[Noworries]

OK folks, I'm new & thought I'd say hello. Oh, & I am looking at getting into flyfishing, bream & some bass. I've done some flyfishing early on in life but never could get the line pass 10 ft.
In doing some research I find rod & reel are important but line is most important. I've looked at wt. & sizes & from what I can tell from the old rods I had (8'6" slow action that i never was to good at & a 7'3 med. that seemed to work better for me) I'm thinking on a 5wt. 7'3" or 7'6". With that said, I have two questions.
1-I don't what to over spend for now so I was thinking of getting a combo setup. The local bakk pro has one for 1oo bucks but when you look at the price of fly line (35.00-60.00) I wonder what the quality of the line can be. Any thoughs?
2- I have a friend that wants to give me his father's old rig which I know hasn't been used for that least 4 yrs. How often should you change your line.

Any & all help will be welcome Thanks Randy

[Noworries]

OK folks, I'm new & thought I'd say hello. Oh, & I am looking at getting into flyfishing, bream & some bass. I've done some flyfishing early on in life but never could get the line pass 10 ft.
In doing some research I find rod & reel are important but line is most important. I've looked at wt. & sizes & from what I can tell from the old rods I had (8'6" slow action that i never was to good at & a 7'3 med. that seemed to work better for me) I'm thinking on a 5wt. 7'3" or 7'6". With that said, I have two questions.
1-I don't what to over spend for now so I was thinking of getting a combo setup. The local bakk pro has one for 1oo bucks but when you look at the price of fly line (35.00-60.00) I wonder what the quality of the line can be. Any thoughs?
2- I have a friend that wants to give me his father's old rig which I know hasn't been used for that least 4 yrs. How often should you change your line.

Any & all help will be welcome Thanks Randy

[jdgrubbjr]

Noworries,

More than likely the fly line on the Bass Pro combo that you are talking about is a "general purpose" fly line that sells for anywhere from $15.00 to $20.00. And that's retail. While it is "useable", it's not a desirable fly line. Cortland, Rio, Scientific Angler, Wulff, etc. all produce good quality fly lines that will dramatically increase your learning curve (and distance) as opposed to the "general purpose" fly line. Scientific Anglers produces a fly line called Headstart that sells for around $40.00 that I have my daughter using, and she has made great strides since using it.

As for how often you should change your fly line, if the fly line has small radial cracks in the finish coating, it's time to chunk it. If you decide to take your friend up on the free outfit, make sure that you check the fly rod guides for wear induced sharp areas that will scuff or cut the surface of a fly line. Good luck!

[hardhat]

It seems as if most all of us get the starter kits only to find out very shortly that it was a waste of money. Save your time and money until you can buy and build a starter setup in the $300 range. You can find some nice deals on these forums, internet, or good used equipment from others moving on up. The cheapo starter sets usually will not give you the true feel of a proper fly rod. SAVE YOUR MONEY UNTIL YOU CAN BUY A ROD THAT HAS A GOOD FEEL.

[Robert Courtney]

Bad equipment equal bad experiences. Try to get the best gear you can afford. The extra spending (not too much) will payoff while learning!