begginers fly fishing setup

[cole steffens]

i have a shakespeare fly rod you know one of those kits you get at wal-mart i repaced the reel with a cortland king i need backing line leader and what does the plus minus switch do i think it the drag but im not sure very new to this also what would be a good begginers flybox mind im new and want to keep it simple thanks for any help

ps the rod is a 5/6 weight

[raffensg64]

Will you being using this rod/reel primarily for lakes or rivers? If lakes, I would suggest a type III or IV sinking line. If rivers, my recommendation would be a floating line. If you fish both rivers and lakes, which most of us do, eventually you'll end up with a second, and possibly third rod, with each tailored to a certain situation. I've had good luck with the Scientific Angler Wet Cel sink line. It's priced right when compared against others and does everything I ask of it. My floating lines are of the Orvis variety, not the expensive type, the Green Mountain version found at your local Wally World. Neither of these will break the bank and will take care of you while you learn the sport of fly fishing. Backing can be obtained as most sporting good stores or fly shops, a standard 20-lb backing should work. As for the fly box, get something that floats and securely holds your flies, ie something with a foam, rubber or similar material. You don't want to accidentally dump a standard box while sitting in a tube or pontoon or standing in a river. Bye-bye fly collection!

Just my thoughts. I'm not the equivalent of the guy who will tell you that you must have a $500-800 Leupold, Burris or Swarovski scope in order to successfully harvest a common whitetail, blacktail or mule deer. These dudes hurt my head with their articles! My Bushnell Trophy and Nikon Pro Staff scopes (all under $150) work just fine, thank you very much! Anyways, the key is in having a sound knowledge of your equipment, having confidence in it, and believing that your fishing technique is going to work. Good luck!

P.S. If you have a friend who is a fly fisherman, ask this person for as much help/advice as possible. It will greatly aid you. If not, visit your local fly shop, they might be able to help you out.

[jmay]

Raffensg64 I have had good luck with Orvis mid prices lines, but for a good quality floating line Cablea's offer one in the $35 price range that I had for years and it out cast the Orvis. I would recommend you catch a few fish on the pole and equipment you have now. If you end up likely it you can upgrade peice by peice. There are a lot of mid priced combos the are just fine. Don't let the "Yuppie" fly types intemidate you. Yes they have $900 rod, but most of them could not catch a fish if there life depended on it. I would go to a local fly shop and ask for a weighted nymth assortment. My suggustion at any fly shop is to not talk to any under the age of 60. The young guys try to sell you all kinds of gizmo's you don't need. They should be able to get you a dozen flys. From your profile it appears your are on the coast. I am not much help on good area to fish there

[cole steffens]

thanks i plan on fishing both lakes and small streams and i dont really have a flyfishing mentor or alot of money so im kinda on my own but i did catch a small 6-7 in. cutthroat on a homemade fly

[Marc Martyn]

Keep it simple when it comes to the equipment you buy. For instance, you don't need a complete rod/real set up for dry fly fishing and another for wet line. Buy a moderate priced reel that has extra spools. You then use the same rod and change lines by changing spools. Don't let any salesman try to sell you a $500 rod. Generally the lower priced rods are graphite composite and will work fine for a beginner. Learn how to cast on a lake or a small stream. The higher priced rods are only really needed when you are fishing large rivers for large fish. As a beginner, you don't have the casting power that would justify buying an expense rod. As your casting improves over a period of a couple of years, then maybe upgrade.
A number 4 or 5 weight is a good all around rod. You mentioned a "home-made fly". Are you learning to tie. If you are, a good beginner tying book is Jack Dennis' "Western Trout Flies". He covered a lot of the old standard flies that are easy to tie and still catch a lot of fish. You can probably find a used copy on either Amazon or E-bay.
One more thing. When you are talking to guys on the bank and they are decked out in the latest Simms or Orvis gear and are bragging about how much it cost, they are more interested in impressing you than helping you. Also, read and learn from forums like this. This forum has only been going for about a week and I have already learned quite a bit about the area lakes. Good Luck!

[cole steffens]

yea ive checked out several fly tying books from the library and have become very interested as i have no fly fishing mentor im completly on my own

thanks again guys

[Marc Martyn]

Well, you are lucky with today's technology. When I started fly fishing, there were not many books available and VCR's had not been invented, let alone DVD's or computers. There weren't any fly shops in Spokane and not any tying materials available locally at all. I would go up to Marshall Lake, rent a boat and fly cast for cuttthroats. People would troll past me on the water and I could hear them say, "What is that guy doing?" "I've never seen anyone fishing like that!"
Today, all you have to do is sit down at the computer and type 'fly fishing' into Google Search and you have all the information in the world at your fingertips. Search the fly shops world wide, New Zealand, Scotland, England, etc. Many have fly tying sections and great information. When I started 40 years ago, I had the Orvis catalog and that was about it.
All of my close friends I have today, I met on the water. When you have a fly that you are reeling in the fish all day that you are using.........give one to someone you see on the water that isn't catching fish. You just made a friend!o:)

Cole, you are not completely on your own. Their are guys on this post that will help you. If you are going to be in Spokane and can do some weekend fishing, send me a message.

[cole steffens]

once again guys thanks hopefully in the near future ill be able to post a nice pic of fly caught trout in one of my reports