[Memphis]

Hey guys! Being extremely new to the sport I know very little about what gear to buy. I, meaning my wife, would like to get off as cheap as possible while I'm learning and perhaps buy better gear once I get more into fly fishing. The only place I know of to buy gear other than the internet is a Bass Pro Shops a few miles from home. My wife found this online and suggested I give it a try. (I think it's the cheapest she found) Anyway, let me know what you guys think. It got really good reviews on their site, but I'd feel more comfortable with your opinions. Thanks!
beginner outfit

[KRD]

What I have learned is that you will learn to cast what you have. you buy that $50 setup and you will learn to cast it. I can cast my $75 wal-mart combo very well, but when I got my first decent rod is when I really learned how to cast. But i did catch many fish on my wal-mart combo.

Does your wife not think you will stick with it? If you just plan on learning with this outfit and then a few months down the road upgrade, I would just save up the extra money and get what you want. Most fly shops will let you cast rods in the parking lot, and will help pick out a rod that suits you.

[Memphis]

Thanks for the reply! Well, part of the problem is that I seem to have a ton of hobbies, most of them expensive! The other part is the fact that I live in the heart of Memphis, TN and there aren't very many good fly fishing spots close by. Most fishing trips will take up a whole weekend (hopefully!). That said, it would be a waste for me to spend a lot of money on something I won't be able to use all that often. Or at least, not as often as I'd like.

I don't mind taking baby steps, but I don't mind spending the money on something I want, either. I just wanted to see what you guys think about the "cheapie".

[cowboy]

I would say that you should save and get a better outfit. Orvis has several aimed at the beginner. I remember when everyone had some piece of Pflueger equipment, because you could not beat them for ruggedness. I still have a Pflueger automatic fly reel that belonged to my dad. It still works, has got to be over 50 years old.

[Jakeway]

Memphis, you've got a lot of good fishing close by. I'm sitting in a hotel in Memphis right now, and a few hours ago I stopped at the Duck River just north of exit 143 on I40, and a guy came into the boat landing with a half dozen 24" Stripers and a 5 pound smallmouth! These are all good fly fishing targets.

For beginning fly casters, nothing beats Bluegills, and there are plenty of them in waters even closer to you. You don't need trout to fly fish.

Having said all that, I think the Bass Pro Dogwood Canyon outfits at $50-75 are a lot better than the crap I learned with. I used old fiberglass 7 wt rods with level line and plain 4 lb mono (non-tapered) for a leader. Casted terrible, but I still caught fish. I recommend a 5 or 6 weight rod; heavier lines are a bit easier for newbies to cast, and they'll work for anything up to the larger wind-resistant flies and poppers.

[Memphis]

Thanks for the replies! I was talking to my neighbor yesterday about my interest in fly fishing and it turns out he has a rig that his boss gave him that he's never taken out of the house! He said I could keep it and use it until I buy one of my own, which is cool! That way, I'll be able to practice up on his and save up for a nice one in the meantime.

And thanks for the locale, Jakeway! I may just do a little practice fishing at Duck River this weekend! Are you still going to be in Memphis?

[Colorado Cajun]

It sounds like that worked out perfect, you can see if you like it and don't have to buy the outfit. My past experience is buying cheap doesn't pay. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. No shops are giving anything away. Do some searching on this site and you will find different opinions on buying gear. Catch a big one!

[Piscator]

Originally Posted by Colorado Cajun

No shops are giving anything away.

Hey Memphis,
Not exactly true. I would like to suggest to you the option at looking into purchasing something from the following web site The Full Creel Fly Shop. Steve Robbins our admin of this site is the owner and operator of the fly shop. He offers a 21 day test drive of his rods and free shipping on purchases of $100 or more. Steve is a great guy to do business with so take it from me, it will be hard to find a better offer than that. Steve cares a line of Echo Fly Rods that are hard to beat for the price.

There is a lot of info on this site in picking out your fly fishing equipment. So, do some searching, and ask some more questions when you need too. Thing about fly fishing is that you can research yourself cross-eyed with all the information that is available to you.

I hope this helps.
Thanks,
Terry

[Jakeway]

Hey, Memphis, I got your reply to late. I'm heading home right after work Thursday.

I bet there are lots of nice coves on the Tennessee and Misssissippi rivers where you can catch a ton of panfish and bass on the fly. My favorite fly for this is a size 10 Olive Bead Head Wooly Bugger with a touch of flash in the tail. Cast it towards the shallows, and just twitch it a few inches every 5 or 10 seconds. Watch the line for any twitch, and set the hook. The fish are in the shallows this time of year; as the water warms, just keep moving out deeper. In the heat of the summer, try topwater poppers or rubber spiders & grasshoppers along bluffs just before sundown or early morning.

Have fun!

[Colorado Cajun]

Originally Posted by darkknight

Hey Memphis,
Not exactly true. I would like to suggest to you the option at looking into purchasing something from the following web site The Full Creel Fly Shop. Steve Robbins our admin of this site is the owner and operator of the fly shop. He offers a 21 day test drive of his rods and free shipping on purchases of $100 or more. Steve is a great guy to do business with so take it from me, it will be hard to find a better offer than that. Steve cares a line of Echo Fly Rods that are hard to beat for the price.

There is a lot of info on this site in picking out your fly fishing equipment. So, do some searching, and ask some more questions when you need too. Thing about fly fishing is that you can research yourself cross-eyed with all the information that is available to you.

I hope this helps.
Thanks,
Terry

That is a great deal Steve has going. My point was you aren't going to get a $400.00 rod or the quality of a $400 rod for $50. If Steve is doing that, I know where my next rod is coming from.