When we bought our home here in Pilot Point I found a St. Croix, 2 piece, Pro Series, # 1702-5/6-9' fly rod in a metal case in the water heater closet. It says 5/6 fly line weight on the rod and came with a White Water HC II reel spooled with some fluorescent yellow line and a clear leader. I know bass fishing but absolutely nothing about fly fishing. A friend told me to tie a piece of yarn to the leader and go practice in my big back yard. Other than that I am at a loss. Not sure I can afford to get lessons. I am going to Colorado this Fall and was wondering a bit more about this type of rod, reel, and line. I might just stick with my usual Colorado set up of a light weight spinning outfit, casting cork and floating black ant fly. Thanks.

That would be a nice rig for some Colorado high country small waters. It should serve you well...and will enable a far superior presentation of that black ant fly than a spinning outfit could ever hope.


Check out the line in water...does it float or sink? Its likely to be a floating line but check it out to be sure. Find a pond near you in Pilot Point and rig up that black ant at the end of a fluro leader of about 9 ft. Easy to build one or purchase one. Cast it out...probably only need 30 ft or so and you should get some bluegill action. Learn to strip set, learn to accurately cast, learn how to manage the line and land a fish...the reel is pretty much just a line holder...all by doing. For a very minor investment of time, you will be ready to try it out in Colorado with a far superior technique than the spinning outfit could ever provide.

That rod was my first graphite years ago...pretty much an entry level rod, but it work for me for many years. A 5 wt. is pretty standard for trout but can be used for most fresh water fish. If the fly line was matched right, it should be cast-able, but lines have changed a lot and got much more expensive. I also could be pretty cracked. If it was a double taper, you might be able to turn it around. People who want to get into fly fishing serious and fast take casting lessons, but many just pick it up by fishing. The key is to not take spinning gear with you. I think the hardest part for beginners is getting out the first twenty feet of line straight out in front since the line itself is the "weight" you throw by loading the rod tip, so stripping out some line on the lawn and walking back to cast gives more positive results faster. An easy hobby to get into, but can get expensive.

I used to have that exact one, and I caught a ton of trout on it.

It is just fine for fine entry level rod, and the reel is mostly irrelevant, though I'm sure it's also fine. You'll probably want a new fly line, Cabelas and BPS sell decent entry level ones for $20-30, I think.

There are a ton of places with casting tutorials, including youtube. Orvis Dallas and Plano both have free fly fishing 101 classes if you're interested.

Failing that, grab a couple of bluegill poppers and find a pond.

We'd all be happy to answer any questions.

The Orvis video series is very helpful. https://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/video-lessons/13-fly-casting