Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Best of the cheap combos?

Let me just preface by saying I know you generally get what you pay for 😏

Anyway, I fish a lot and have flirted with the idea of trying flies, but never really jumped into it. Now that my boy is getting older, he's really getting into small lake/pond bass fishing, and that just isn't my cup of tea at all. I've been thinking of dipping my toes in the fly game a bit just to break up the monotony of yanking panfish while he chases the largemouth, but not really wanting to drop a big chunk of change doing it. I've already got more enough money sunk into my river and ice fishing gear.

My question is of the cheaper farm/fleet fly combos you see on the rack, suggestions for the best quality/suitability for panfishing little ponds, backwaters, etc? I've seen Fleuger, Martin, and a few others on the shelves around here all around the same price point.

TIA.

Look around on ebay for an older Fenwick Fenglass Fly rod about 8foot # 6 line. Get a good line an a reel suitable for the rod. You would probably have about $200 invested. I love the soft action. Great for panfish and bass.

On the other hand I bought two Cabelas 8 1/2 foot rods, line, and reel for less than $70. apiece. I wanted them for visiting company. They cast great, look for a medium action rod. The modern rods are stiffer than the old Fenglass. Many love them or don't know anything else.

Yeah, the ones I had eyeballed around here were in that $50-75 ballpark for the kit. I have a couple UL glass noodle spinning rods, so I'd like an action something like that.


Thanks, never heard of them, but that's about right ballpark for price.

Spend a little more coin, and start with a Cabelas 4wt fiberglass rod. Cheap reel, decent line, and 7 1/2’ 5X leader and tippet. Likely still under $200, and a heck of a lot more fun than any graphite rod costing $75…

P.S. If you want to go Maxcatch, their 7’ 3wt fiberglass rod isn’t horrible, but you’re going to want to use a 4wt weight forward line on it.

Orvis Encounter combo for <$200 all day long

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/orvis-encounter-fly-outfit?ds_e=MICROSOFT&ds_c=BPS%7CShopping%7CSmart%7CCatchAll%7CGeneral%7CNAud%7CNVol%7CNMT&gclsrc=ds

So many options. Many good choices. Depends on what's your budget set point.

For $269, tough to beat the Echo Traverse kit 4wt, 5wt, or 6wt (9'). Excellent rod (4-piece, with case), good reel, excellent line, leader, lifetime warranty. I have a 9' 5wt Traverse kit ( bought it used, in "unused" condition). The kit is a nice rig.


Redington Path II has just been discontinued, but nice kits are out there for $100- $125.
Example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/295950418873?hash=item44e80503b9:g:KnEAAOSwGx5lE4zj&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwCXknA5iKCodoJauTjNQPCqBpww2dOcCCHjuafrSj2rn0p38yl9fGAj7Hs2y11pg1Mbra4yjt60RbAgqtPELxUF2aRYlNfmltCpdy4SopuHjng59g%2BrTUdDwPksaKhU8i6%2FAQyshVcd4jhl22%2FxGPdUSx%2B1XS4VFHVBn4LVXZ6BoAtFSjV4yQTwMafsG4NBRESp7tdCdAa1iWW%2B1q6P8MmsAaoa7CFuiypatRlu6pXBT2jm7KQURouYNN0hUKLcRpQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7a5ipeMYw

maxcatch has multiple offerings from $60-$125. The Premiere is a very good rod.

The level of quality and value available today for f!y rods/kits is incredible. I find it mind boggling to think what fly fishermen/women would have given 50 years ago, to have what is available today for "value"/" starter" equipment. Don't over think it. Get something, and just use it. You can get a great outfit for ~$100+/- and be very happy with it.

A 9' 5wt rod is a good starting point for most fishing. A .medium to medium-fast action rod would be easy to cast, compared to a stiff "fast " action rod.

For small creeks and ponds, something like this could scratch you itch (7' 6". 3/4wt). The reels on some of these "offshore" makers are downright fabulous.

https://www.amazon.com/SF-Fishing-Medium-Fast-Aluminum-Pre-Spooled/dp/B0B45VN34C/ref=mp_s_a_1_27?adgrpid=1333708169850803&hvadid=83356999479306&hvbmt=be&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=108482&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83357108500280%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=9658_13530863&keywords=4wt%2Bfly%2Brod%2Bcombo&qid=1702470045&sr=8-27&th=1&psc=1

Thanks for the info guys... definitely gives me some options to ponder for spring after ice fishing season is done 👍

I bought 5 fly rods from them in the last year. Been very happy with their products. Plenty of people turn their nose up on them since they are Chinese. But in the long run so are many other rods being sold in the USA.

Echo is not Chinese.

Biggest cause for difference in pricing is where they are made. USA rods cost more to make... next step is whether they are machine-fitted or by hand. Korea is a huge supplier of foreign rods.

I am a more experienced caster then most and have a fair number of fly rods. Echo builds rocket launchers. Many will want to overline them to allow them to load more quickly. But they are IMO the best casting rods for the money and by a large margin.

Good to know about Echo rods. Sounds like just what I want to try. Any advice on specific models to focus on? Thinking 6 or 7 wt, trout and beachfront/river salmon (pinks with the possibility of coho) mostly using wooly buggers, clousers and shrimp imitations (for pinks). Might be better with a 6 and an 8 wt?

For them big trout or salmon I would start with an 8wt or bigger.

Any cheap combo will get them panfish in. You can always upgrade if you start to like it. For bigger bodies of water a 9ft will help cast but can be a pain in the wooded areas. Learn your roll casts. Any weight for panfish but I would get a 4wt or 6wt for other fish. If you wanted.

The yellow eagle claws

I have a 7 1/2 ft 3wt Moonshine Drifter that I've liked real well. I understand that the newer Drifter II is an improvement but I don't have any experience with it. I've caught SMALL sunfish to 3lb largemouth with mine locally and a couple brown trout in Northern Utah with it.

I ended up getting one of the spin/fly a couple weeks ago; haven't picked up a reel yet. I'm used to thier glass noodle spinning rods, so I went with it for familiarity.

TAG

Back in the early 80s when Wright & McGill was at the end of its rope in the rod making business domestically, a production engineer told me, Wright & McGill knew how to make an inexpensive fishing rod, but they didn't know how to make a cheap rod. So Fenwick on the top end and Zebco on the low end, eat their lunch and drove them to import. They do have a nice line-up of rods imported from China, I'm fortune to have 30+ rods made in the USA. I retired from the company after 44 years, so I know a little about them.

The packaging Department in the 50s


The Snelling Department in the 60s


The maintenance man in the 80s


The maintenance man on the cover of a catalog