Starting fly fishing
Discussion
I am considering taking up fly fishing as a hobby.
I have seen 'beginners kits' on flea bay for about £100 which includes virtually everything you need to get started apparently. Is this ( as I suspect) a waste of money for cheap rubbish?
How much would entry level fly fishing tackle normally cost?
Any advice gratefully received. ( I am already booked a days tuition at Chew Valley later in the month).
Thanks.
I have seen 'beginners kits' on flea bay for about £100 which includes virtually everything you need to get started apparently. Is this ( as I suspect) a waste of money for cheap rubbish?
How much would entry level fly fishing tackle normally cost?
Any advice gratefully received. ( I am already booked a days tuition at Chew Valley later in the month).
Thanks.
XCP said:
I am considering taking up fly fishing as a hobby.
I have seen 'beginners kits' on flea bay for about £100 which includes virtually everything you need to get started apparently. Is this ( as I suspect) a waste of money for cheap rubbish?
How much would entry level fly fishing tackle normally cost?
Any advice gratefully received. ( I am already booked a days tuition at Chew Valley later in the month).
Thanks.
I'd be inclined to ask Chew Valley if they had any second hand gear for sale. Or any ex rental equipment. Then if you decide you don't like it, you lose minimal money as you can probably re-sell for similar to what you paid for the gear in the first place.I have seen 'beginners kits' on flea bay for about £100 which includes virtually everything you need to get started apparently. Is this ( as I suspect) a waste of money for cheap rubbish?
How much would entry level fly fishing tackle normally cost?
Any advice gratefully received. ( I am already booked a days tuition at Chew Valley later in the month).
Thanks.
Well done on getting tuition - getting your cast on the right track and being shown how to set up a leader will make life a lot easier.
Don't need to spend a ton of money. Your guide may be able to point you to second hand gear
Shakespeare rods are about the cheapest and good quality. Reel is just for holding the line and doesn't need to be fancy again Shakespeare or Okuma.
Don't need to spend a ton of money. Your guide may be able to point you to second hand gear
Shakespeare rods are about the cheapest and good quality. Reel is just for holding the line and doesn't need to be fancy again Shakespeare or Okuma.
I started in 1980 or 1981.
A couple of hours' casting tuition with a G.A.I.A qualified instructor will be money very well spent.
For general use as a beginner, you'd probably want a 6 or 7 weight 9'6" rod with a floating line & slow sinking intermediate.
Then you need braided loops to connect the leader to the line & tapered 9' long leader down to about 7lb & then tippets of 5,6 & 7lb. Copolymer tippet is best for dry flies or if you want to fish high in the water. Fluorocarbon is better if you want the tippet to sink quickly for wets, deep nymphs & lures.
There are loads of good beginner books out there that you can buy for next to nothing. Youtube is also great for instruction videos for set-ups, knots, flies, tactics & so on.
Good luck - it's great fun.
A couple of hours' casting tuition with a G.A.I.A qualified instructor will be money very well spent.
For general use as a beginner, you'd probably want a 6 or 7 weight 9'6" rod with a floating line & slow sinking intermediate.
Then you need braided loops to connect the leader to the line & tapered 9' long leader down to about 7lb & then tippets of 5,6 & 7lb. Copolymer tippet is best for dry flies or if you want to fish high in the water. Fluorocarbon is better if you want the tippet to sink quickly for wets, deep nymphs & lures.
There are loads of good beginner books out there that you can buy for next to nothing. Youtube is also great for instruction videos for set-ups, knots, flies, tactics & so on.
Good luck - it's great fun.
Another good tip for still waters
If you learn to roll cast to get the line in the air you can fish all the way in (i.e. get the relieve right back to the bank) by raising the rod at the end.
So many fish seem to take int he last few yards. If you cast by lifting the line off the water straight back (which a lot of people seem to do) you lose these last several yards of the retrieve..
There's a series of videos by Hywel Morgan here http://www.horseandcountry.tv/episode/hywel-morgan...
If you learn to roll cast to get the line in the air you can fish all the way in (i.e. get the relieve right back to the bank) by raising the rod at the end.
So many fish seem to take int he last few yards. If you cast by lifting the line off the water straight back (which a lot of people seem to do) you lose these last several yards of the retrieve..
There's a series of videos by Hywel Morgan here http://www.horseandcountry.tv/episode/hywel-morgan...
I've purchased quite a few rods, reels, lines, etc from Garry Evans and had very good service. They sell Shakespeare kit as mentioned above. I don't have any Shakespeare kit but it does get very good comments on www.flyfishing.co.uk
http://www.garryevans.co.uk/shakespeare-agility-st...
I do have some Greys kit which I bought from Garry Evans, which is very good.
http://www.garryevans.co.uk/greys-gr50-stillwater-...
Orvis stuff is also very good as well and they also hold free casting sessions.
http://www.orvis.co.uk/store/product.aspx?pf_id=8P...
http://www.orvis.co.uk/s/free-beginners-fly-fishin...
Not sure where you are based but the Game Fair is on at Ragley soon and there are always special offers and casting lessons.
http://www.thegamefair.org/blog
You are also getting towards the time of year when lots of the rods, reels, etc start getting sold off for new models being released next year, so will be plenty of offers available. I pretty much bought all my stuff when reduced, never paying the full price, hence why I ended up with a 6ft#2, 7ft6in#4, 8ft#4, 8ft#5, 8ft6in#5, 8ft6in#6, 9ft#5, 9ft6in#6, 10ft#3, 10ft#6, 15ft#10 and a 11ft Tenkara rod. And this is just in 5 years.
http://www.garryevans.co.uk/shakespeare-agility-st...
I do have some Greys kit which I bought from Garry Evans, which is very good.
http://www.garryevans.co.uk/greys-gr50-stillwater-...
Orvis stuff is also very good as well and they also hold free casting sessions.
http://www.orvis.co.uk/store/product.aspx?pf_id=8P...
http://www.orvis.co.uk/s/free-beginners-fly-fishin...
Not sure where you are based but the Game Fair is on at Ragley soon and there are always special offers and casting lessons.
http://www.thegamefair.org/blog
You are also getting towards the time of year when lots of the rods, reels, etc start getting sold off for new models being released next year, so will be plenty of offers available. I pretty much bought all my stuff when reduced, never paying the full price, hence why I ended up with a 6ft#2, 7ft6in#4, 8ft#4, 8ft#5, 8ft6in#5, 8ft6in#6, 9ft#5, 9ft6in#6, 10ft#3, 10ft#6, 15ft#10 and a 11ft Tenkara rod. And this is just in 5 years.
Edited by Powerkiter on Thursday 16th June 16:05
I learnt to fly fisj with this guy http://theflyfishinginstructor.co.uk after struggling on my own for a bit, money well spent.
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff