Fly Fishing

[Quentin VanPelt]

If you are looking for complete outfits look up Big Y Fly company in Oregon. Super helpful people there, wiling to answer any questions you might have. Also sell all the lines and flies a person could want. Ordered many times from them and always had great service. Never targeted pan fish on the fly so I can't help much there. I do have both TFO and Redington rods and don't have anything bad to say about either.

 

[Flyjunky]

I'd agree that some of the best casting rods for the $$ are Echo rods, and they have an awesome warranty if you should ever need it. Like mentioned above their kits are great, especially the Traverse kit. The rod and reel are upgraded over the Lift but most importantly the line is a huge upgrade. Despite what some have said, your line is the most important when you first start out. You can have a great rod but if it's paired with a terrible line, you're going to struggle. We had a guy in our shop this past summer who was struggling with his expensive Sage rod and we took him out to our casting area and he was casting our cheap $100 practice rod 30' farther than his Sage.....all because of the line. We ended up putting that line on his rod and he was laying out great looking casts that were turning over nicely.

I've been in the fly fishing business for a long time and I'll take a mediocre rod with a great line vs a great rod with a terrible line.

 

[apohlo]

All good advice. I normally recommend a nice kit like the TFO NXT Black Label or Redington Path/Crosswater Combo. Use it for a season. Then, after you have practiced with that for a while, if you still like it (which you'll be hooked), focus on a decent rod and spend the money on high quality line. You'll notice a HUGE difference!

 

[dtrkyman]

Not sure I understand the 5 or 6wt for panfish? I catch some large fish in current with a 4 weight! Tough to get a do it all rod but for pan fish I would go light!

I mean bluegill we are talking tiny flies, spiders work awesome, 2wt for me, and a shorter rod most likely as you probably have trees and brush to deal with unless fishing from a boat.

I personally would go no larger than a 3 weight and likely lighter!

 

[William Sublette]

I'd agree that some of the best casting rods for the $$ are Echo rods, and they have an awesome warranty if you should ever need it. Like mentioned above their kits are great, especially the Traverse kit. The rod and reel are upgraded over the Lift but most importantly the line is a huge upgrade. Despite what some have said, your line is the most important when you first start out. You can have a great rod but if it's paired with a terrible line, you're going to struggle. We had a guy in our shop this past summer who was struggling with his expensive Sage rod and we took him out to our casting area and he was casting our cheap $100 practice rod 30' farther than his Sage.....all because of the line. We ended up putting that line on his rod and he was laying out great looking casts that were turning over nicely.

I've been in the fly fishing business for a long time and I'll take a mediocre rod with a great line vs a great rod with a terrible line.

eggzactly....



once you get the hang of it you can go back and make cheap lines work. Rods, and reels are somewhat irrelevant in fresh water.

but get a good line to start with, it really flattens the learning curve. I like the Rio Gold, or Grande for my 5wt.

 

[Okhotnik]

Not sure I understand the 5 or 6wt for panfish? I catch some large fish in current with a 4 weight! Tough to get a do it all rod but for pan fish I would go light!

I mean bluegill we are talking tiny flies, spiders work awesome, 2wt for me, and a shorter rod most likely as you probably have trees and brush to deal with unless fishing from a boat.

I personally would go no larger than a 3 weight and likely lighter!

I have a Scott fiber touch7 ft 2 wt glass rod and love it for pan fish

 

[jasonhul]

I'd agree that some of the best casting rods for the $$ are Echo rods, and they have an awesome warranty if you should ever need it. Like mentioned above their kits are great, especially the Traverse kit. The rod and reel are upgraded over the Lift but most importantly the line is a huge upgrade. Despite what some have said, your line is the most important when you first start out. You can have a great rod but if it's paired with a terrible line, you're going to struggle. We had a guy in our shop this past summer who was struggling with his expensive Sage rod and we took him out to our casting area and he was casting our cheap $100 practice rod 30' farther than his Sage.....all because of the line. We ended up putting that line on his rod and he was laying out great looking casts that were turning over nicely.

I've been in the fly fishing business for a long time and I'll take a mediocre rod with a great line vs a great rod with a terrible line.

What lines are you recommending then?


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[Flyjunky]

What lines are you recommending then?


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That's a really tough question to answer because a lot depends on your casting stroke, type of water you fish, and the rod you'll be using...among other things.

You can't go wrong with Rio Gold or Grand....Grand is a touch heavier for the line size which tends to help new casters feel where the line is in the casting stroke (helps you learn your timing) and is a touch more forgiving because it helps load the rod. The new Scientific Anglers lines in the Amplitude series are fantastic as well, some of the nicest I've cast in a while. Probably the easiest line to cast is the Wulff Ambush as it's a heavy headed shooting taper. The problem is that it doesn't fish all that well...lands on the water hard, tougher to mend, etc.

I know this can be confusing but you can't go wrong with the Rio or Scientific Angler lines.

If you don't want to go with a kit a great setup would be an Echo Carbon XL rod ($169'ish), Ion reel ($79'ish), and line of your choice ($90+/-)...that setup will last you years and years. You may never want/need to upgrade.

I hope this helps.

 

[jasonhul]

I haven't fished for a few years so I at least need to clean the line I have and give it a go again. Put in for the Smith River MT permit for late April. Draw results come out next Tuesday. Will research plan B of not drawn. Just thinking gear and any upgrades/refreshes.


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[ZRob97]

I’ve had great luck with my Redington path combo. Have a few higher end setups but that one always goes out with me too.

 

[jrdnschl]

Just got a rod and reel from Bozeman Fly Works for a pretty good beginner price point

 

[WCB]

Not sure I understand the 5 or 6wt for panfish? I catch some large fish in current with a 4 weight! Tough to get a do it all rod but for pan fish I would go light!

I mean bluegill we are talking tiny flies, spiders work awesome, 2wt for me, and a shorter rod most likely as you probably have trees and brush to deal with unless fishing from a boat.

I personally would go no larger than a 3 weight and likely lighter!

I agree...I would go 4 wt as heaviest just to leave optons open for maybe bass or some trout...On m 4wt (echo) I have caught 5lb bass and a ton of 20" brown trout and some 20+" rainbows in current and it worked great. would I have rather had a heavier rod....sure in a couple instances. But, most sunfish I have caught with it I can flip back towards myself and catch and the 1lb+ Bluegills I have caught would have been much more fun on a lighter rod instead of just stripping it in until slide them across the top of the water.

I'd go with 2wt or 3wt personally.

 

[Flyjunky]

Just got a rod and reel from Bozeman Fly Works for a pretty good beginner price point

Awesome, go have some fun and enjoy your time on the water!

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

You can’t go wrong with any of the above suggestions. A slower action 3 or 4 wt is a fantastic way to learn casting fundamentals and can be a fun challenge with smaller species. Paired with a spool Rio Gold and you are off to the races.

Also, learn to clean and condition your line!!That will increase your ability to shoot line and also extend the life of your $90 investment...I think it’s an important step a lot of folks miss.


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[ohoopee]

My vote is a 4wt for blue gill. I fish a "black water" river for Redbreast in the Summer and
a little 4wt is good for most weather. Even more fun on a 3wt but windy conditions make the 4wt
more universal. Same set up in the smaller steams in the mountains.

 

[roadrunner]

As mentioned, a light line rod. 3 or 4 wt 8' rod. Also mentioned, TFO and Redington have good offerings for beginners.

 

[peterk123]

Whatever you do get the best rod you possibly can. If you get a crappy rod you will struggle. For panfish the real wont matter much. Spend the money on a good line. If you don’t have to worry about being delicate you can stick one size heavier line on the rod and it will cast easier. I would look at used rods on eBay. You will get kore bang for your buck. Look at TFO if you want modest price and a decent rod. I got my first flu rod my senior year of high school. I was in San Antonio with no fly shops. I read orvis beginning fly fishing and taught myself. I would consider a lesson or two upfront. Will save you from breaking bad habits later. Whatever you decide, enjoy the ride!!!!!

I am in the other camp when it comes to fly fishing gear. I have been flyfishing for about forty years now and have owned really nice rods and inexpensive ones. I once owned a very nice Orvis 9wt. Had the latest and greatest rod blank, fancy guides, reel seat, etc. Well, one day the rod tip broke and I had to send it in for warranty. It was going to take a few weeks and I was going on a trip in a few days. So I picked up an inexpensive cortland rod for like 30 bucks (mind you this was over 20 years ago). I was blown away by the rod. It was actually better than my $450 dollar Orvis. It was all about the action. The cortland had a faster action, allowing me to really load up the rod and snap the line through the wind. I sold the Orvis.

I also own a 30 year old sage 2 piece 5wt and a new piscifun 4 or 5 piece 5 wt. The sage is really nice but just too soft of a rod, except for those windless days when I need to drop a dry fly softly. The 30 dollar pisicifun blows the thing away every other day a thousand times.

The low end market has a lot of value. I think rods under $100 dollars are very good and the higher up the price range you go in this category, the better the components. The next level, up to $300 or so, you are probably getting into better blanks, but I would bet in a blind test, most people would not tell the difference. After that, it just gets to a point of diminishing returns.

Same goes for reels. Man, can you get your hands on some decent stuff for not a lot of money. For panfish, and most trout, you are not relying on drag very much. But I have to admit that the drags on most of these reels that are around $50 are very good. If you fish saltwater (that was what my 9wt was for) or are getting into salmon and other species that can really make a run, a good drag system is needed.

I do not worry about warranties anymore because I can buy ten rods for the price of a higher end one and still have one hell of a rod. Same goes for reels. One other thought about rods. I cannot imagine that there are numerous rod blank manufacturers around the world. I bet they come from a few different factories, just rebranded.

As for lines..... I have yet to figure that one out other than if it has no memory, it is good for me. I just tried out one of the cheap ones that comes in a ziploc bag instead of a fancy box. It was for the 5wt. Works as good as my more expensive stuff. Go figure.

Your options in fly fishing are dizzying. Don't blow your brains out on the gear. Just go out and have some fun. They all catch fish.

 

[def90]

I don’t know, I bought the cheap Orvis Encounter 9’ 5wt rod and reel combo set for $169 some years back and I catch as many if not more fish on tnat thing than the other guys I fish with that paid the $1200 for a rod and reel combo. Technique and learning the river and figuring out which flies to use and so on is going to get you more fish than an expensive rod. I’ve debated more than a few times about upgrading to a nice Loomis or Sage or whatever but in the end I’m still fishing my Orvis and catching 20”+ rainbows in Cheeseman Canyon on a regular basis.

 

[wytx]

Whatever you do get the best rod you possibly can. If you get a crappy rod you will struggle. For panfish the real wont matter much. Spend the money on a good line. If you don’t have to worry about being delicate you can stick one size heavier line on the rod and it will cast easier. I would look at used rods on eBay. You will get kore bang for your buck. Look at TFO if you want modest price and a decent rod. I got my first flu rod my senior year of high school. I was in San Antonio with no fly shops. I read orvis beginning fly fishing and taught myself. I would consider a lesson or two upfront. Will save you from breaking bad habits later. Whatever you decide, enjoy the ride!!!!!

hey docmay, did you migrate over from TBH ? If so welcome.

 

[Rusty Shackelford]

Another vote for Echo, as well as Redington - both have great warranties which justifies spending less money on a rod/reel when it can be easily replaced or repaired under warranty.

I have a buddy that is fishier than anyone I've ever met, and he constantly reminds me that most of the shit out on the market (flies included) is meant to catch fishermen, and not so much about the fish. Learn as much as you can about the basics - casting rhythm, common bugs, presentation and how to read water even though you're focused on panfish. It's addicting and adds a whole other "problem solving" element to fishing.