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Well I would suggest finding a good fly shop near you and spend money first on casting lessons, this will save you years of trial and error, I know from first hand experience. Second, the shop will let you cast rods, picking a rod is as individual a thing as picking out a rifle and cartridge for hunting. Buy good stuff, because its the cheapest way to do it. I have not bought a fly rod or reel since the mid 1980's My favorite trout rod is a Sage Graphite II 8' 6" for a five weight with an Hardy LRH reel and a couple of extra spools. Top of the line when I bought it back in 1982, I long forgot what I paid, and in the last thirty years, its the rod I pick up for trout fishing and I have a bunch of rods. Then take some fly tying lessons and learn to tie. Its can be as in expensive and simple or as costly and complicated as you wish to make it. There is one thing though, you should be warned its very addictive and its the most enjoyable thing you can do standing knee deep in a stream with lots of tout in a feeding mood and you have the right fly on the line.


"Any idiot can face a crisis,it's the day-to-day living that wears you out."

Anton Chekhov


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Originally Posted by troutfly
You are quite right, fly tying isn't for everyone.


A good friend of mine, who is a far better tyer than I am published this.

http://flyanglersonline.com/lighterside/part320.php


Seven Steps To Successful Fly Tying
By Frank Reid

Take it one step at a time. Like me, I tried to do fly fishing on the cheap. I love the sport but, due to the nature of military service (ya think I was in it for the money?) I couldn't afford all those nice things off the bat, so I've been slowly building up (read terminal gear collector after many years).

Tying flies. I decided to learn to tie flies 'cause it had to be cheaper than buying those little bitty things. If you get the urge to tie flies to save yourself some money, here is my foolproof 7 step plan to tying flies:

Step 1: Find a nice comfortable seat at a table. Put something like plexiglass over a 2x2 foot area of the table to protect it from damage. Do not use a clamp vise on your dining room table. The spouse will find the damage, trust me.

Step 2: Get something to keep yourself organized. I use an old ashtray (don't smoke anymore) to keep small things in 'cause it has nice little indents in the sides to keep all my tools.

Step 3: Reach into your bag and get the duct tape that you keep handy for those fishing emergencies.

Step 4: Have some one (you trust) tie you to the chair using the duct tape. Ensure that all is secure and a piece goes over your mouth.

Step 5: Have that person reach into you back pocket, take out your wallet and burn all the money in there in the ashtray.

Step 6: Send the person off to the ATM to max out your cards. Please make sure he has your PIN numbers before he ties you up.

Step 7: Have your buddy burn all the money from the ATM in the ashtray while screaming "Fly tying, Bad!" over and over again. Voila! You're done!

This simple 7 step plan will save you the time that you'll spend hanging out in petting zoos trying to trim that yak, stopping for road kill on a charcoal black ground squirrel and expounding ad nauseum on how unfair the penalty for importing polar bear pelts is to a true fly tying artist. I won't even go into the prices that people pay for a chicken skin. Or the problems that can occur when an improperly stored road kill has its own "hatch." (never, my God, never mention maggots to my wife). Burning your money in one swell foop is also cheaper in the long run. It gets it out of your system quickly and is good for your neighborhood fly merchant.

The Reid Seven-Step-Method is available as a book on tape. ~ Frank Reid


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Quote
stopping for road kill on a charcoal black ground squirrel


Hey!! It was a big fat grey, and I only took the tail.





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Originally Posted by Scott_Thornley
Quote
stopping for road kill on a charcoal black ground squirrel


Hey!! It was a big fat grey, and I only took the tail.



Ya bugger, I spent hours crawlin around the ditch lookin fer that tail!

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So I hit up a shop in Laramie and I think I'll be back in the spring to pick up some gear and some lessons.

And so another hobby begins...

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20 years of tying


How true lol




Originally Posted by Pugs
Originally Posted by troutfly
You are quite right, fly tying isn't for everyone.


A good friend of mine, who is a far better tyer than I am published this.

http://flyanglersonline.com/lighterside/part320.php


Seven Steps To Successful Fly Tying
By Frank Reid

Take it one step at a time. Like me, I tried to do fly fishing on the cheap. I love the sport but, due to the nature of military service (ya think I was in it for the money?) I couldn't afford all those nice things off the bat, so I've been slowly building up (read terminal gear collector after many years).

Tying flies. I decided to learn to tie flies 'cause it had to be cheaper than buying those little bitty things. If you get the urge to tie flies to save yourself some money, here is my foolproof 7 step plan to tying flies:

Step 1: Find a nice comfortable seat at a table. Put something like plexiglass over a 2x2 foot area of the table to protect it from damage. Do not use a clamp vise on your dining room table. The spouse will find the damage, trust me.

Step 2: Get something to keep yourself organized. I use an old ashtray (don't smoke anymore) to keep small things in 'cause it has nice little indents in the sides to keep all my tools.

Step 3: Reach into your bag and get the duct tape that you keep handy for those fishing emergencies.

Step 4: Have some one (you trust) tie you to the chair using the duct tape. Ensure that all is secure and a piece goes over your mouth.

Step 5: Have that person reach into you back pocket, take out your wallet and burn all the money in there in the ashtray.

Step 6: Send the person off to the ATM to max out your cards. Please make sure he has your PIN numbers before he ties you up.

Step 7: Have your buddy burn all the money from the ATM in the ashtray while screaming "Fly tying, Bad!" over and over again. Voila! You're done!

This simple 7 step plan will save you the time that you'll spend hanging out in petting zoos trying to trim that yak, stopping for road kill on a charcoal black ground squirrel and expounding ad nauseum on how unfair the penalty for importing polar bear pelts is to a true fly tying artist. I won't even go into the prices that people pay for a chicken skin. Or the problems that can occur when an improperly stored road kill has its own "hatch." (never, my God, never mention maggots to my wife). Burning your money in one swell foop is also cheaper in the long run. It gets it out of your system quickly and is good for your neighborhood fly merchant.

The Reid Seven-Step-Method is available as a book on tape. ~ Frank Reid

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First never say pole or fish pole again ;^) It's a rod and in my experience more than any other sport fly fishing is saturated with folks that are equipment junkies. I don't really count myself as a dedicated fly fisherman as I live in the south and fish mostly for bass and panfish. I do have a fly rod and can do a passable overhand and roll cast but in reality I mostly pursue bass and panfish in ponds and lakes with hoppers hair frogs and poppers.
To begin there are some pretty decent lower cost rods and reels out there so you don't need a $400 rod and $500 reel to get started and see how you like it. First you need to know that in flyfishing you cast the line not the actual fly and you will see and hear about 3wt rods 6wt rods etc etc. rods are rated by weight indicating the size of the line they can throw with 2-3 being very small and 10 wt being large and mostly used for large fish big pike and saltwater fish. Don't make the mistake my brothers and I did when we were about 7-8 years old and bought our dad a 9 wt rod kit from herters. Hey if 6 is good then 10 has to be better right. Anyway I recently replaced my old fenwick rod and medalist reel with a newer fenwick HMG 6wt I bought on ebay for $55 and bought a orvis BBS reel for $100 and ended up with a pretty nice outfit for medium sized trout bass and panfish. A good place for you to start would probably be a 4pc. 5wt or 6wt.. rod from 8' to 9' and you can get a good starter outfit from cabelas, ll bean as well Okuma makes some decent priced stuff as well as winston,and orvis . I would start with a $150 budget and take a few classes and fish a bit to see what works best for you then you can upgrade. It will never hurt you to have a decent knock around rod that you don't care to leave in the trunk of your car or truck. Once you get your first outfit then go to a local orvis or fly shop that gives some classes and learn the basics. Just remember though that they also make their living selling equipment so go in knowing that some may push stuff on you and think about big purchases if they come at you too fast. Have fun

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JWP58-I'm a fiend for TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) rods. I've got two of them now and think the absolute world of them. To me they're the F150 or 870 of the fly rod world.

They make a good starter kit as well. I helped a gal buy this set last winter for a present to herself and it worked very well.

Personally, I'd not worry about tying leaders/tippets or flys or any of that gack. You can buy that just fine to begin with. Find some good water and hopefully a friend from work or church or somewhere who will take you and help you get your feet wet...grin

Tons of excellent H20 in the Cowboy State. I'll be down there a few times in 2013 to flog the H20.

Best of luck to ya

Dober


"True respect starts with the way you treat others, and it is earned over a lifetime of demonstrating kindness, honor and dignity"....Tony Dungy
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I think I need a fly mentor....anyone need a protege


That is the best idea ever. If one frequents a popular stream. Cruise up and down and watch all the silverhaired anglers. Approach the ones that appear to be doing well, explain that you are a beginner, and ask for pointers and pattern suggestions.

Some might be rude hermits, but most are really anxious to share.


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