BTW, what are you fishing for? Trout? Bass? Bluegill? Carp? I didn't think to ask, but that weighs heavily on what weight rod you want, of course.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: slabsides45,

Join Trout Unlimited, then find a local club to join. Friendly people, a lot of information, and they often organize outings/functions they put together, at least they do in my area.

How is your experience with other types of fishing? That would be spin cast, spinners, lures & even bait? Fly-fishing is another method.

The harder part with fly-fishing, as far as casting goes, is the long, accurate cast. Starting out, you don’t need long & accurate.

Easy intro fly-fishing is on a pond with panfish, light to zero wind towards evening, with a small popper. You won’t need long or accurate casting, keep mind of what’s behind you.

Besides a class, which could be very interesting, going with a friend or buddy would speed you along.

Just starting out I’d equip on the modest side.

I was visiting a friend in MT mid June, he’s pretty big into fly-fishing. He has all the specialty gear, ties his own flies, etc.. I started as a kid, mostly for panfish, much simpler than specialized trout fishing out West. I also think one doesn’t have to jump to heavily complicated starting out.

Fish naturally eat a lot of bugs. There have been times I had much more action with a ‘deer hair’ fly for bass than I ever would with a lure or spinner bait.

Here I am, wading in the waters of wisdom that is the Sig Forum, and look at how many "bites" I get!

If I'm half as lucky fly fishing, I'll be doing pretty good!

A HUGE THANKS to all of the information so far!
There's an Orvis not too far from me, and a friend told me to stop by the shop he goes to out in Indiana.

To answer a few questions-
I've spin-cast, trolled- used lures, live bait...
What am I going for? I don't know- I guess it depends on whatever stream / River / lake I'm at. Probably mostly fresh water. Not that I'm opposed to salt water, it's just that fresh water is easily accessible. Not just Midwestern stuff, I'll head out west in a heartbeat!
Trout, panfish, bass, bluegills...

I also totally get the concept of the entomology aspects of the area- try to use the same type of fly that the fish are eating.

I've checked out the websites, and went to the rim of the rabbit hole that is YouTube.


Did you know that there's a bamboo rod out there for over $6000? The rod... Just the rod... SIX GRAND? That damn thing better catch fish and a winning lottery ticket on its own!

Again- huge THANKS for a starting point!

Stupid question- do I really need waders right off the bat? Or can I get away with using a decent chest rig for a while?

(JHE888- if I had a "rich uncle", hopefully he'd toss me an Omega before an Orvis )

Find someone that you know, that you can meet in person, who can teach you how to fly cast.

This is a skill that I would compare to golf. 1,000 ways to do it wrong, but when you do it right it's amazing.

They can advise you on equipment as well.

Before you head out... practice practice practice. A little piece of yarn tied on the end of your line makes it visible and has just enough weight to cast for practice.

I started fly fishing a few years ago. I found it to be an absolute blast. My dad had told me that it was, but unfortunately he had passed before I had started. I bought a decent fly rod and reel (5 lb.) from Cabelas on sale. I fish out of a row boat with a trolling motor. Kinda working my way up to docks and piers catching mostly blue gill, large and small mouth bass…which by the way is a blast with light tackle. I have only used poppers up to this point. I don’t want to complicate it, but you have to match your fly line with your rod and your tippet (like monofilament) to your fly line. It’s especially nice to learn how to make your tippet out of monofilament. It really saved me a lot of money when I first started up. If you get on a lake late in the evening in late April and throughout May when the bugs are out it’s great fishing for sure. I live on a relatively shallow lake so as the summer heat comes on and the fish move to deeper water….well the fishing ain’t quite as good at least using top water poppers. Like someone said earlier the pole is actually an extension of your arm. Motion is @ 10 o’clock to 12 o’clock. Practice in your yard that will help. Give it a try…don’t go real high dollar at first. And like I mentioned earlier in this winded conversation of mine….it’s a blast!

I forgot to mention and I haven’t mastered it yet, but I find it extremely difficult to cast into any kind of wind. That’s on me I guess it can be done.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
Stupid question- do I really need waders right off the bat? Or can I get away with using a decent chest rig for a while?

(JHE888- if I had a "rich uncle", hopefully he'd toss me an Omega before an Orvis )

If you’re trout fishing, they like cold water, and waders will keep your legs warm. They’ll also protect your legs as you are bushwhacking your way to the stream.

A) Don’t be intimidated. Just watch some videos, and start.

B) Wulfe trainers/maybe some other brand, really do help with feel, etc. And, they are a good fidget device, if you’re someone who fidgets while thinking.

C) I got a basic bass pro combo package, many years ago - still have it, and it still works.

I have a few really useful gadgets - you said you already have a hemostat/forceps.

Boga grips are useful

So are the fly boxes which have the fly threader in the box. Hard to explain, but those boxes make tying on a fly much easier.

Get leaders which attach by the built in loop/tie your own loop if needed. It’s much easier to change leaders than flies, once you get to know some water and have it narrowed down to a handful of options.

CPD, you don't HAVE to get chest waders, but eventually if you wade fish for trout you'll want them. Trout like cold water, and unless you're fishing in the heat of the summer the combo of cold water with cold weather will get the better of you.

If you have some hip waders, those work too, just watch that you don't get too deep.