Lets start with rods - Fly rods come in all sorts of weights and lengths, and commonly denoted by an 'AFTM' number, this this tells you the weight of fly line that the rod is best designed for. If you use the wrong line and overload the rod, or cast a line heavier than the rod is designed for, you can cause the rod serious damage. The other extreme is also a problem, with too light a line casting becomes very hard, the light line will not bend and move the rod enough to make it cast properly, so it becomes inflexible and has no whip to cast far out. Placement of the fly is of course the aim, to present the flt precisely were the fish are feeding, so you need a good casting range. It is therefore essential that you buy a rod that is suitable for your uses, and that it's matched correctly to the weight of fly line. The following should help to guide you:
Usage Rod Length Line Weight
Streams or Small Lakes 8ft - 8ft 6ins AFTM 5 - 6 Lakes 8ft 6ins - 9ft 6ins AFTM 7 - 8 Large Lakes, Reservoirs 9ft - 10ft AFTM 8 - 9
You can buy Fly rods from around £30 for beginners, prices can go over £150 for makes like Hardy or Orvis, but that's for when you advance a little, and hopefully become hooked (sorry) on fly fishing, I suggest you go for something like a shakespeare priced around £35 to get you going.
The next basic piece of kit is the reel, it's really only a line carrier but it must have certain capabilities. First it needs to at least be able to hold your fly line plus 50 metres of backing, second it needs to suit the rod as we've already discussed, so the size and weight is important. Third it needs to be smooth running,sturdy but light and it must be simple to maintain. You will need to ensure the reel is in good working order, so the reel has to be easily dismantled to clean and oil, nothing destroys line and the reel than grit or mud. But all said and done it's really just the line carrier, but that does not make it any less important. Once again you do not need to spend a fortune on the reel, in fact a good shakespeare, greys or mustang reel will do the job at around the £25 to £40 mark. It's important that you buy the reel with a spare spool or two, this is so you can keep floating line on one and sinking on the other, you can easily then just swop spools as and when you need.
Fly Line is an area that can lead to confusion, don't let it! basically as a beginner the only two you need to worry about, the floating and sinking line .Fly lines in come in a range of densities, floating, neutral density to slow, medium and fast sinking. Staring out we can just go for two, a floater for for surface feeding fish, and you guessed it a sinker for bottom feeders. When you buy the line think about the species you are going for, in fact you might consider buying both floating and sinking so you have a choice of fish to go for, and are always prepared, think forward.
The first you need to know something about is the weight forward line, the line is heaviest at the fly end or front end, and the back half(nearest the rod tip) of the line having a very thin running line, this type of line is easier to cast diastance. Second is the double tape,this type of line has the thinnest and lightest parts at the ends, it's heavier in the middle.This makes it hard to cast distances, and you need to practice a technique to cast effectively.The general idea is to cast so the middle lands first and the fly end floats and settles on the surface, this allows the fly to mimic the real fly and tempt surface feeding fish. Both lines by the way are around 30 metres in length.
Remember the type of line must correspond to the rods ATM number such as AFTM 5/6 or AFTM 7/8 etc, what is needed is our weight forward line to be the higher of the two numbers, the double taper lower. For example if your rod is the most common and popular sized 9 ft AFTM 7/8 we would buy an AFTM 8 weight forward sinker, plus an AFTM 7 double tapered floater, this ensures you will not overload the rod.
For prices I'd go for something in the £15 - £20 area, this should get a reasonably good quality line, also a spool of around 50 metres of backing cost around £3 - £5.
Hopefully this gives you a simple explanation of quite a complex subject, always ask before buying, normally good fishing shops has someone to hand who can give good advice. In fact my brother Roly has a fishing shop in Herne bay and will help out with any advice you need, contact him on 01227 372517, he's had the shop for 20 years so knows what he's talking about.
By the way if you are light on cash then you can pick up some excellent fly fishing tackle on eBay, you could do a crafty thing, get all the advice and prices from the fishing shop then see if you can buy cheaper on ebay. Only do this if you have a light budget to get started with, remember the shop owner is also trying to make a living. One word of warning always deal with ebay suppliers who have good feedback, at least 25+ positive.
That's it for the essentials, you will of course you need more items to actually start fishing like the fly, this is a whole subject on it's own. Please save this article, as my next article will be the best flies for the beginner to use, in time I will also write how to tie your own flies. Bookmark this article and call back, I will add further fly fishing related subjects, in the mean time HAPPY FISHING.
About the Author
My names Frank and I've been angler since the age of nine, builting up a wealth of experience. My brother Roly is also into fishing owning a fishing shop in Herne Bay. If you want him to quote you on tackle or just get advice please contact him on 01227 372517. To get some great bargain tackle deals please also go to Franks Fishing Tackle Site Thank you and happy fishing
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