Beginner Fly Fisher Tips in a Recession

If you thought you might like to learn how to drive a car, would you ask a Rolls Royce salesman what he recommends for your first car? Why would you ask a fly rod salesman about beginner fly fishing equipment unless money doesn't matter to you?

My cheapest store bought rod is a Cabelas Traditional including line and reel which is around $130 is a great beginner rod and reel combo. Just the rod is about $60. There are lots of other good rods for even less, but I can't tell you from experience. My good buddy uses a rod that he bought at Salvation Army for $5 with a reel, and line. Nothing makes him happier than standing next to someone with $400 waders and an $800 Sage rod and $100 line on a $300 reel and then Ed pulls a huge steelhead out of the river with his $5 rig. This is a typical fishing day with Ed. I'm almost embarrassed with my $130 rig except Ed bought a Traditional too before I ever met him and he uses that one often when he wants a 6 weight. Actually, we own about 40 rods combined including some expensive ones and you probably will end up with a bunch over time. It's nice when you get an expensive one that you know from your own experiences why you are getting it, not because of a sales pitch. Certainly, you don't need to spend more than a $100 for a beginner rod. I'm talking 2008 prices.

If you are thinking that it's nice to buy only one rod for the rest of your life so it should be the Roll Royce, you should know there is a real need for many rods if you fly fish often. A cheap rod is especially useful when you are fishing places where you might drop it or walk into shrubbery and break it or you don't want to get it stolen while eating lunch. A cheap rod attracts less thievery than an expensive rod. Another pal of mine got 3 Sages stolen from his car a few months ago. I haven't ever had anything stolen yet, knock wood. Part of that good luck probably comes from leaving my Sages at home. Now I'm afraid to use them.

One more thing you will be happy about if you get a cheap rod is that it will be a great rod for loaning or giving to another beginner some day when you make your move to a Rolls Royce if you ever want one. Chances are that you will always cherish your first rod for all the enjoyable memories it helped produced.

Here are a couple more thoughts about rods. 4 pieces or more are desirable to fit it into your car or suitcase and nowadays they really perform well with modern materials. I have lately been using one of my homemade 7 piece rods most of the time. I put a picture of last week's rainbow here which I caught on my 7 piece 6 weight. I have 4 of them in different weights and they cost about $50 each. I bought the closeout blanks on sale and later got cheap parts from http://www.acidrod.com/ I caught my bow on a tough fishing day and one guy with an $800 Sage got skunked on the same trip. Surprise! Fish don't care what brand you use. It's better to spend the money on more trips. I own 2 Sages, but why would a beginner get one on a tight budget?

A 6 weight is used nowadays by many for steelhead and smaller trout and might work fine for your first rod. I use a 6 for bass half of the time. Now I have 20 rods from 2 to 12 weights including some bamboo and a Spey, so I'll use one of them almost randomly just for fun and get them exercised. They almost become old friends after a time regardless of how much they cost.

Finally, stop worrying about what rod to get and just get the cheapest one and go fishing. Don't wait, your missing the fun. Additional advice about equipment and fishing can be found free online, but sometimes the online advice is coming from a person with some commercial interest in their recommendations. Maybe they are guides and get equipment free and feel a loyalty to some brand.

I've been in 3 clubs and have learned a lot from each. For a small annual membership, you can learn absolutely everything from friendly club members. That's probably your best bet to advance your fly fishing. Here's a link that connects you to a club in your area: http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4357 Don't join the Federation of Fly Fishers yet because your dues for your local club will include a mandatory $5 membership to FFF.

Learn your knots before you go out and some day consider improving fishing for huge fish with catch and release practices.