getting started the Price

[billyspey]

after reading and responding to the new beginners wanting to get started into fly fishing. got me thinking about what it would cost with all top end gear. when I looked down from the computer a Fly fishing catalog was there. just thumbed through looked at top end gear to get started. 7 to 8 hundred for a rod another 5 hundred or more for a reel , $700 for waders $200 for wading boots, plus vest or pack $100 plus.In just a few minutes $ 4,000 was spent. whoa that's an investment just to get started. how many would spend that much to start? I glad I started 40 years ago. and now with a dozen or more rods reels 20 fly boxes and hundred of fly and etc. My wife ask 1 day how much I had invested in my fishing my answer I don't know I don't care. but it didn't effect how much jewelry she owned or how many closet's she had full . or the food on the table. it is scary . I could retire if I didn't like my toys.

 

[fire instructor]

Someone on the forum, can't remember who, has a signature line that says that after he dies, he hopes that his wife doesn't sell his fishing eqipment for what he SAID he paid for it.... Now you know WHY!!!

 

[ausablebrown]

It is a bit ridiculous; the price of high end gear! On the flip side, heres the cost of GOOD low end gear: Rod 150, Reel 120, waders 200 boots 60 vest 35. For just over 500 you can be in the water with very respectable gear...probably half of that if it's necessary to go real cheap. Bill...Sell 'em all and retire with a TFO Rod and Pfleugger reel!!!!!

 

[mcnerney]

I agree, when I responded to that thread and advised him to be careful I was thinking the same thing, that the rod and reel would just the tip of the ice berg as far as expenditures are concerned and coupled with the fact that he didn't have any experience to know whether or not he would stick with fly fishing or not. I shutter to think what I have spent on fly fishing gear over the years, 11 rods in the current inventory, a drift boat, an NFO pontoon boat, enough fly tying material to open a small fly shop, the list just goes on. I could probably have retired several years earlier had I been a little more frugal with my hobbies, but what the heck it has been a fun ride!

 

[ryboyd]

In the end I bet the fish can't tell if your using a latest and greatest sage or a budget cabellas rod. I compare fly fishing to golf when it comes to equipment. Sure do I want the best gear now? Heck yea! But it is so expensive to do, so you start to acquire stuff over time and that time allows you to get good with what you have.

 

[billyspey]

It is a bit ridiculous; the price of high end gear! On the flip side, heres the cost of GOOD low end gear: Rod 150, Reel 120, waders 200 boots 60 vest 35. For just over 500 you can be in the water with very respectable gear...probably half of that if it's necessary to go real cheap. Bill...Sell 'em all and retire with a TFO Rod and Pfleugger reel!!!!!

but I enjoy my high end gear. not being a smart a$$. good is never cheap and cheap is never good. I bought one of those TFO rods and hated it, took it back got my money back and bought a St Croix that i like,but liked the Pfleugger reel that I bought 40 years ago. Don't get me wrong I have all price ranges of rods and reels I like them all. I have bought and sold lots of rods and reels. my taste changes but still own that old fenwick glass I started with.

 

[ausablebrown]

but I enjoy my high end gear. not being a smart a$$. good is never cheap and cheap is never good. I bought one of those TFO rods and hated it, took it back got my money back and bought a St Croix that i like,but liked the Pfleugger reel that I bought 40 years ago. Don't get me wrong I have all price ranges of rods and reels I like them all. I have bought and sold lots of rods and reels. my taste changes but still own that old fenwick glass I started with.

I hear ya Bill...I also enjoy my expensive stuff!! It's almost always the pricey stuff that I pick out of the closet when I'm headed out fishing. And the only TFO I hung on to was the 7'9" 4wt Finesse which I havn't found a better mid-sized dry fly rod yet after going through at least 20 4wts! Its still a toss up between that Finesse and my 7'10" TXL 4wt. Though I did like the other TFO's....hated my first BassPro rod and sold it without a bit of remorse.

 

[Rip Tide]

The kid that I was fishing with last week was using one of these.
I tried it and it cast every bit as well as the GLoomis that I was using. Maybe even better
Full combo retails for less than 100 beans

 

[williamhj]

The good thing is, people have choices. If they've got the cash when they start, they can buy top end gear. Some get into fly fishing when they have the means, but I think most get into it earlier in life and might not want to sink that much into something they aren't sure they'll stick with. Some swear by top end gear, many on here will testify they can fish just fine with mid and even low end stuff. I love the rods I built on blanks costing less than $70.

Be it cars, golf, home stereo systems, lawn mowers, or fly rods you can spend top dollar and get the best or you can spend less (or far less) and get the job done just fine. Choices are good.

 

[tbblom]

I started with a $50 all inclusive pflueger kit.
I had no idea that a few years down the road I would own 1o rods, boxes full of tying stuff, and rods from 3-11wt.
The pfleuger was horrible, but I learned a lot and caught my first fish. I think I only spent $100 getting started the first year.

I look forward to having 1 or 2 really nice setups to cherish, sometime down the road in another tax bracket! At this point I am very happy with the 'middle of the road' clearance setups. The inexpensive rods have let me experiment with various weights and line sizes, including sinking lines.
Some day I will have nice stuff, at this point if something breaks or gets lost, I am not heartbroken about it!
TB

 

[ausablebrown]

I started with a $50 all inclusive pflueger kit.
I had no idea that a few years down the road I would own 1o rods, boxes full of tying stuff, and rods from 3-11wt.
The pfleuger was horrible, but I learned a lot and caught my first fish. I think I only spent $100 getting started the first year.

I look forward to having 1 or 2 really nice setups to cherish, sometime down the road in another tax bracket! At this point I am very happy with the 'middle of the road' clearance setups. The inexpensive rods have let me experiment with various weights and line sizes, including sinking lines.
Some day I will have nice stuff, at this point if something breaks or gets lost, I am not heartbroken about it!
TB

Saving up for a NICE bamboo, I've got a Mint Hardy CFO III in the desk drawer to put on it someday, NO it's not for sale! When I put them together I'll fish with them until I die.

....also a couple tax brackets or decades from now!

 

[nymtber]

I just bought a $30 Martin basic kit last week, and in my yard I can get 30' casts, which for the areas I fish, is probably all I am looking at anyway! And I am just starting, on a pretty bad rod. I am already eyeballing an LL bean 4wt rod/reel combo... Only $100 but reviews for the combo, and the separate rod/reel are really good. I might step up to the $160 level combo as it has a better reel

The first year I got back into fishing, I bought 3 (spinning) rods/reels (in total around 250) and probably $80 in tackle. I figure that 4wt is gonna come before end of summer...

 

[stenacron]

A friend of mine that just moved to the area was looking to get back into fly-fishing (after a 20+ year hiatus) and he basically needed everything; rod, reel, line, waders, vest, etc. I think when it was all said and done the final tally was just under $1000. It could have been less, but he had past experience in the sport (albeit over 2 decades ago) and wanted to get some gear that would last without going completely crazy.

The rod – by the way – was over one third of the entire budget ($350). Everything else was low-to-middle of the road equipment.

 

[s fontinalis]

Someone on the forum, can't remember who, has a signature line that says that after he dies, he hopes that his wife doesn't sell his fishing eqipment for what he SAID he paid for it.... Now you know WHY!!!

that used to be my signature.

as to starting out and paying top dollar? NEVER. I dont own any equipment over $200 per item, and most of what i own was bought on sale.

 

[stenacron]

that used to be my signature.

as to starting out and paying top dollar? NEVER. I dont own any equipment over $200 per item, and most of what i own was bought on sale.

Just curious, what fly rod(s) do you use/own?

I fall into this same <$200 category, except for the rod. I just couldn't find anything that I liked without going at least $100 over that.

 

[popperfly]

I keep on telling the wife think about this way.....it's a investment, when I am dead an gone you can sell everything and go on a nice trip....She just keeps on asking when will that be
I really don't think to much about the cost when I am purchasing fly fishing equipment/tying materials...OK maybe a little....I just keep on thinking what the wife will sell my fly tying, fly rod/reels, etc..for when I am gone. Now think about that one for a minute, food for thought! I have always said to the wife contact xxxx person because they will know the value but then maybe she already does because she keeps on reminding me

 

[s fontinalis]

I have a Diawa Exceler 8wt, this is an old rod i bought back in Ireland about 10 years ago - no longer made. I believe back then i paid about 200 pounds for it. Reel is an albright GP, think it was $80, cheap mill end line <$20

Albright A5-NS 5wt, i bought when they had a sale, $188, cheap no name reel $50 and mill end line

Allen Xa 3wt, bought for $130 on sale with forum promo code for 50% off over christmas period. No name reel bought from UK Fly Fishing forum vendor for $75 shippped, cheap mill end line again.

Today i almost bought a Cabelas 3 Forks 5 piece 6wt for $35 new....still tempted. I hope they sell out soon

Should mention all the reels are disc drag, sturdy and light. Fish well, and i've had no problems with any of them. Mill end lines are also good too, they are all i've fished with since i was a boy (~20 years)

 

[brobar]

$125 for 2 lessons, a book, a dvd, a rod, reel, line and flies: The Best Daily Deals in Denver South - The Denver Fly Shop - Fly-Fishing Package with 2 Classes and Gear Kit

Expensive is all relative. $300 may be expensive to one budget while $500 may be nothing to another budget. You can make this sport/hobby/lifestyle as cheap or expensive as you want to make it!

I started out using a little more expensive stuff for a few reasons... I'm a klutz so I needed stuff with a warranty from a reputable dealer... I've also learned in other facets that sometimes it is just cheaper in the long run to start out with nicer gear. I learned my lesson there with camera equipment. I started out with a $500 SLR many moons ago with super cheap glass... and after upgrading to slightly nicer glass, then nicer glass, then middle of the road glass, then really nice glass... and a cheap SLR, to a middle of the road SLR to a prosumer SLR to a pro SLR... I spent way more in time and money than if I would have just started out with less quantity and more quality to begin with.