Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing What do I have here?

Hi all,

I was recently given a bunch of fly rods and reels by a friend of my mothers whose husband passed away. She knows that I love fishing and had no use for the stuff, so I ended up with it. My problem is, I don't know anything about fly fishing. I would love to get into it, but I don't know anyone that does either.

The first question I have is, what do I have here? I know the basics around fly rod weights, however I don't know if this equipment is decent or bottom of the barrel. I was hoping you all could help me with it.

First set up is a TFO Signature Series 5 wt, 9' 2 piece rod with a Marado Basis-F G67 reel on it.

Second set up is a Mitchell Performance 6-7 wt, 8'6", 2 piece rod (plastic still on cork) with a Shakespeare 1094 reel. The reel is all metal, not graphite.

Third set up is the exact same rod as #2, but the plastic is off the cork. Looks like it wasn't used. The reel is a Shakespeare 1695 Graphite.

Fourth set up is a Martin Classic 7-8 wt, 8'6", 2 piece rod with a Martin Classic MC78 reel.

My gut is telling me that the TFO is likely the best rod out of the bunch, both in versatility and quality, but I don't really know. I really have no clue on the reels. Shakespeare and Martin aren't high end in the spinning world that I am used to. Don't know about Marado.

Is there anything here of good quality that I could use to start fly fishing? I appreciate any help you all can provide. Thanks.

SS

The TFO is by far the best rod in the bunch, making it a decent rod but no more. They are about $100, give or take, and a good rod in that price range. The Mitchell and Martin are... usable. Ditto the Shakespeare reels. Panfish or small pond bass capable, but not much more and too heavy for any decent trout without the quality for anything beyond the farm pond. The Marado is a $10 reel. Take that for what it's worth.

You can learn on all that stuff, though.

As Sean points out, all of it is fine to learn on and may serve you very well for years depending on what you want to fish for. Don't worry about the reels much. For the most part you'll use them for holding line and unless you hook into some thing too big to hold you'll just manipulate line with your other hand.

You didn't mention any lines and leaders and that's your next step. Is there a local shop that can help you? They might also be able to give you some lessons and that will cut way down on the learning curve. It's not hard but if you have 2 or 3 principles down it gets a lot easier.

Next, find a pond of bluegills and bass and with the small selection of flies you'll buy at said shop and go have a ball.

SamSteele,

You have received good advise from those above, especially the suggestion to get some lessons.

The TFO is the one I would use to take the lessons with. As others said it is the best rod of the group and will be much easier to learn with. The other rods will be functional after you have somewhat mastered the basics of casting with the TFO.

Pugs nailed it. Any of those would be fine in a pond full of panfish (bluegills, perch, etc.), and you'll have more fun than you thought possible with your clothes on. Get to it, man!

Oh, and flyfishing is an addiction. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Hi Sam,

Get hold of the Northern Lights Fly Tyers. They are a local fly fishing/tying group in Edmonton. I was a member when I lived there in the 90's. They are still active. Excellent bunch of folks.The Fishin Hole should be able to put you in touch with them. Fishin Hole guys should also be able to advise you on reels, lines etc. There is another more fly specific shop in Edmonton but the name eludes me tonight. Whole Sale Sports on the south side has a decent fly shop inside.
The 5wt TFO is certainly the best rod in the bunch.
Around Edmonton your best bet for fly fishing will be at Muir Lake and at the Cardiff Golf Course pond. If Hasse Lake is cleaned out of Sticklebacks it is another good trout lake near the city where you can learn.

Jeff

Thanks guys. There is a small lake near my cabin in Saskatchewan that is stocked with rainbow and tiger trout. I have a belly boat already so I was thinking of giving it a try one of these weekends.

Any suggestions on which reel would be best to pair with the TFO rod? All the reels have line on them, although I suspect the lines to be old. I also don't know if they are floating, sinking, WF, double taper, etc.

troutfly, I remember the Northern Lights club from the Boat and Sportsman show now that you mention it. I'll have to look them up. Thanks.

SS

All the reels are about the same quality. Choose whichever one is in the best condition, have it respooled with backing and line and go that route. If the Shakespeare reels will interchange spools, use them and have one set up with a WF floating and the other with a sink-tip.

After looking at your various reels via google, none of them seem terribly suitable for a 5wt rod, being sized to hold 6-7 weight lines. I guess I would go with the one that's on the rod- if it's smooth running. Were it me I would head to a fly shop and seek their advice as to whether the line on it is suitable. Kinda hard to diagnose via the internet. Again, were it me, I would start out with a 5wt WF (weight forward) floating line to learn with against bass/pan fish in a pond. Intermediate/sinking/sinking tip lines are great for getting a fly down deeper if necessary, but so is a tiny wrap of lead putty on the leader ahead of the fly or better yet use a weighted fly (but that throws off the casting rhythm- best avoid that until you have the hang of it).

Lines can be old and still good- if properly taken care of, and if they were quality lines to begin with. I have a couple of old first generation Wulff Triangle Taper lines that are still going strong 25 years later.

If the leaders/tippet materials have any age to them, replace them- they're cheap. UV degradation will kill that fragile monofilament. Tippet material is the last thing I would economize on.

Methinks you're off to a fairly good start. Like I told a kid's mom who was looking to outfit him for fly fishing- "If he masters fly fishing, he'll master his soul."

Okay, being new to fly reels what should I look for to pair up with the rod? Any brands that are good quality without breaking the bank? I know Orvis and Sage are top end but I'm not ready to commit that far yet.

I have an 11 year old son and 9 year old daughter so I'm thinking I will give them the Mitchell rods to learn on unless that would be a mistake? Also looking at joining the local fly tying group that troutfly suggested.

SS

Something like Cabelas Wind River this in a #2 size will be just fine for a 5 weight rod.



There is nothing wrong with Mitchell rods, in fact I learned on them years ago, but the ones you have are a 7/8 weight and you can certainly learn on them just fine but make sure they are paired with the reel you have with the right line. Fly lines come with a little sticker that I often put on the back of the spool so you may have to take the spool of the reel to see them. They will have codes like WF-7-F on them. In that case it indicates a Weight Forward 7 weight line. You want to pair that with a 7 weight rod.

Hey Pugs,

I just picked up an Orvis Clearwater Large Arbor reel. They were on sale at the local shop and seemed to be a much better reel than the cheaper Okuma's that they had. I also picked up a Scientific Anglers WF5 Uniform Sinking line with a sink rating of 3. I found out that the line on the TFO outfit was a WF4F so I thought a sinking line would be a nice compliment. Hopefully the one I got is a good line to use for fishing small pothole lakes stocked with Rainbow and Tiger trout.

Thanks for your help.

SS

That reel will work just fine and will last the rest of your life.

You may want to reconsider the line though. A sinking line has to be brought up to the surface so you can cast again. Yes, you can use a sinking line and it's helpful when fishing from a boat or float tube but from the shore it's a pain (generally) and you're targeting fish that are 2'-6' under so a floating line with a 8'-10' leader will easily get you down that far. They also make sinking tip lines that work a bit deeper than floating but as I said, I think you want a floating 5 weight line.

Allen

See if they'll take that sinking line back, if you haven't already loaded it on a reel and cast with it. I would be kinda leery of a fly shop that would steer a rank newbie into a line like that.