Went to the Shreveport BPS yesterday and was amazed at the prices they want for the fly fishing stuff. New line was like $40. 9' tippit was $4. I paid almost $3 for 30 yards of 5# tippit material , i.e,. monofiliment.
How many of you buy the ready made leaders or just use regular mono line for leaders?
I bought some tapered tipits in Colorado but couldn't cast well enough to tell any difference.
Unless you are fishing for large species, big trout, bass, or salt water species, most of what we catch in Texas is of pan fish size. So you are not going to be fighting long runs that get into the backing. Why pay so much for a line storage/ winder upper? BPS had reels going for over $300.
Guess I dont know a whole lot of flyfishing technique. I just get out in the boat and do what I can an have tons of fun catching bream.

That high end stuff is pricey alright. But you are right, we can get by on the low budget gear until going after game big enough to warrant the high end.

I furl my own leaders but you can also build them out of mono by buying spools of plain mono in various weights.

imo pre-made tapered leaders are a waste of money, I use a couple foot or so of 20 or 30 lb straight mono looped to 2 or 3 ft of whatever tippit I want (usually 15-20 for bass, 6-10 for bream), furled leaders are also an option (Robin makes them & they last a long long time-all you have to do is attach a foot or two of tippet)..as far as backing...its really pretty cheap, I used 50 lb braided fishing line for backing on a reel & it cost a helluva lot more than regular ol fly line backing...as far as tippet material, you can use regualr ol mono from walmart, as for fly lines for 40 bucks, well, thats a cheap line...expect to pay upwards of 50-60 + for high quality fly line (it does make a difference)...here's my tip on fly line, look on eBay & close out website (Sierra trading post comes to mind) you can often get high quality stuff from shops getting rid of line cheap...I bought some Orvis Generation 3 Bass line for 15.00 last year (it is 60 dollar line...just gotta look around)...good luck grandpa, btw before you ask...the rod that everyone will recommeded a TFO signater for around 110 bucks...its an excellent rod with a awesome warrenty...as for reels...BPS, Cabelas house brand also okuma, ross flystart all can be had for under 50 bucks..

Grandpa, I use strictly furled leaders now. For the tippet I have used plain old mono most of the time.

I have been fly fishing for what seems a long time since I was 11 and now 27 and I use basic normal line and have not had any issues catching fish. Bass, bluegil, trout, salmon, stuff on the coast. I just keep a spool of 4-5lb mono on hand and fish.
The rods and reels make a difference I had an accident with a nice redinniton (sp) rod and reel walk off replaced with bass pro hobbs creek and haven't fished it yet but played around and not as smooth but will get the job done.

" pre-made tapered leaders are a waste of money " is the LAST thing I'd say , as a good tapered leader is a necessary link to lots and lots of great casts, depending. Proper leaders put a capital 'S' in 'Sweet' if you ask me. That and a great (and $$ ) line!

Plus, after all the other expenses of getting out on the water, why save a $1 or two for crappy snagging hand tied bunch of knot leaders?

GO to Seirra Trading and search close outs, you'll most likely find a good SA tapered leader. You might have to tie your own perfection loop on the butt end - but great deals are often there.... Get 8 lb or higher and you'll never regret it. And order a fat dozen or two so's to thin down the shipping fee.


I've never used furled. But if Kelkay says they are a 'go', well that's that.

also,
Straight mono will never perform as great as a good taper, BUT - I throw them too ! about 30 % of the time, catching stripers on long casts in open water .... wooo hooo !

A tapered leader is great, but if flipping big flies or short casts to 'gills then you can get away with using straight mono.

Longer casts, wind, small flies, wary fish... tapered all the way.

Furled leaders work great, turn over fantastic. I used to use them, made my own (thread and mono, have a jig etc). Rarely have used them in the past 4 years or so because they turn over too good -- which do not allow you to pile cast, sling a fly to the side or s-mend the leader etc. They want to lay straight all the time.. Also in some currents (not all) they tend to drag a fly under sooner/quicker then mono or Flouro.

The biggest fault I found with them though --- they do not allow you to "see" your casting mistakes as easily and thus do not allow you to improve. They can be a band-aid for bad casting.

grandpa you hit it on the nail. fly fishing is WWAAAAAYYY overpriced. But flyfishing is such a big ordeal to me that I deal with it. All I can say is just bite the initial sting before founding any judgements... I know, its a hard thing to say, but it is really really really hard to justify the cost of flyfishing without first fulfilling the experience. You might be surprised to find out that in the end, "it just feels worth it". Even after a few years of exlusively flyfishing, I still can't justify the cost of many things like those rediculous smug $200 landing nets for example.

I do use tapered leaders but i think thats because they're already knotted andcut to size and i don't want to mess with it. You won't find any benifit from using them though in these waters. The reason they're tapered is to tranfer energy to smaller more delicate flies so they turn over and not instead mangle up on the flyline. we don't use very small flies here so they serve no purpose other than to cater to lazybastards like me

For the reels, they did have a justified expense in the beginning. the reels are made from a single milled block of metal. Ever rebuild an engine? That machining bill is quite expensive! And thats what you were paying for! And also because the industy was quite small; there weren't any facilities to manufacture mass-produced reels so they continued to be expensive. There is no reason they should remain that way now. If your looking for a reel that is inexpensive and good quality, sitck with the larger more dominant brands: Okuma, Flueger (sp?), etc. They might not be exclusivly passionate about flyfishing, but they know how to run a business. They have the facilities and resources to massproduce good quality reels. and because of this they are "cheaper" so its a double edged sword.
Afordability -its what commercialism brings to the table. Hope this helps you
-greg

Furled leaders are awesome. You can get them made in different colors too. I particularly like the ones with the little ring on the end, makes tying tippet so much easier!!!! I haven't bought another mono leader since I tried furled leaders...and yes, they are a GO...rotfl.

And baitcasting is not expensive???
Good baitcasting gear is parallel in price to good fly gear.
Fly fishing is just a LOT more fun!!!

Grandpa, a lot of us use straight mono for leaders and catch lots of fish. Based on your target species it will work great. Furled leaders are just awesome but not 100% necessary for gill fishing.

Sounds like you made the right decision buying some mono.

"grandpa you hit it on the nail. fly fishing is WWAAAAAYYY overpriced."


I would tend to disagree, one can spend a lot of money but doesn't have to. If he/she budget will allow, then it can be expensive. This is true with a lot of hobbies though, (sporting good hobbies especially).

Hunting- Expensive
Archery- Expensive
Golf- Expensive
Fishing- Expensive
Etc...

Again all these can be inexpensive, but if you so choose to, you can make them expensive just like anything else.


BTW, a $200 landing net is a joke, I agree with you on that.

To fly cheap

# 1 NEVER go to Bass Pro or any Local Retail Store.
( OK OK but if you have to go - only shop while holding your breath, and you only get one. )

# 2 Only shop at Craigslist of Seirra or Ebay

# 3 Never tie anything, just own a canoe and ALWAYS take a buddy who ties !

# 4 Always pick up the tab during HAPPY HOUR ( thanks brother Paul ! )

Fly fishing is awfully expensive in my book. If it weren't so dang fun, I'd stick with the gear I already have...and it is plenty. I have loads of conventional gear. Now I am getting quite the collection of flies, but I made 98% of them.