I think txraider summed it up quite well.

Thank you for your kind words, sir (I assume you're a sir, but one never knows on the intarwebz). I didn't see that before I posted this, but if I had, I would still have said the same thing.



I respectfully beg to differ, although I hesitate to call myself a fly fisher. I'm more of a flinger or possibly a flailer. Out of the four outfits I own, everything but one rod came from Cabelas and all the rods are Three Forks with an even split between the older and newer Prestige reels. Even my el cheapo Eagle Claw 5 wt rod from Academy will cast better than my abilities will push it and my Cabelas gear is better than that by a sizable margin. They are all a definite step up from my original Wally World Shakespere fly fishing kit that was a $20 outlay.

I enjoy my fly flailing, but I have to keep within a budget. As Washington Hogwallop intoned in O' Brother Where Art Thou, "They got this depression on. I got to do for me and mine." I'd love to have better gear, like a Sage Largemouth or a TFO MiniMag, but for now I get to enjoy this sport just fine with the gear I currently have. No hard feelings on my end, I just don't want to scare away potential converts to our fine sport via sticker shock.

Yeah, I shouldn't have said that. I am spoiled. I am a poor college student who is lucky. My uncle wraps rods and has a source for factory blemish rods. As such I lucked into a corral of sage and loomis poles. There is nothing wrong with the three forks stuff from Cabelas. Like I said, I am just spoiled with the good stuff. I think what I meant to say was that the learning curve is shorter with decent gear.

The advice to get some basic fly casting instruction is excellent. I think there are a lot of good rods out there for not a heck of a lot of money. I have been impressed with the Temple Fork products, for example, most (all?) of which are under $300. Of course you can spend over $3000 on a custom bamboo rod but if I ever did something like that I would be terrified to fish it. I would say before you commit to a rod, learn to cast competently and then NEVER buy a rod until you have at least cast it in the parking lot. Fishing a rod is always going to be different but you will have some idea what you like in terms of action and "castability."

How Txredraider managed to tie his first clouser for $120 is a total mystery to me. He's obviously a lot smarter than I am because I'm into this fly-tying thing for over $200 already and I have yet to produce my first woolly-bugger (though I have enough stuff now to make probably 100 of them). Anyone who tells you that tying your own will save you money will probably also tell you about how they caught 19 7-lb bass just yesterday in that little pond you KNOW to be jammed up with nothing but tiny bluegill and three lazy catfish stuck in their holes.

The last thing I would say is that fly line is really important - a lot of it is quite good, so it is hard to go wrong unless you really just try to cheap out on it. Get a high-quality line (but don't pay full price if you can avoid it) as these are easier and more fun to cast.

Most of all, have fun!

I certainly didn't take it as elitism. We all have priorities in life that we choose to pursue and we all value them differently. That's the great thing about fly fishing: all the different species and techniques we can go after in our own way and at our own pace.

Now let's all hold hands and sing cumbaya.

agreed

That is excatly what not to do.

I'm just got back into it after a 20 year lay down, fished around alittle as a kid with me Dad. Go see Bill at Bass Pro Garland. He will talk you though it and not make feel like an idiot. He helped me a great bit pick an outfit.

Yupyup, another sucker!

All joking aside, gear does not make a fly angler. Neither does money or elitism.

My first fly rod was a Cabelas Fish Eagle III and it served me well for over 18 years.

Sure, there are some lame fly rods out there, but there are still plenty of good ones to be had in the 150.00 range.

I think if you get a Dogwood Canyon or above...you will do just fine. I have that variety, and it has served me just fine. Sure I'd like a Sage bass rod, but that is not possible for me. If I waited until I could afford the best, I would of never got into the sport. A Three Forks will be just fine as well. If you can get a TFO rod, even better. The reel is not important unless you are hauling in some huge fish, and they get in the backing. Mainly a reel for freshwater fishing is nothing more than a glorified line holder anyways. Another low budget rod is a Redington Crosswater series. That is what my 8wt is. I did not like their reel though, and I bought the reel separately. I got a pre-spooled Ross reel for my Mother's day present. Good luck, and if you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

I have a 19.99 eagle claw fiberglass rod that is very heavy& I bought it many years ago, I now use a expensive rod, the fish don't know the difference, fun is fun, use what ya got and wack 'em.

i want 2 buy a new fly rod and i don't know which brand 2 buy. I've been fly fishing before but i didn't use my own rod. this will b my 1st 1 so plz help me. i need suggestions.

Need to know,

Whats your budget?

What's your target species?

Are you planning on taking it backpacking or on airplanes?

Ever going to take it to the saltwater?