I learned in Colorado. The light never really came on until I hired a guide for a day. First thing I said to him was that my priority was not landing monster trout that day. I wanted to learn how to read water and catch fish- He taught me so much and got me on a 22 in rainbow anyway.

I went from catching 1 or none and the weekend after my guide trip I pulled 10+ by myself on the Big Thompson river. Instant addiction

quote:

---

And what weere the short pieces with the loop on the end for?

---

Makes it easier to attach tippet to the fly line

I also recommend doubling your loop connections. Take your perfection loop and loop it into the fly line like you normally would, then pull the leader through the fly line loop one more time.

eta: I realized that makes zero sense. Here's a photo.



It keeps your loop from collapsing on itself and folding over.

fly to leader is almost always fine on a new leader.

adding tippet lets you do a few things:
-cheaply extend the life of a relatively expensive leader
-change the final diameter of the leader you are using
-extend the level section at the end of the leader to change the presentation of the fly

I mainly use it as a way to get more life out of a tapered leader. So I'll start with a fresh leader and tie the fly straight to that. After a handful of flies, I'll notice it getting a little thicker and i'll tie on a couple feet of tippet and then do that over again when the time comes. As a general rule, you ca go 2 diameter changes with a double/triple surgeons knot before things start refusing to cooperate (i.e. you can tie 4x tippet to a section of leader that has the diameter of 2x).

check out this podcast for some good leader info

LINK

quote:

---

How expensive is it to get started w/ beginner gear? Is it tough to wade and fly fish? What's the learning curve?

---

Freshwater or Saltwater?

You can get a cheap start up 8 wt for saltwater at bass pro or cabelas for $150.
The issue I have is that the reel won't last, corrosion will eat up the drag.

Last year I bought a decent 4wt for $70 at cabelas ... It's great for pond fishing.


All depends on what you want to spend, it can get expensive quick.

Wade fly fishing is awesome, it's more like hunting than fishing and not any harder than by boat. Casting in windy conditions takes some practice and can be frustrating as hell but practice.

It's a fantastic sport that completely reinvigorated my love for fishing.

I'd recommend getting.a guide for the first few trips and ask for their instruction and pick their brain. Go with them to learn, not necessarily to catch a bunch of fish.

Do it.

quote:

---

A compromise usually ends up costing you way more in the end.

---

This is pretty much what I was thinking. I've never even picked up a fly rod and just spent ~$700 on a saltwater setup

I think he meant compromise as far as line weight, not so much quality though i could be mistaken (and a super bargain basement setup will likely be wasted money). For a quality setup that won't break the bank Colton, st. Croix, tfo, and Reddington offer good options that will last just as long as top priced gear. Your casting style and preference will change as you learn and progress, so the type of rod you'll want will likely change as well. A beginner caster is not going to really be able to reap the benefits of top of the line rods like an experienced caster anyway.