First off I would like to give a "Hi" to everyone....so "Hi"
Let me first start by saying....wow there is alot of info here to soak up. I think I could spend quite a bit of time running through the forums here....and still not dent them.
Anyway, here is my dilema:
I live in Minnesota, pretty much in the central part of the state. When I even mention flyfishing, most people look at me like a monkey staring at a math problem....with that you should know there are no locals shops around that even carry anything remotely linked to flyfishing...lol. I started dabbeling in flyfishing about 10 years ago, and ended up loving it, just didn't have the time to do it. These days I find myself having more time to go out and fish, and I wanted to give flyfishing another shot. What I am mostly going to be fishing for are panfish and trout. Unfortunatley for me, the nearest trout stream is about 1-1.5 hrs or so away, and I know I won't get to fish it as much as I like. For the time being I was going to practice on panfish untill I have a good day to take the trip. I also head up to northern Minnesota quite often, where just about every stream up there is designated trout water, and I would love to fish these as well. Most of the fish I am after will probably not be much over 2lbs, like I said, just starting off, and I'm aiming for smaller fish untill I get the hang of it. Basically I am looking for recommendations on gear, since it has changed a bit, and I never got that far into it. most of the streams/rivers around here, and upper Minnesota have alot of bushes/shrubs/trees making bank fishing pretty much impossible. So I will be wading/tubing alot of the times. I have been searching the forums for people with similar problems, so I figured I would take those ideas and impliment them, and see what everyone thought.
Here is the list of what I was looking at getting started with:
Cabela's had a kit that was about my price range and I thought I would ask about it. It's a St. Croix Premier 7'6" 4 weight rod with a Cabela's CSR reel for $165.00. I thought that wasn't too bad, but when I started reading I thought I would ask because every one says to dump money in the rod and get a cheap reel for starting. So I also looked around and found a few rods that may also work.
Redington Red.Fly 7'6" 4 weight - $99.00
St. Croix Reign 7'6" 4 weight - $130.00
Cortland Endurance 7'6" 4 weight - $139.95
Cabela's PT 7'6" 4 weight - $160.00
Fenwick HMG 7'6" 4 weight - $179.00
I have used Fenwick for years as my other rods, and have loved them....so I guess I expect the same results with their fly rods. That is why I am asking though, because I don't want to drop the $$ on it if is not any better than the alternatives. I guess I can't see that from Fenwick, but I don't know.
The reels I looked at where these:
Scientific Anglers Concept: 3.6oz 3-5 weight line - $34.99
Cabela's Prestige: 5.4oz 3-4 weight line - $49.99
Okuma Magnitude: 3.7oz 4-5 weight line - $59.99
Ross Flycast: 5.1oz 3-5 weight line - $60.00
Echo: 5.1oz 4-6 weight line -$69.99
I have no idea about the reels, so any recommendations would we appreciated
Lines/tippets....ummmm sure. About the only thing I know is I will be doing alot of floating presentations, so I am sure I am going to go with a floating line to start. I will go with a sinking line later on....but for now floating is the direction I am taking. I will probably get an extra spool with sinking line shortly after, but I can't spend everything all at once. One thing I saw recently is Scientific Anglers came out with a "quick change" leader of some sort. basically you tie this lil clip thing on the end of your line, and they have leaders you can just snap into place. It's supposed to have up to a 10lb break or something, and I thought that would be handy....ideas on that one?
I have rambled on far enough now, thanx in advance for your help!!!
Let me first start by saying....wow there is alot of info here to soak up. I think I could spend quite a bit of time running through the forums here....and still not dent them.
Anyway, here is my dilema:
I live in Minnesota, pretty much in the central part of the state. When I even mention flyfishing, most people look at me like a monkey staring at a math problem....with that you should know there are no locals shops around that even carry anything remotely linked to flyfishing...lol. I started dabbeling in flyfishing about 10 years ago, and ended up loving it, just didn't have the time to do it. These days I find myself having more time to go out and fish, and I wanted to give flyfishing another shot. What I am mostly going to be fishing for are panfish and trout. Unfortunatley for me, the nearest trout stream is about 1-1.5 hrs or so away, and I know I won't get to fish it as much as I like. For the time being I was going to practice on panfish untill I have a good day to take the trip. I also head up to northern Minnesota quite often, where just about every stream up there is designated trout water, and I would love to fish these as well. Most of the fish I am after will probably not be much over 2lbs, like I said, just starting off, and I'm aiming for smaller fish untill I get the hang of it. Basically I am looking for recommendations on gear, since it has changed a bit, and I never got that far into it. most of the streams/rivers around here, and upper Minnesota have alot of bushes/shrubs/trees making bank fishing pretty much impossible. So I will be wading/tubing alot of the times. I have been searching the forums for people with similar problems, so I figured I would take those ideas and impliment them, and see what everyone thought.
Here is the list of what I was looking at getting started with:
Cabela's had a kit that was about my price range and I thought I would ask about it. It's a St. Croix Premier 7'6" 4 weight rod with a Cabela's CSR reel for $165.00. I thought that wasn't too bad, but when I started reading I thought I would ask because every one says to dump money in the rod and get a cheap reel for starting. So I also looked around and found a few rods that may also work.
Redington Red.Fly 7'6" 4 weight - $99.00
St. Croix Reign 7'6" 4 weight - $130.00
Cortland Endurance 7'6" 4 weight - $139.95
Cabela's PT 7'6" 4 weight - $160.00
Fenwick HMG 7'6" 4 weight - $179.00
I have used Fenwick for years as my other rods, and have loved them....so I guess I expect the same results with their fly rods. That is why I am asking though, because I don't want to drop the $$ on it if is not any better than the alternatives. I guess I can't see that from Fenwick, but I don't know.
The reels I looked at where these:
Scientific Anglers Concept: 3.6oz 3-5 weight line - $34.99
Cabela's Prestige: 5.4oz 3-4 weight line - $49.99
Okuma Magnitude: 3.7oz 4-5 weight line - $59.99
Ross Flycast: 5.1oz 3-5 weight line - $60.00
Echo: 5.1oz 4-6 weight line -$69.99
I have no idea about the reels, so any recommendations would we appreciated
Lines/tippets....ummmm sure. About the only thing I know is I will be doing alot of floating presentations, so I am sure I am going to go with a floating line to start. I will go with a sinking line later on....but for now floating is the direction I am taking. I will probably get an extra spool with sinking line shortly after, but I can't spend everything all at once. One thing I saw recently is Scientific Anglers came out with a "quick change" leader of some sort. basically you tie this lil clip thing on the end of your line, and they have leaders you can just snap into place. It's supposed to have up to a 10lb break or something, and I thought that would be handy....ideas on that one?
I have rambled on far enough now, thanx in advance for your help!!!