i am very new to fly fishing and was at the bass pro and the gentlemen there, who seems extremly knowledgable and willing to take the time to talk to me, and answer questions. he suggested the White River Hobbs Creak combo for a beginner, it was a 5 wt, 4 pc, with a nice carrying case for $130, i read the reviews online and almost everyone seems to enjoy this set up, just wondering if any of you guys had and expiernce with this or any other suggestions in the $100 to $150 price range for rod and reel combos for starters.

I think that would be an excellent set up for a beginner. I have the Hobbs Creek reel. I started out on the Dogwood Canyon set up by BPS, and it was FINE for a beginner. So you should enjoy that combo. No sense spending a fortune starting out. I think you will love fly fishing, I know I do. Once you catch that first fish on the fly, you will be hooked on fly fishing!

Its my experience with bass pro that there is no such thing as an extremely knowledgeable employee at that store. And a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous.

If White River rods are what you currently use, and you like it great. I personally think that the rods are probably the worst rods on the market today. I would consider this thought.

If you are committed to learning how to fly fish, go with a rod that might cost a little bit more, say a TFO rod or even some of the Cabelas or LL Bean house rods. They will be easier to cast- your learning curve will be much shorter. And the rod will take you from beginner to intermediate with no problems. Casting a White River Rod is like casting a wet noodle.

The most money should be spent on a Rod- First..... A good line- Second.... and a Reel Last. Its a line holder for the most part. If money is a consideration than go with a cheap reel. Your reel should get that much of a workout on most TX freshwater fish.

What I hate to see is someone spend a $150 on a rod use it for a year and then go and buy a new 200-250 dollar rod a year or two down the road because they have outgrown the original rod.


Im sure someone on here works for Bass Pro.... or has a friend at Bass Pro... But when I walk into a fly shop I expect you to know your product... Just not where to find it. Know how to use it. Have an opinion about it, based on your experiences.

Last time I went to Bass Pro in grapevine,about a year ago, the guy was very knoweldgeable.



About trout streams in PA

Two BPS I have been in have had knowledgeable employees, and they were fly fishers. So I beg to differ on that. There is a BPS employee on this board, and he KNOWS his stuff. If someone knows they will be committed to fly fishing, and can afford more, great. But why spend a lot of money on something if you are just trying it out? To get a TFO rod, then a reel, then a vest, flies, and all the accessories...it is very expensive. Everyone has an opinion, but I think the best thing to do is find a few fly fishers in your area, get them to let you try out their rod. Better yet if they will teach you how to cast, and you find a rod they have that you like. Then get your own rod like it. But if money is an object...I say BPS rods are comparable to Cabelas rods. (the cheaper ones) My Dogwood Canyon worked fine for me starting out. I just recently broke it though. It was my favorite rod. I have a Redington Crosswater rod, and it too is a very good beginner rod, and not too expensive. The 8wt is a little heavy for me to use though.

I could be wrong, but I suspect that the Bass Pro in Grapevine probably sells more TFO rods than anyone else in the DFW area. Dave has worked in that fly shop for a lot of years now and sure does know a lot about fly fishing.

Big Dale

To answer your question,Yes what the BPS told you is correct. That is a very good place to start. I think Fly Ty must have had the same fly shop employee as I on my last 2 trips to BPS(not very helpful). Over all I still give them a thumbs up. No the BPS rods do not have the crisp actions as a Sage. They will work just fine to get your feet wet. Most important advice you will get is find someone qualified to teach fly casting, and get lessons from them. That is the best way to flatten the learning curve and not develop bad habits that are the devil to get rid of.

I used to be a BPS hunting pro-staffer. I've known about a dozen White River Fly Shops employees from various stores around the country over the past 10 years. Most of them were certified casting instructors or master casting instructors. You don't get that certification without knowing a thing or two about fly fishing, casting, and the equipment to do it with. All the WRFS dept managers I know came there from LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Orvis, or Cabela's as fly fishing mgrs. Texas' own Constance Whiston was a fly fishing buyer for Bass Pro Shops until about a year ago. One of the BPS WRFS dept managers (Memphis) that I know was a licensed Ghillie. If they don't know their stuff, nobody does! That leads me to question what the poster of such comments would know.

Again...cont'd.
W

There are no LESS than 10 TFO rods that have sold on ebay this last week for $120 or less, add a cheap reel for $35-40 and a cheap cortland line for 20 your grand total.
$180 on the high end.

Not trying to stir feathers. But if the guys price range is 100-150, Id rather him spend $20-30 dollars more and get something that is much better than what the knowledgeable BS guy is suggesting.

Go in there and ask BPS about Czech Nymphing... They sell the hooks and all the supplies you need... No Clue... Ask them about Salmon flies, how to tie them and use them, No clue yet they sell all the stuff you need. How does that Rio line cleaner work? Never used it.

They are all nice guys... I just have an issue with ANY store when you ask a question and they dont know, or they read the box so they can tell me about the product.

And I dont blame them, I blame the store for not giving them the tools necessary to have a proper knowledge base. When I was in college I worked for R.E.I. (recreational equipment inc) They would bring in vendors to put on clinics and would take employees off the floor to listen to a rep talk about the products for an hour or two. They would offer free samples often, or they would have an opportunity to "check out" a product, meaning use it and return it. They offered a significant discount on all products they sold. 50%. They would facilitate employees being able to order products direct from the vendors so they could buy items at cost.

BPS does non of that. Hell I think they give a 15% discount to their employees. Dont pay them enough to afford to buy anything. 15% barley covers Tax. So when I ask them how does that sage Z-axis fish. Well they probably dont know because 15% off a $650 rod is not much.

You dont have to spend a ton of money to get into fly fishing- You can that is for sure. I just hate to have the guy spend $150 on an outfit when he would probably much happier if he where to spend an additional 20-30 dollars.

Does anyone thing a White River rod is better than any TFO rod.

Rant over...

Fly Ty your an A**

(beat you all to it)

Fly Ty you dont know what you are talking about.

(again beat you to it.)

Ken- I would love to know who is a certified casting instructor or master casting instructor at a BPS.

Fly Ty- Take a deep breathe let it go.
Your still an A**

(again beat you to it)

(cont'd) This website won't let me make more than one paragraph posts without getting squirrely. Anway...

The Hobbs Creek combo is OK. Nothing wrong with it. Some folks with marginal casting skills can't cast a full flex rod. That probably explains Fly Ty's problems with it.

Where I will agree with Fly Ty is that I would also say you would be better served by an LL Bean combo or TFO combo in that price range. Cabela's? Ehhh...6 of 1, half dozen of another.

I also think Fly Ty is off on the priorities of rod, line, reel. You are better served by a mediocre rod and a quality line than you are by a more expensive rod and a cheap line. And this is where most pre-packaged combos fall short! He's right about reels unless you're getting into big fish stuff where a good drag becomes important for controlling serious fish. And if you're fishing in Texas, that's not gonna happen. You can drag and retrieve any Texas freshwater game fish and the popular redfish and speckled trout with your line hand without putting them on the reel. So the reel is a place to store excess fly line. I think it was Flip Pallot who said recently about saltwater fly fishing, "Don't worry about putting a fish on the reel. Any fish worthy of a good drag will put himself on the reel quickly enough without your help!"

But a good fly line will be THE thing that you can FEEL and SEE the most dramatic difference in your casting and fishing with just by changing gear. And the cost difference between most good ones and bad ones is in the range of $25 to $50, while the "good vs. bad" fly rod connundrum is highly subjective and there is no clear guide or roadmap.

What I generally recommend to newcomers who are trying not to spend more than they have to to get quality that will last through the learning curve is to buy a TFO Pro Series, Elkhorn Traveler, LL Bean, or Sage Launch rod ($100-225); pair it with a Scientific Anglers Mastery Series General Purpose line ($50); and and LL Bean low-end or Okuma Cascade reel ($30-40). If you go with the TFO, you'll need to buy a rod tube for it for an additional $30 bucks or so. So you've got $180 - $315 into your initial rod/reel combo. If you get hooked on fly fishing, you'll never outgrow this combo. It will always be useful and fun. If you end up just the occasional fly angler, you haven't spent a fortune and you've got quality gear for when you do fish. And if you give it up, you aren't out a bunch of money.

Okay, before you guys throw a saddle on my back and ride me around the corral... this is just my opinion.

First, I haven't had great success with knowledgeable sales persons at either Bass Pro or Cabaelas... we have each in the Baton Rouge area. That's my personal experience.

Second, I prefer the Cabelas Three Forks fly rod over the Bass Pro Hobbs Creek.

Third, IF the angler has the money I would definitely suggest going with a TFO Signature or Professional series fly rod.

Uncle Larry