New to fly fishing, and buying gear in the USA

[Paulg]

Having caught my first ever fish on a fly on Saturday Many thanks to Adz (on this list)and his mate Charlie for two hours excellent tuition. I'm now looking to get myself a setup, probably when I visit the USA in July.

 

I would use this for fishing such as the Kennet, Itchen, Test, and other small rivers. So, can anyone recommend a reasonable setup or am I being over optimistic on this one? I need advice on rods, line weight and type, reels etc...not a lot really

 

And can anyone suggest a good book to start with?

 

Regards,

Paul

Wokingham

[invicta]

For the rivers you mention, you do not need a rod of more than eight and a half foot - in which case ignore all the guff about lightness and wands unless you are physically handicapped. The rod should handle a double taper 5 weight and accordingly cope with a weight forward 6 which will probably suit you better as a beginner. I bought such an outfit,based on a Shimano rod, some three years ago for a beginner and he was very satisfied and - more importantly - the bailiff was most impressed.

 

Unless you go for very expensive gear ( a mistake at this stage, I feel) you will not make great economies by buying in the USA. Leaving various accessories aside you should be able to get a decent river outfit from a UK store with some change out of £100.

 

The same outfit is OK for small stillwaters.

[Adz]

Invicta is right about the line weights, personally, as you're only aiming at one rod, I'd say a 9 foot rod will definitely do everything you ask of it in each of the situations you're likely to fish. There's a huge range of rods, best bet there is try as many as you can before you buy and go for the one that 'fits' you best. As you get better at casting your style will change somewhat, you might well find you outgrow your first rod so don't spend wedges on it. I like the current Daiwa whisker fly range, they're certainly value for money - the one you used on Saturday was from the '98 range and, if you can find one, will set you back about £60.

 

For the sort of fishing you're aiming it in your post, the reel is something to hold the line, not something to slow the fish down, so don't bother with a flash disc drag system, a basic ratchet drag reel, although usually a little noisier, will fit the bill there. A good example would the the Leeda rimfly range, cheap and cheerful and virtually nothing to break on them. Likewise the Daiwa Lochmor reels like the one I had are about £25.

 

Lines can cost and arm and a leg or a little as a fiver and you really do get what you pay for most of the time. For small rivers, streams and small waters where you're not likely to cast more than 30 feet or so, buy cheap but not the cheapest. Airflo are alright, certainly not the disaster area they used to be, so are the Leeda Galion lines. You might struggle to find double taper lines (my personal preference) in their budget lines though. Failing that, Cortland have just bought the Masterline range and their DT5 is what you were using on Saturday. The argument between double taper and weight forward and how easy they are to cast is as old as fishing and still not resolved. Best bet, try before you buy again.

 

Other stuff to buy...

 

Some tapered leaders and some tippet material, don't go mad though as they can be a bit pricey. Cortland 333 tapered leaders are cheap, cheerful and do the job nicely as does Airflo Co-polymer tippet.

 

Some leader sinkant, or make some with a mix of fullers earth, fairy liquid and glycerine.

 

Some fly floatant, I use Gink but there are others on the market.

 

A fly box - I recently got an Okuma box styled on a Richard Wheatley for less than £20 - the Wheatley's are over £60 !

 

Hope that helps,

[Norrie]

Hiya, I was in the States a couple of years ago and was staying with family. My uncle gave me his old fly rod that he used to use on the river Thurso over 30yrs ago, I phoned the airline (American Airlines) to see if I could take it on as hand luggage as the thought of it in the hold wasn't very exciting. They said that due to the length of it(4.1/2 ft), it would cost me $110 to get it onto the plane...I left it at the house, then got a free upgrade to business class, where according to the steward I could have gotten it on board for free, Such is life...

Cheers

Norrie