Entry/Middle of the Road Fly Rod Setup

[dradons]

Hi All,

Grew up primarily fishing the salt and dabbling in some spin work on the lakes, however, been thinking of getting into fly fishing for trout as a fall/spring activity. Anyone have any good suggestions on a beginner/middle of the road rod/reel setup. I don't want to get something where I quickly want to upgrade was hoping something decent that will get me through a few years but still keep me satisfied. Willing to spend a fair bit just don't want to jump right into the high-end stuff as probably won't be able to effectively take advantage of it at the beginning anyway.

Cheers,

 

[Kildonan]

I have expensive sage rods, and I have cheap TFO rods. In my opinion, and many will argue, I find the biggest thing is don’t scrimp on the line. Buy good quality lines and any decent graphite rod will be fine casting it.

cheap lines coil up, knot when casting.... they’re frustrating to use.

I have a ton of old good quality reels is use and haven’t bought anything new in decades. Somebody else would be better to advise on a decent reel.

Where do you live? One of us can probably recommend a good local shop for you to go to for advice.

in Victoria, I highly recommend Robinson’s Sporting goods. Matt King is the fly shop manager there and is a top notch guy that gives honest, solid advice. He won’t upsell you to something you don’t need.

 

[dradons]

I am in Vancouver near broadway. Best local ones for me would be Michael Young or Pacific Angler. I guess either could get me setup.

 

[Kildonan]

I am in Vancouver near broadway. Best local ones for me would be Michael Young or Pacific Angler. I guess either could get me setup.

I think both of these are reputable shops, although I have dealt with neither in the past, but I've heard good things. If you are a facebook user, there is a group in there called "Stillwaters". It's a good gang there and there will be plenty of help and suggestions from that group for you. Many knowledgeable folks there. Not a typical whine and ***** FB group or belittle the newbie kind of place, it's not tolerated there.

 

[Big Green Machine]

Dragonfly products are a great value for entry level anglers, and they are well made. But buy the best line you can afford, and you’ll need 4 types if you plan on fishing rivers and lakes - floating, Intermediate sinking, full sink and possibly a sink tip setup for rivers 8 weight.

 

[Sharphooks]

I have expensive sage rods, and I have cheap TFO rods. In my opinion, and many will argue, I find the biggest thing is don’t scrimp on the line. Buy good quality lines and any decent graphite rod will be fine casting it.

cheap lines coil up, knot when casting.... they’re frustrating to use.

I have a ton of old good quality reels is use and haven’t bought anything new in decades. Somebody else would be better to advise on a decent reel.

Where do you live? One of us can probably recommend a good local shop for you to go to for advice.

in Victoria, I highly recommend Robinson’s Sporting goods. Matt King is the fly shop manager there and is a top notch guy that gives honest, solid advice. He won’t upsell you to something you don’t need.

What Kildonan said about the line. Any off the rack fly rod will be fine. If you’re chasing trout, I’d get a 6-7 weight rod—-reason—-it’s light enough to enjoy the fight of a smaller trout and heavy enough to fight a large trout or an incidentally caught steelhead or coho etc if you’re river fishing near the coast

So if you start with any “reasonable” rod , spend your money on a good fly line. I’d steer clear of the “spey” stuff...you don’t need a complex line to get a line out past the rod tip—-I’m a big believer in Cortland FLy Lines...they make a high-quality weight forward floating line—-with the grains (weight) of the line in the forward taper of the line, they are EASY to cast. They also have a high-quality coating that makes them shoot through your guides—-easy to get distance with them if you have a properly tapered tippet (mono leader tied to the business end of the line)

Cortland also makes a fish-killer sink tip—-either a 10 foot tip, a 20 foot tip or a 30 foot tip—-works in both rivers and lakes—-over the years I have caught huge numbers of both steelhead and trout on those lines. They don’t dredge bottom....they seem to get your fly down into the column, but not too far down...

Reel—-I’m a big believer in a rim-control reel...can be cheap or can be expensive, but as long as the rim is exposed, no worries about whether the reel has a good drag or a cheap drag because your palm is the drag when a fish takes off...

 

[Carmanah]

I have used lots of rods Tfo sage echo redington. Tfo has a return Center in Canada that makes getting replacement sections painless, and relatively inexpensive, this is important to me as I’m tough on my gear on the river.

I have also had good luck with echo but it has to cross border which is slower and more expensive.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

Fenwick Aetos is far and away your best fly rod at an entry price. The Aetos has won the “best value” category in the big rod reviews time after time with performance scores that rival the $1000 Sage, Scott and other big name $$$$ rods. Echo also makes very good entry level rods designed by Tim Rajeff, one of the worlds best Competitive fly casters.

Personally, I wouldn’t go heavier than a 5-wt for trout: more than enough rod to handle a bit of wind and trout anywhere in BC but light enough to be enjoyable to use and practice with. 7-wt is overkill and way too much rod for trout. Any half decent large arbor fly reel with a click/pawl drag will do as it’s primarily a line holder for trout. You want large arbor to minimize coiling of your fly line. I highly recommend the Echo Ion for trout reels: good qual cast aluminum, large arbor, simple but functional drag and under $100.

I agree with others above, fly line is where you don’t want to scrimp. Having said that, while I love the performance of Rio fly lines, their durability/longevity is terrible for a $100+ fly line. Scientific Angler now makes fly line that most generally agree now outperform Rio lines and they last many seasons, where you’d be lucky to get a single season out of a Rio line.

Good luck, fly fishing is like golf - while frustrating at times (particularly on the early learning curve) it’s addictive, fun and super rewarding once you get it figured out.

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[Old Blue]

I am in Vancouver near broadway. Best local ones for me would be Michael Young or Pacific Angler. I guess either could get me setup.

Yup both with help you out but I'd go to MY Fly and chat with Catherine, she'll point you in the right direction

 

[dradons]

Thanks guys. Think I will head to My Fly and let them help get me sorted. Rather give the local business than ordering in some package online anyway.

The big takeaway sounds like don't skimp on the line. So will remember that.

 

[Kildonan]

Like @Sharphooks, I too am a fan of Cortland lines. Scientific Anglers lines are my second choice. I haven’t had great luck with Rio lines, I find them a bit coily when they’re cold.

I’d start with a type three clear sinking line, great general purpose line for trout in lakes and can be used for salmon off the beach nicely.

A floater, type 6 sink and sink tip, in that order is what my next purchases would be.

 

[Bows Up]

x2 on TFO rods. There warranty service is second to none with a centre in Alberta. Broke the tip on a BVK and said it was my fault. Paid shipping one way and voila in a week I had a new tip section.