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"practice" rod for a novice

3K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  MJC 
#1 ·
It's been about 30 years since I've used a fly rod. I'm taking my sons out West this summer and we are planning a day of fly fishing. We'd like to practice a bit before we go. There are some inexpensive rods rod/reel combo's listed on e-bay (Daiwa Apollo 1845, Eagle Claw 8' 6/7 wt rod with eagle claw 1010 reel, Willow Creek 8'5" 7/8 wt rod with martin 68 reel).

Would any of these be a good choice to buy so we can practice? We will likely do some pond fishing for bluegill here in Indiana, so it will get some additional use.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Scientific Angler's

why not buy some of their tackle from a local Walley World,,,,Wal-Mart,,,the standard ol' `wetcell' lines are tough to beat in terms of longevity,,,the `practically free'lines alone warrent a purchase on their rods,reels,especially if you're trying to break totally new folks to the rod,plus Redshed Flyshop probably has some courtland ~combo~ rods /reels,,;)
 
#4 ·
Since this rod is for practice and a bit of (hopefully) bluegill fishing, I'd like to get by for under $50. I already have three bicycles for my summer 'habit' and a couple of pair of skis for my winter 'habit', so I don't want to spend a lot right now on a new hobby.

I checked at our local Wal-mart and they do not sell fly rods. Do you have any opinion on the ones I listed at the start of the thread? What about availability of used rods?

Thanks for the reply.
 
#5 ·
whoops

sorry about that,should have read`drycell'line,,my reasoning was,everyone would have the same outfit,,therefore if someone broke a part/piece ,,aren't you buying multiple `setups',,,they have SA rods here for twenty bucks!,,astounding really,,cork grips,green graphite blanks,probably have a one year guarantee,and i believe they're 5-6 wt. nine ft.,,if i was going to buy used i'd look at an old fenwick ,just because of the memories of all the fishing trips i've taken with these,,sounds like you need to buy a `spey' rod or two,maybe three,,,no need for all those `habits',,addictions are WAY better!:hehe:
 
#7 ·
Scientific Angler

they're owned by 3-M ,im' asuming they must have been the supplier of the materials used to manufacture their flylines???,,and they bought out SA=Scientific Anglers,?,`here',,, is the steelhead capitol!,,Rogue River Oregon,,why not look up `Wal-Mart' Grants Pass oregon,,the Medford Ore.store has them too,or did,,heck,,,i'd get a haircut,,but the river's between the hair house and here,!,,i just thought it 's such a wonderful thing for starting out,getting people started in the game,the glass combo rods that everyone sells are just to soft,my brother in-law bought a couple of them and,,well,,,,,,,,,,id buy four of these SA rods for working out of a driftboat but i prefer 8 wt's,,,who knows' maybe they have them too somewhere,,my tackle get's used because i'm quick to hand rods to people that aren't `flyfolks',,one MUST spread the word!,,,matching tackle allowes you to keep going,,this is why i focus on one type `spey' reel for instance,if it's just you, buy whatever,,if you're outfitting your kids/grandkids,well,,,like my kids years back the spincast reels,the cover'd pop off, trigger would fall out,kids get bored quick,,,,hey PM me if you want,,i haven't been to walley world in awhile,,i'll help if i can,5 years on the drycell lines,,still taking fish!!! do have some cracking but they've earned every one;)
 
#8 ·
Hey Cowdoc...

The Eagle Claw outfit will work for the senerio you describe. For a line I would get a weight forward 7 (WF7) floater. Three fairly inexpensive brands of lines that are very good are the Airflo "TruCast", Scientific Anglers Air Cell Supreme, and Cortland 333. A 7'6" tapered knotless leader with a 4lb tip, a few foam bugs or small poppers and you will be set for those bluegills. Have fun!
 
#9 ·
eagle claw

just saw an eagle claw `granger' had what looked like a `pac-bay' woven graphite reelseat,,about 35 bucks,,for just the reelseat,,,,the whole rod was 39 bucks!!!,,,sure make me wonder!!!they had a pile of rods at walley's 20 bucks,amazing!!,don't you have some combos MJC,,heck he's taking some kids speyfishing,,er,,, fishing!;)
 
#10 ·
Yo Hammer...

Yes, I could come up with a nice outfit and while quite reasonably priced I felt from reading "cowdoc's" post that he didn't want to spend a lot. I don't find anything wrong with that and tried to answer his question within the parameters that he ask it. I would just love to sell him some tackle but he didn't ask about my tackle. I know that Eagle Claw outfit (and probably the other two as well) will work just fine for those Indiana bluegills and I've caught a hell of a lot of trout out west on an Eagle Claw fly rod.

You on the other hand are a dyed in the wool "speyfreak" and I would be most happy to sell you some spey tackle.:devil:
 
#11 ·
yeah

MJC,,,my wife's getting ugly about it,heeheee,,but i have been using single-handers lately,,dam water's to warm for these spring chinook ,i'm going to end up upriver where the water's COLD,and the crowds massive,only thing saving the trips have been the flyrods,,reall weird though walking down a boatramp without a big ol' cannon,,happenned twice last week,,feels sorta' naked,,in a bad way,not a good way,,heehahehahhhoooie!!!wulff TT's ,,got any small `spey' lines,,like a 7 or nine or ,,? what's availlable,i have a seventy ft, and 80 ft'rs,,the 80's ARE sweet,,a nice sweet ,not a bad swe----heehehahahaahha:hehe:
 
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