Question for Fly, et al.....re: intro fly rod kit

Fly...

Regarding your post on the tube page about fly fishing, I'd like to get an inexpensive, introductory type fly setup. I looked at basspro.com and they've got several. Can you (or anyone else) recommend one in particular they sell. You may have to surf over to their site and look them over, but just click on Fly Fishing, then Rod Outfits and you'll see several.

Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

KD

[This message has been edited by Kelly Denham (edited 09-30-2002).]

The Dogwood Canyon stuff is good but so are the Cortland Fair Play and Scientific Anglers intro kits. I did see a glowing review from a quite experienced rod builder for the Scientific Angler beginner kit.
The other point to consider is weight, 4,5,6,7,8 etc. What will you be fishing for in the main? Probably a 5 or 6 weight would be an ideal starting point unless you have plans for going after bigger fish in heavier cover, that would be the only reason for an 8.

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RRhyne56
northtexasonthefly@attbi.com

OK...I looked the options over and the Dogwood Canyons outfit has more combinations available than the Scientific Anglers. From what I'm understanding, I'm looking at a 9 foot rod in a 7 wt. This also offers a reel with a disc drag, where with the Scientific Anglers you don't get a disc drag until you go to the 9 wt.
http://www.basspro-shops.com/servl et/ca...arTarget=browse

The model I'm looking at is the HC789. Oh yeah...I'll probably stick with bass exclusively.

Thanks for the quick reply!

KD

[This message has been edited by Kelly Denham (edited 09-30-2002).]

Kelly, I'm not familiar with the Bass Pro rods, but I've been using a 9 ft 7 wt for several years. It has worked real well for chasing bass, but I think it may be too light to effectively battle the wind for the Texoma stripers. One plus for a 7 wt is that it doesn't over power a small bass too bad. A word of caution, fly fishing is addictive.

Rex,

Thanks for the input. I think that's the length and wt rod I'll got with then. I don't plan on fly fishing for stripers, but I can imagine what a blast they would be!

The addictive part is the only reason I've never picked up a flyrod! LOL...I know how addictive my bassfishing has been with conventional tackle, now if I had fly fishing to the mix....well...let's just say I'm glad I'm single!

Kelly

Kelly,
I work at Bass Pro. We sell a lot of the Hobbs Creek and Dogwood combos. Both are good values for a beginner. The Only draw back is the line you get. It is a great starter line because of the short front weighted portion, but you will want to upgrade it at some point. If you can afford it, take a look at the CV2 outfits. They are the most bang for the buck in the shop. Plus you can get them in 2, 3 and 5 piece rods.
Haskell

Hack,
How do the CV2 outfits hold up in saltwater? I was looking into getting a 7 wt. for light saltwater fishing. I already own a Gold Cup 9 wt. and I like it alot, but its a little overpowering at time for me. Also, can you tell me how to get the spool off of the Gold Cup I've tinkered with it a little, but I didn't want to mess anything up.
Thanks,
raw10628

Kelly- I have a Hobbs creek in a 6wt and a Dogwood Canyon in an 8wt. I like both of them. I have not had any problems with either one of them. The only drawback to the Dogwood Canyon is that you can't buy spare spools. So if you are planning on using floating and sinking line on the same reel you need to make sure you get a reel that you can buy spare spools for. Also, Hack speaks the truth, you will want to upgrade your fly line if you buy one of these outfits.

Raw,
The Cv's will do fine in salt BUT the reel seat and eyes are not anodized(?) so make sure you clean them at the end of the day. Or you can by a spray bottle of Salt Away and spray it down. I usually do both, spraying untill I can get home tp wash everything. A 7 wt would work. A couple of weekends ago I went to the coast with a 4,6 and 8 wt. I used the 4 and 6 and never even uncased the 8. I know this sounds a little light but the small specks were a blast on the light stuff, In fact I recently read a article on a guide in south texas that actually uses 3 wts. Here is the link
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/flyfishing/s/ff_fea_Burkhead_lightweight_reds.html

you will probably have to cut and paste.

As for your reel, you have to take the screw out of the drag on the back and unscrew the cap in the front, then it should come right off.
Haskell

Hack- what size were the fish you were catching? That article is amazing!! I grew up saltwater fishing and would never have that of using something that light for reds and specs. The reds that they had pictured were nice sized fish too, they weren't small ones. I was wanting to buy one of the G.Loomis Adventure reels but I am unsure what rod to match with it. Does BPS offer this reel in anything larger than an 8wt?
Thanks,

kbobb,
Most of what we were catching were 10 inch trout and 16-18 inch reds. I did pull one red out that was 4.8 lbs with my 4 wt. We caught a total of 5 keepers on the light stuff. I would never have thought of going that small till the guy I went with mentioned that most of the trout were small and he had used his 4 wt for them.
After doing it and reading the article, I am thinking about building a 4 wt with a fighting butt.

And before anyone gets upset about using light tackle for larger fish, we were using 12 lb tippet so we could play the fish harder.

As for the Loomis reel the #7 is as larger as they come. I have used it on my 8 wt and I think for the money it is a great choice for saltwater. Very smooth drag. Plus, the extra spools are $50 so you could afford to have a couple for different situations. The only negative I have heard and it seems small for the stuff I do, is that the drag isn't sealed so you gave to be sure to clean it afterwards.
Haskell

Kelly,
There is a bunch of good advise listed right above. I started with a 8.5 ft 4wt White River Conservaionist combo. I liked it so much I turned around and bought an identical 8wt. I'm bringing both of them Saturday as well as one I like to coach with.
One of the best things to do is go to Bass Pro or any of the local shops and ask if you can get the feel of one. There is little substitute for the "feel" of a setup. Also keep in mind that you may want to upgrade your setup with stuff like spare spools w/ different line and salt water considerations etc.
We'll talk all you want on Saturday...

Thanks everyone for all the advice!

Fly,

I'm really pumped about Sat. It doesn't look like there will be many folks showing up for the tubing get-together so maybe we'll have some time for the fly fishing classes! I appreciate you're taking the time to do this!

Kelly

K.D.,
I'm almost ready, just need a map or some really good directions. I usually log onto Yahoo\Maps to find my way to the Dunkin' doughnuts!
Looking at the map, I saw two bodies of water close to Cleburne. Is it the one East or West of Cleburne?

[This message has been edited by Fly (edited 10-02-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Fly (edited 10-02-2002).]