fly fishing

if you do not want to rent equip at the local fly shop where you are visiting, here is an option: Scientific Anglers used to offer a beginner 8.5 or 9 foot rod in a 6 weight with reel, floating line, backing line, and leader kit for about $30....I have not checked this out recently. I have seen many beginners can cast a fly just fine with this setup and catch plenty of fish. The 6 weight is not for the purist but it can help when learning, especially in windy conditions. Often, hip boots are necessary if you are not fishing big water. Hip boots with felt soles are highly recommended and the least expensive source is adequate, unless you insist on breathable material. Waders are great only if breathable in most climates and seaons. The trout in the many creeks and rivers in the various states where the Rocky Mountains, Cascade Mountains or the Appalachian Mountains traverse like these floating fly patterns...a beginner is just fine with a 8, 10 or 12 hook size because the fish are OK with those and you can hook them easier than with a size 16 or smaller: double renegade gray wolly worm with gray body hackle black flash bugger these fly patterns can be complimented with a size 16 or 20black foam beetle....and the same size in black ant there is no end to the variety of fly patterns by season...but the gray wolly worm has worked in nearly every mountain creek in the SE, NW, and Western regions...and I have fished many of the named and unnamed ones. the smaller creeks do not give you much casting practice but you will be surprised how many fish will simply jump out of the water for a fly suspended above the water about an inch. needle nose pliers or a leatherman are useful for removing the hook from the fish without touching the fish/ hat and sunglasses a must for UV protection. Drinking water in a bota bag, etc. You are set for less than $100 bucks. Sure, fly fishing is known to be expensive. But it is not necessary to have a few outings a year.

I bought LL Bean fly fishing starter kits for around 60 bucks several years ago and that's all we use. Had everything you needed. (Beans is not far down the road from where we live...open 24 hours a day.... 3 in the morning is a great time to shop for fly fishing equipment). I agree with you.... just grab your pole and go. As Taj Mahal says: bet you goin fishin all of the time, mama's goin fishin, too. bet your life, your sweet wife gonna catch more fish than you Many fish bite if you got good bait, here's a little tale that I would like to relate With my pole and my line I'm a goin fishin yes I'm goin fishin and my baby's goin fishin too! maineman

M - enjoyed that! You have mergansers where you live? I have been seeing them this week, and that is one cool duck! Never fished in Maine..what creeks or rivers are worth giving a try next time I am out there?...without many fisher people...you can send via PM if preferred. My great grandmother founded something in China Lake, ME and the folks there treat me like family. Acadia is something else!

Edited by hiker, 13 April 2006 - 10:06 AM.

Holly and I were on the Mad River on Tuesday (didn't see much of us, did you?), and the Hendricks were still hatching.

We did well, too. Though any day on the stream in the spring time is a good day.

We both were fishing with relatively inexpensive combo's (though we probably paid too much since I've seen some great deals on Orvis and Bean combo's since).

I think that waders are a good thing, and you can get away with one set of either neoprene or breathable waders, depending on where you are or what type of water you fish.

Here in the midwest, we fish some cold water and lots of warm water on hot days. I have both types of waders.

If you're in the midwest you may want to just start with some good felt bottomed boods with good support (I just bought Holly some used Chota boots on Ebay and she LOVES them. They were cheap). I then just put on neoprene socks (maybe $15 bucks http://cgi.ebay.com/...QQcmdZViewItem)
Then, just wet wade. In the summer this can be fun with throwing poppers to smallmouth bass (and rockbass and pumpkinseeds).

Don't forget blugills in farm ponds. They are MAJOR fun on even a 6wt. rod. Wolly worms and poppers work great. So do foam spyders. I'm a big fan of "sneaky petes" in chartreuse for farm pond fish.

I would say that one can get pretty well set up for under $150 and if one shops and doesn't need waders, well under $100.

Don't forget to shop ebay for flies.

Oh, and make sure you have a hat, polarized sun glasses and some hemostats to remove hooks and to press down barbs. Trust me, it's better to lose a few fish when you're learning than to have to get a hook out of your ear or shirt.

If you're in the midwest, check out this site. Joe has a great book on flyfishing in warm water and he's got some great articles on site.

http://www.flyfishohio.com

Mark

more about fish, and their sensory systems:

http://news.national...shEarBones.html

It seems to me that most of the expense of flyfishing is in the, um...toys. Like the need to have every single fly in your box, for every type of hatch...blan blah blah. And you guys are right, it does NOT have to be expensive at all. For one, you can buy some darn good flies on ebay for about $..25 -.50/each. The same flies in a flyshop will cost you $2/each. I tel you, it was so frustrating paying $20 for ten flies that you'd lose if the wind blew the wrong way...so I started tying my own. Here's a local favourite: the crawdad. Materials for 1 fly: about $ .20 Time to tie: about 15 minutes Catching this baby on it (below) PRICELESS. Making them can be confusing if you try to learn from books-- try to find a class or go to a fly fishing convention-- it really helps.

Nice fish picture, Ms G. Dudette.

Thanks. Of course, this was my BEST catch:

Am assuming that's a man standing off in the foggy distance Good for you. C.C.

Nice fish picture, Ms G. Dudette.

Was there a fish in that picture I just some fishwife



Of course she was cute as a bug in a rug ( boy does that date me)