Your First Fly Setup

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topic says it all, what was/is your very first rod and reel

this was mine

 

[grubman]

Looks like you got a kit. I did too, mine is a Martin 6/7wt too, I thought they were good, HA. You Cortland must be better then my Martin. What's with the 6/7 wts anyway. Is it 6 or is it 7? And what line did it come with? I was planning on getting a new rod for it but I don't know what line came in the kit. There is a method of measuring the line then calculating the weight for the first 30' to estimate the line wt. I used it for salmon, first time last year hoping the rod would break.......lol. It didn't...... It's hard to cast so I don't use it much. Now I mostly use my old Fenwick instead.

You still use yours?

 

[MaxWedge]

OK, I'll give this a shot

Wow, the reel turned out way to big!
The rod is a Fenwick, my 1st rod was a Daiwa, but it had a pretty short life.
If I remember right, it got broke while bush whacking, it was shortly after that I started using my ultra light on some of those little streams.
​

 

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Looks like you got a kit. I did too, mine is a Martin 6/7wt too, I thought they were good, HA. You Cortland must be better then my Martin. What's with the 6/7 wts anyway. Is it 6 or is it 7? And what line did it come with? I was planning on getting a new rod for it but I don't know what line came in the kit. There is a method of measuring the line then calculating the weight for the first 30' to estimate the line wt. I used it for salmon, first time last year hoping the rod would break.......lol. It didn't...... It's hard to cast so I don't use it much. Now I mostly use my old Fenwick instead.

You still use yours?

i used it in the spring, wasn't a kit, was actually my grandpas old rod and reel from the 70's lol

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

JMatt1983:

How'd it work? My family is really in to fly fishing, although I never learned, and my uncles and grandfather have a ton of old rods and reels that I was hoping to cut my teeth on...

Although I can't even guess their age or specs off hand; generally speaking, is there any reason you or anyone else would recommend purchasing a cheap beginner kit rather than starting with older gear?

 

[Madriverfisher]

You could go both ways but if you decide to use the older gear try to find out what wt it is and I would replace the line it does break down but that's not a lot of money depending on what kind of line you want

 

[Madriverfisher]

My first rod was a mitchel fly rod 6 wt with an old Martin reel it was good to learn on and my ex father in law gave it to me to learn on now I'm a gear addict and am buying two more rods in a few weeks

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

Thanks Madriver!

 

[Cody309]

My first was just a travel rod/reel from Canadian Tire when I was living in Timmins and first getting into it all.

Crystal River Fly Shop I believe it was called - a 4wt.

Unfortunately, the rod tip succumbed to being snapped off in my SUV's back door. I still use the reel on a 3/4wt redington though

 

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JMatt1983:

How'd it work? My family is really in to fly fishing, although I never learned, and my uncles and grandfather have a ton of old rods and reels that I was hoping to cut my teeth on...

Although I can't even guess their age or specs off hand; generally speaking, is there any reason you or anyone else would recommend purchasing a cheap beginner kit rather than starting with older gear?

it worked well, very whippy though, almost like a noodle rod, i used it twice, and then one of the guys i was fishing with handed me a brand new rod and told me to go hang my grandpas on a wall so i wouldn't break it.

i never knew my grandpa was a fisherman, let alone a fly fisherman until after both my grandparents passed and i found the reel in a workbench drawrer

 

[grubman]

You could go both ways but if you decide to use the older gear try to find out what wt it is and I would replace the line it does break down but that's not a lot of money depending on what kind of line you want

How long does fly line last? I've had my line for a long time but never saw the light of day for some 10 years. It stayed in the basement cool and dry, till the flood that is....lol. I've seen some sites say the line is only good for 5 years, but I think they mean when it's under normal use, UV exposure, rubbing against rocks sand.....etc. My line looks brand new still, but I'm sure BWB's gramp's line have been well used and would need a good inspection before using.

BWB how many outfits are there? Clean them up, might have to lube up the reels and replace the tippet, leader and line. Does backing need replacing too? My backing is dacron so I don't know if it goes bad with age. Did they even use backing way back then?

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

JMatt1983:

I'm also concerned about wrecking them... I'll only be using them in really controlled conditions (no bushwacking to begin with) so hopefully it will go OK. Finding that old rod of his must have been a nice surprise at an unfortunate time!

grubman:

Thanks for the tips! Replacing the line and backing seems like a good call... I've heard that a properly balanced and weighted line is one of the most important things for a beginner, no idea how accurate that is but if I'm not paying for the rod/reel anyways...might as well!

There are 4-5 rod/reel combos last I remember. As far as the line and backing goes, I wish I could tell ya... I've only held them when re-organizing the rod racks (yes, I'm THAT much of a noob and my spinning geear and I are a disgrace to my fly fishing family haha).

When I go up next (probably won't be until bass season...darn work) I'll snap some pics of the rods, reels, and fly collections and post them for anyone who is curious. My great uncle was pretty well known for his fly tying in Norway so there might be some stuff that would interest those of you who know more about tying and fly fishing than I do.

 

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How long does fly line last? I've had my line for a long time but never saw the light of day for some 10 years. It stayed in the basement cool and dry, till the flood that is....lol. I've seen some sites say the line is only good for 5 years, but I think they mean when it's under normal use, UV exposure, rubbing against rocks sand.....etc. My line looks brand new still, but I'm sure BWB's gramp's line have been well used and would need a good inspection before using.

BWB how many outfits are there? Clean them up, might have to lube up the reels and replace the tippet, leader and line. Does backing need replacing too? My backing is dacron so I don't know if it goes bad with age. Did they even use backing way back then?

just inspect the line for any cracking, and also to be sure itis still flexible

my grandpas reel was fully spooled, so i practiced in the driveway with it, then i replaced it all before i went out to the water just to be sure

 

[Madriverfisher]

jmatt is right fly lines can dry out and crack if they are stored improperly and will crack and discolor depending how old they are might be worth picking up a new one anyway

 

[easternshores]

My first setup was a 7'6" 3wt. rod made by Mark Prewitt of RDPFlyrods (www.rdpflyrods.com). Great price point for a medium fast action, mid flex rod. The workmanship is first class and Mark is open to rod customizations and personalizations. The rod casts a 3/4wt. line very smoothly. I paired this rod up with a 3wt Ross Flystart (www.rossreels.com). It's a small, cheap and simple reel. This setup was designed for trout in small streams but I have caught a few river smallmouth on this setup and it plays these fish very well. This is probably because of the strong butt section that it has.