Complete noob to fly fishing

My fly fishing adventure began when I bought a $40 kit at Academy in 2015 for a trip that my wife and I took to Durango. I fly fished from the bank for about 5-6 hours total with no luck. Hadn't used my fly setup again til a recent trip to Beavers Bend and my rod broke in the first 15 minutes. Bought a TFO 9' 5-weight from the fly shop to finish the trip. Only fly fished for 3-4 hours but never caught one there either.

We're going to be taking quite a few trips to locations with trout fishing over the next 5 years, so I figured I would get a decent reel and line and try to and learn with. So I got a Cabela's Prestige Premier rod, Rio 5-weight fly line, and good leaders and tippet. Hoping to do some learning on this setup.

Two quick questions:

Is 5-weight good for trout? Would it be adequate for small river bass in Texas?

Yes for both questions.

If you are just starting out and want to catch some fish I would suggest finding a local park that has a pond and going for bluegill. They are usually willing to bite a fly and will put a surprisingly nice bend in that 5 weight. They typically aren't picky regarding fly selection but small (size 10-12) foam hoppers are usually a good starting point.

Thanks!

Thanks, will do. We have a pond at the end of the road that I can probably try that out with.

The best advice I can give you for trout fishing is to hire a guide. The best of everything will not make a difference if you do not know how to fish for them and how to set up your rig. I am by no means a expert but most of the time I can have some newbies catching a fish at Broken Bow by just showing them/setting them up.

Once you start landing them on the fly, you're gonna get the bug, man! There's nothing that swims around here that you can't button up on a fly rod.

With the bass pulled up shallow, now is a perfect time to tie on an olive wooly bugger and go walk some pond banks. You'll catch plenty!

Yeah I talked for nearly an hour with the guy at the fly shop in beavers bend state park and he seemed to think that my setup was fine.

I'm going back to beavers bend in early july. I'm thinking I may hire a guide for a half day that trip. My dad is going too, so it would be a good time for both of us I think.

If you have a fly fishing club in your area, consider joining. Lot's of knowledge there and most all are willing to help.

Tight Lines

Fly rods are not only for trout. As mentioned, a wooly bugger makes a fine brim and bass fly. A bass "rising" to a popper is a hoot versus a trout sip. Lost count the number of times I have been asked if trout were in the waters I was fishing just because I use a fly rod to go fishing. Maybe they should make a movie called "A drainage ditch runs through it".

The whole rod weight issue and what weight rod to use for what fish can get pretty confusing and murky. I’ve got rods from a 2 weight to a 10 weight and all sizes in between except a 3 weight. I’ve landed LMB to 4 pounds and grass carp to 12 pounds on the 2 weight and have done it quickly. Having a heavier tippet can really speed up the process. Still water is generally easier to land fish in a timely manner than water with a lot of current. The idea is not to overly prolong the fight especially if you are in a catch and release situation. Folks get ticked off when someone needlessly stress fish, especially trout, by overplaying them to the point that the fish will eventually die from an excess of lactic acid. The idea is to get the fish in quickly, try to handle it minimally, and send it on its way. I think light thin tippets, lighter weight rods, and bigger fish in current can really challenge a fly fisherman to accomplish the goal of not endangering the fish’s survival.

Largemouth bass since the OP mentioned those using a 5 weight, aren’t big runners that take off a lot of line. They aren’t a fish with massive amounts of stamina either. There’s a big burst of activity after the set and they sort of tire themselves out with jumps or head shakes. The fisherman doesn’t have to do a lot other than to try to keep them away from obstacles and snags. A five weight should be plenty to handle the fish. A big fish might take you under a log or piling, but that can happen with a 7 or 8 weight rod. You might struggle casting a big bulky popper with a five weight. That’s a lot of what the rod weight is about, being able to comfortably cast a particular fly to fishing distances. That takes you into the ability of the person casting the fly, the conditions, for example, how windy it is and other things like how far you need to cast to make your presentation and then the obstacles like trees and brush.

When I go out on a lake for bass and catfish, I’ll take 2 or 3 fly rods of different weights based on what flies I might consider using and how far I’m tossing them and what the wind is doing. Same story in the marsh and bay.

I haven’t done very much coldwater stream trout fly fishing, but I gather it’s about the type of flies, dries, nymphs, streamers, the size of the river and expected size of the fish. Some folks might like a longer rod for line control or a shorter one in tight quarters.

That’s why there are so many rod weights and lengths and actions. No two rivers are the same. There are so many styles of fishing, dry fly, nymphs, nymphs under an indicator, hopper/dropper, streamer, Spey...

I get one rod and fish it then think to myself I wish the rod did this or that a little better so I get another rod and then go fish some place and wish that rod handled this or that situation or style of fishing better so I get another and on and on it goes. Based on the numbers of fly rods a lot of folks I know have, they are in the same boat I’m in or even worse.

I guess most people's concept of flyfishing is gleaned from movies and magazines. The vast majority of time in either a movie or magazine, when you see somebody flyfishing, they are fishing for trout. This is aside from the more specialized flyfishing magazines of course. Living in Oklahoma, when I mention flyfishing, a common comment is "where do you catch trout around here?" Several years ago I taught my niece's husband how to flyfish. He loved going after trout, but for him this dichotomy was present: that fly rods were for trout, but he needed spinning or casting rods for bass and other fish. Also as Karstopo mentions above, there are those of us who must have a different rod for every occasion. My niece's husband felt that one rod should suffice. However, when I gifted him with a 4 weight rod after he had been using a 6 weight for a while, he fell in love with it. As for myself, a rod for every occasion is not enough, there should also be a backup or two for every rod.

Larry

My time in TX while stationed there at FT Hood, and back after retirement, I had two rods that I used 98% of the time. A TFO 8’ BVK 3wt and a TFO 7’3” Finesse 2wt. The other 2% was a TFO Axiom 5wt. I used the 2 and 3wts for trout, panfish, and Creek Bass. 5wt for stripers and hybrids on the lakes. Like others have said the size of the fish doesn’t have as much to do with rod selection as the size of the fly you are trying to cast.

I have a Echo Carbon XL 7'3" 2wt that I use in Central Texas for 85% of my fishing. The other 15% is a 6wt TFO Mangrove that I use to throw bigger stuff for bass on lakes and the Lower Colorado. I too have caught a lot of good fish on the 2wt, and since I am fishing in smaller creeks and rivers most of the time it is my go to rod.

Lots of great info, thanks guys!

You're right that the extent of my fly fishing knowledge before now was learned from A River Runs Through It.

Glad to hear that a 5wt can handle bass. My buddy ended up on the Pecos last year fly fishing for bass in a pretty remote location, and I'd like to go with him sometime and take my new rig. But most of my fly fishing would be for trout at Beavers Bend or Durango.

Marker, do you still use the 3wt majority of the time or has the new location seen different rod wt for the waters around you?