I use 15-17 lb flouro on my 9 weight in heavy cover.

I base my line size off the structure I am fishing around.

Hydrilla is very sharp...you wouldn't think it, but it is.

As a long time basser with regular tackle now looking for a challenge with the fly rod you began to notice fly guys like the light stuff, the challenge of getting one in on 4lb line. (Watch video of Jay Johnson try to land a 100lb tarpon on 6 lb line....he fights it all day only to break it off at the boat).

BUT in the conventional world of bass fishing we go bigger, and bigger. Rods, line, baits, ect. We want to fish the nasty stuff and horse em out.

I tend to fall back to that even fly fishing.

I agree with whomever said that you should start by calling a guide for some body of water you're interested in fishing. There's a slightly steep learning curve to beginning fly-fishing and it's easy to become discouraged. The guide, who more than anything else, will teach you how to cast, will unsteepen that learning curve A LOT. Most likely your guide will be able to supply you with everything you need for your first time or two. Then, between the two of you you will be able to figure out what to buy without wasting $$ on stuff you won't even want in a little while.

Hey all,

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I am in the Houston area. Does it matter at all if I am going to be fishing ponds and small lakes by foot? I don't have a boat and this "urban fishing" stuff is very interesting to me. I'd like to do that no matter whether I get a fly rod or not.

Also, what is a tippet and how is it different from a leader?

Thanks

MUHerd

Tippet is what you attach to the end of your leader. Its a level piece of line as opposed to a leader thats tapered from thicker at the butt end to thinner at the tip to help turn over flies more easily. Check out this link Orvis- how to fly fish its what I used when I started and it made the learning curve much more manageable!

MU,
There are fly fishing clubs in Houston, and Bass Pro over in Katy, as well as an Orvis store somewhere over there. Any of these will be glad to hook you up with someone who will be glad to show you the basics. A quick Google search turned up Texas Fly Fishers of Houston, who meet the last Tuesday of each month (the 29th, this month).

Despite Moon's favorite saying ( ), I don't find fly fishing any more expensive than any other hobby. I probably have $1500 tied up in everything Flyfishing related I own, after 5 years. Hell of a lot cheaper than a b***boat.

Kirk

Crazy,
A week or 10 days ago I was up near the Woodlands and remembered that there is one of the ORVIS shops up there so I decided to go in and look around. I knew I wasn't going to buy anything that day, but wanted to see what a 5,6,7,8 and so weight rods actually felt like. The elderly gentleman that helped me handed me a rod and it was beautiful, an 8 weight and 9 feet, just what I have been told to get. After a few minutes of talking and lusting after that rod and some reels on the display, he told me "that rod you have there is on sale right now for $800 and something, down from near $1,000!!!" I just about passed out. I then took it very gently and placed it right back where I found it.
He did tell me that ORVIS has a fly rod casting lesson each month for those that are interested in learning. It is no charge and they supply all the gear. I am going to go to the next one and see how it is. It may get ugly though as I have never, ever tried to cast one of those setups.
So....my desire to try fly fishing may end on that day. I hope not though.

I haven't been to the BassPro yet, but it's on my list. It seems like their stuff doesn't get recommended very often to me at all unlike Cabelas Combos that are mentioned to me all the time as really awesome stuff for the money. I don't know why the BassPro stuff doesn't get mentioned.

I'm gonna check all of them out.

Thanks

MUHerd

bass pro has good stuff; my best 4 weight is from bass pro-p-

Chris Olson is an instructor at the Ovis Houston location. I've taught with him and he does a good job. The Orvis lessons are geared towards beginners. That type of class is a great place to start, before buying anything.

LOL, Herd. Yeah, I've seen the prices in the catalog. I do have one of their plastic reels that I like, but that is about all I could afford out of that book.
Short of buying a no-name brand, super-duper el cheapo rod from an online store in the Far East, I really don't believe you can buy a rod that you can't fish with. It may not suit the way you cast, and it may not be fun, but it is fishable. I never know whether to blame the rod or my pitiful casting ability. There used to be a guy who was one of the owners of FAOL, who would cast the entire line....with a broom handle that he had taped eyes onto.
Take the class, and see what TYPE of rod you like to cast. Fast, slow, mid-flex, full-flex. It will at least give you an idea of what you want to look for in a rod.

Kirk

Hey, if you can flick a garden hose and make a wave run the length, you can do this Seriously.

And one more note, that while one can get a superb setup for a grand at Orvis, and there's nothing wrong with that, one can get started fine and dandy for under one hundred.

rrhyne56....that's what I'm talkin' about....;)

I think that Houston ORVIS is different than the one I was at, in the Woodlands. Heck I don't know, maybe it's the same. I know I want to take that class and I am going to call tomorrow and see when they have it. Would it be good to ask for Chris Olson?

I watched some YouTube vids last night for about an hour of all kinds of fly fishing, but mainly CARP. I will tell you all this, when I get a fly rod and I learn how to fish with it and someone shows me what kind of fly to use for carp and I am successful at hooking one, I would probably chuck all my other gear in the trash and not look back. I LOVE catching carp on baitcasters and spinning gear, I can only imagine what it's like to get one of those toads hooked with a fly rod, especially a lighter rod, one you can't horse them in with.
One other video interested me too. It was a guy carp fishing out of a kayak. That would be a load of fun too if you had others to go with you instead of being a LONER. I'll tackle one problem at a time though, start with the rod and reel and go from there.

Thanks all for your wisdom and advice, I appreciate it.

MUHerd

buy a used outfit from someone; one man's trash is another's treasure-p-

Bass Pro has heavier combos that's most likely while they are not mentioned much. I've been to both places and handled what they are offering and unless you are fishing places with very heavy cover and structure, the Bass Pro combos are too heavy to have any real fun. Bass Pro does cater to the bass fisherman primarily. Nothing wrong with that but for the majority of fish we'll all encounter fishing ponds or local waters, go lighter (3wt).