Looking for an intro level UL fly fishing kit

[arvinsmee]

After an amazing breakfast of pan fried trout supplied by a generous neighbor on Moon Lake in the Weminuche this past August, I vowed not to return to Colorado without a fly fishing rod in my pack. I've done some reading up on what to buy, but most of the material out there is either catering to novices who want something cheap and forgiving or experts looking for UL gear for backpacking. I'm wondering if yall could help me find something a little bit in between. I'm hoping for a kit <$100 and <1lb (but I understand that might be a little unrealistic).

I grew up on the water (Annapolis, MD) so I'm plenty familiar with fishing in general, but all I know of fly fishing what I've picked up from youtube over the last month. Is it reasonable to expect that with some practice in mountains of VA, I could fish the alpine lakes of CO and count on getting a least a few trout? Or is this one of those things where you need to pick the right fly for the right time of day for the right season, taking the lunar cycle and Jupiter's alignment into consideration? I went fishing this past summer on the coast of Maine, armed only with a few recommended lures and tips I found online. We didn't catch a damn thing. In other words, is fly fishing something you can teach yourself?

[pgunnz]

How flexible are you with your budget? $100 is going to be pretty limiting for a fly set up. You can't go wrong with a Redington or St Croix.

[arvinsmee]

I could pay more, but I'm a little wary of spending too much as I'm just getting started and I have no idea how much use this kit would actually get.

edit: In a perfect world, I'd have a friend to lend me a rod and show me the ropes, to make sure this is something that I enjoy before I drop that much $$$. But no one fly fishes around here so I don't have that luxury. So I'm stuck between buying some crap, with the risk I might just upgrade later, or buying a nice rig that might end up sitting in the closet.

[hessma]

A buddy of mine purchased one of these when he came out.
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx ... 8y4p&rdr=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He was new to fly fishing so he used a water bobber and leader for his spin setup, then he switched to the fly rod once he figured out what they were biting on. Was a great way to build some confidence.

I recommend trying it out for awhile to get the basic casts down, and check out the local fly shops when you are in town to see what flies are hot in the area you want to go.

[pgunnz]

I know Redington has an outfit for $100 that is a good starter (rod, reel, backing, fly line, leader) and you would just need to get some flies and some tippet. It won't be amazing but it is a good starting point. I looked around and Cabela's has some of their brand for sub $100, I don't have any experience with their rods and reels but it could also be a good starting point. When you get more into it you can spend more on your rod and just get a decent reel. The reel on a fly set up is not used too much other than to hold the line and reel in the fish. Fly reels can get as expensive as the rod, there are some that are crazy expensive out there but really not needed.

[SkaredShtles]

I can vouch for the Redington "starter" kit - we got 3 of them for our kids and only one rod has broken thus far. Reels are basic, rods are decent.

[arvinsmee]

thanks for all the responses so far. that redington kit looks right on the money.

they don't list the weights on the website for the kit, but 7'6 rod is 2.6oz and the reel+spool is 6.6oz. assuming the line plus a few flies aren't over 7 oz, it looks like the weight would stay under a pound, no?

coming from a saltwater (well, more brackish tbh) background this is pure insanity. if someone told you me you could fish in the mountains by just lugging and extra pound of gear with you i'd have been on this thing years ago.

[hessma]

FWIW, the Orvis set up is like 1.5 lbs stripped down without the case and you now have two rods (which is helpful from a contingency perspective). They also have $25 off with free shipping bringing the price down to $200 for the full ready to go package. My noob fly friend, who is also an excellent fisherman, spent significantly more time running the spin gear because, well he caught more fish and that is what he wanted to do. He did love the fly rod though and the set turned out to be a really nice piece of gear. The action was very responsive. Just wanted to provide more info for you.

[dwoodward13]

I've got a Cabela's Stowaway Rod that I've had for at least 10 years. Mine folds into 5 pieces so its a breeze to carry in a backpack, but these will double your price range when you add in a reel and such. I started on one of the starter kits and its not a bad place to start just to see if you have interest in fly fishing before upgrading from there.


As far as fishing in alpine lakes, my dad and I have been going on annual summer backpacking trips in (mostly) Colorado for 8 years running and we've only been skunked on 3ish lakes out of the 30 or so we've tried. Helps to create an trip that hits up multiple lakes so if one isn't hitting, you can move on to the next one. For example this past summer our first backpacking segment of the trip was up to Gourd Lake in the IPWA and didn't even see a fish for 2 days, but the next segment at Heart and Rogers Pass Lakes in the JPWA, anything you threw in the water would catch a fish. Almost to the point that it got boring!

[Turtle Boy]

There are a lot of good comments here but I'll add a few comments. I try to take a rod on every backpack unless I need to seriously minimize weight. My total rig is about 1 1/2lbs. However, like gear in general, going light costs more.

I bought the Redington Path Combo for my wife. I have used it as well and she took it on a 5 day 4 night BP to the Big Horns this summer. The price is right and it performs pretty well. The downsides are it's heavy and is a 4 piece which will stick up above your pack (think off trail).

The March Brown 7 piece is my go to BP rig however they've been flaky recently and are probably outside your price range given your initial post.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Orvis Frequent Flyer Rod is a great rod. I tested it this past summer. The tip flex on the 9 ft 5 wt will allow you to punch through the ever present wind and is a good deal at $235 (even if it's above your budget). The package deal with Reel and Line at $335 isn't bad either - just price line and reels separately and you'll see what I mean

I can't say anything about the Cabela's Stowaway Rod mentioned. It is a good price. However a lot of the price of rods is in the warranty. There are two types of Fly Fisherman - those who have broken a rod and those who will break a rod. For all of the above rods it would be worth checking to see what you get for your money warranty wise.

Weight is a big deal for sure. Swap the rod case out for a cut down florescent light tube holder (a couple of bucks) and you save a pound or more. Wet wade. Minimize gear to the basics - nippers, hemostats, floatant and the Orivis light weight foam fly holder. The next big weight saver is going with a light weight reel. Yeah, I know you're supposed to balance things but in this case weight trumps all.

Regarding flies, if you're fishing a heavily pressured tail water go for the "taking the lunar cycle and Jupiter's alignment" flies However for the high country the basics work very well - a variety of Caddis, Parachute Adams and a go to for me the Black Gnat. You can add others but I can go out with these and catch fish. If fishing sub surface the imitations of the above like Pheasant tail, Gold Ribbed Hares ear and Rainbow Warrior work.

It's tough to teach fly fishing to yourself however it can be done. I'd pick up Gary Borgers DVD on Casting and Kirk Deeters Little Red Book of Fly Fishing. However taking a class will save a WHOLE LOT of frustration and aggravation and get you catching more fish faster.

The toughest part of finding a rod is finding one that works best for the way you cast. A class can also help you sort that out potentially saving you an expensive mistake rod wise.

[arvinsmee]

Thanks for the info on classes - I'll be checking out whats available in the area.