quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Orvis Clearwater is decent. I like TFO and Redington in the entry-grade rods. 5wt is the universal "only rod" weight. Match your rod weight to the wind and the size fly you are throwing, not necessarily to the size fish you are chasing. If you're nymphing small flies most of the time, you may like going down to a 4 wt or even 3. If you're throwing streamers most of the time, you might go up to a 6.

You can also find a nice cheap used reel and a more decent rod for nearly the same prices. The St Croix Imperial is a fantastic rod in the $200 range.

Yes! Higher up the mountains and rivers you go the less food and the smaller the trout tend to be. I like a 4wt for the average Utah trout. 4wt has a bit lighter feel and is a bit more sensitive. High country streams i take a 3wt. I have Reddington, Loomis, TFO, Sage, Cabelas and Orvis rods. All the rods mentioned in this thread will do you well.

I have to tell off on myself here, thought this was pretty funny (and somewhat pathetic, lol). After reading these fly fishing threads, I went out this weekend and fished in a local pond owned by a friend. Had a decent couple hours, caught some crappie and some bream, and realized how rusty my casting had become.

The funny is, as I went to get out my gear I realized that I had gone a bit overboard when I got into fly fishing initially, so I actually owned 3 different fly rod/reel sets: the LL Bean in 5 wt, an Orvis Clearwater set in 6 , and an Orvis Helios 2 in 7 weight that I got for Redfishing down in Louisiana. Also had a box o' flies.... I might have a problem with spontaneity

Orvis makes good stuff, as does Fenwick and Sage. I use all Sage gear myself, but I've been at it for decades and will stick with it, so spending the money on the quality stuff was not an issue.

My recommendation is to get a Cabelas set in a 4wt for the waters you'll be fishing around there. Not sure where you're at in PA, but a 4wt rod will be perfect for places like LeTort and Yellow Breeches. Once you get good with the smaller streams you can move up to a 6wt and hit the bigger water like the Delaware. I've had some good fishing trips out your way.

Cabelas gear is affordable, and if you find you don't care for it, you won't have a $1000 worth of gear gathering dust.

Edge rods, google it. I have nine of them expensive but worth every penny. Gary Loomis makes the blanks his company is north fork composites.

I have breathable waders I use duck hunting. They'll work fine and have a removable insulated liner. Also have a pair of cabelas breathable waders I don't use much since they're noisy. I guy is selling a sage gfl 590ds. It's a 2 piece 9ft 5wt. I was looking at the llbean combo. So far I haven't found a promo code that works. I've always enjoyed fishing, both salt and freshwater. As my kids get older I hope to find more time to get out on my own or with them. I think fly fishing will stick...just won't as often as I'd like.

I'd get a 5wt, 2 piece Orvis (or equiv.) 8'6". Basic reel from Orvis or anyone really. If you get into it - give tying your own flies a try!

quote:

Originally posted by DonDraper:
If you get into it - give tying your own flies a try!

Tying your own is half the fun. Quick story:

Some years back, I went over to the northfork of the Clearwater in ID for a weekend. It was in the fall and the best time to visit that area.

Turns out, the first day, I threw everything I had at them and got zero hits. Not one. That evening, I was throwing yet another fly out there to no avail when I got hit in the neck by some big-assed bug. I slapped it dead and pulled it off. It was a huge orange caddis fly, and I thought, "what the heck, nothing else is working".

So, I went back to my camper that night and tied up a few of them (very similar to a stimulater), and caught probably 50 fish the next day.

Tying your own is the only way to go.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Orvis Clearwater is decent. I like TFO and Redington in the entry-grade rods. 5wt is the universal "only rod" weight. Match your rod weight to the wind and the size fly you are throwing, not necessarily to the size fish you are chasing. If you're nymphing small flies most of the time, you may like going down to a 4 wt or even 3. If you're throwing streamers most of the time, you might go up to a 6.

You can also find a nice cheap used reel and a more decent rod for nearly the same prices. The St Croix Imperial is a fantastic rod in the $200 range.

Some good points made. I do think the size of the fish vs rod wt. comes into play somewhat when you start sliding into really big or really small fish and the currents you will fight them in, but considering how much wind your rod and line need to punch through is an important factor...as well as the size of the flies you think you will be tossing.

Also, a good point on looking at used gear. Some deals to be found on some good used gear. One of the fly shops I deal with has an annual Guide Sale every Fall and the shop guides sell their own personal gear...everything from rods and reels, waders, and even belly or drift boats. You can score some decent used professional grade gear while helping out a really nice bunch of anglers.

quote:

Originally posted by slabsides45:
I have to tell off on myself here, thought this was pretty funny (and somewhat pathetic, lol). After reading these fly fishing threads, I went out this weekend and fished in a local pond owned by a friend. Had a decent couple hours, caught some crappie and some bream, and realized how rusty my casting had become.

The funny is, as I went to get out my gear I realized that I had gone a bit overboard when I got into fly fishing initially, so I actually owned 3 different fly rod/reel sets: the LL Bean in 5 wt, an Orvis Clearwater set in 6 , and an Orvis Helios 2 in 7 weight that I got for Redfishing down in Louisiana. Also had a box o' flies.... I might have a problem with spontaneity

Brother, you ain't alone on this. Have had some serious health issues and personal circumstances that have kept me off the water for several years now. Even when I was regularly fishing my casting shoulder would bother me after a long day due to a motorcycle injury when I was much younger...and now my shoulder bothers me even more. I'm a bit hesitant to start casting again partly because I don't want to re-injure it and partly because I know just how rusty my casting will be...to be successful at fly fishing a good angler will need to string together several skills and I've managed to become proficient at several of them...but truth be told I've never developed a good natural cast. Every once in a while I find myself making some picture perfect cast, especially when I'm more focused on a different thing, but often I have to really work to make a decent cast.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by DonDraper:
If you get into it - give tying your own flies a try!

Tying your own is half the fun. Quick story:

Some years back, I went over to the northfork of the Clearwater in ID for a weekend. It was in the fall and the best time to visit that area.

Turns out, the first day, I threw everything I had at them and got zero hits. Not one. That evening, I was throwing yet another fly out there to no avail when I got hit in the neck by some big-assed bug. I slapped it dead and pulled it off. It was a huge orange caddis fly, and I thought, "what the heck, nothing else is working".

So, I went back to my camper that night and tied up a few of them (very similar to a stimulater), and caught probably 50 fish the next day.

Tying your own is the only way to go.

I never got into tying myself, but not because I'm not interested in it but I just never made the time to take a couple classes and learn how to do it.

But you are correct...tying can put you into fish you might not otherwise hook into.

Years ago I used to fly fish with a co-worker. He wasn't your "typical" angler, he was a short Hispanic guy with a very fast casting action and he would just thrash the streams. Whereas I'm a more patient and slower angler that completely works a stretch of water before lazily moving on he was a mover, man he would really cover a stretch of water fast...he was also a part time professional fly fishing guide.

Anyways, we hit a stretch of the "Dream Stream" which is a Gold Medal Catch & Release fishery that usually produces some nice quality fish but they don't come cheap...you gotta work for these bad boys. Anyways my friend and I spend the first half of the day there and we get skunked...now it's not completely unheard of for me to get skunked, but my friend-not in all the years I had fished with him had I ever seen him get skunked.

So he suggests that we pack it in and drive to a different part of the stream that we both knew well and was typically very productive and I'm game so we keep the waders on and head out. We make it to the upper stretch of the river in the Canyon just below the dam in a stretch known for holding many trout. We see 'em, we see 'em feeding at the surface, we fish to them...and we strike out. Nothing, nada. We try different patterns, we try the divide and conquer strategy, we switch sizes, we switch colors, with one small fish we manage to hook we even pumped his stomach (not something we normally do) but no luck, nope, nada.

I was hesitant to leave the fish we saw (what's the old adage, you never leave fish to find fish) but my friend is impatient and his strategy is that if you can't hook into one bunch of fish you move on and try to find a hungrier bunch. Well his fishing style quickly leads him to outpace me and he's @ 100 yrds + downstream from me and I find myself fishing a stretch he had previously fished. By this time it is late afternoon/ early evening. All of a sudden I hook into a nice Rainbow and after a brief struggle manage to land him. I toss the same fly again and it produces another strike. My friend, seeing my action, comes back up to check out my fly. He looks through the flies he had tied and picks out a red fly (a small Red Annelid)...not something we had any reason to tie on or believe it would work, but based on the color and size of my fly he ties on a red anelid...next thing I know my friend is putting on a SHOW! I tied into a few more trout but my friend must have landed 40 + in a couple hours...I've never seen a spectacle like that before or since. At one point I quit fishing just to watch my friend's demonstration and to help him land fish so that he could make the next cast as quickly as possible. Eventually after a couple hours the action died down and we decided we could head home with our heads held high.

I've seen a handful of die-hard anglers tying flies in their waders on the side of the stream...from vice to water in minutes.

Caddis are a BIG hatch on a couple rivers here. I've fished several Caddis hatches where the Caddis were so thick that they would crawl under your eye or sunglasses and crawl all over your neck and face and arms and down your shirt. I even read one account where a fishing guide had to take one of his clients off the water and into an Emergency Care Clinic because a Caddis had crawled into his ear and got stuck.

Caddis = tasty cheeseburger for trout at certain times of the year here.