Should I get a fly rod

[krazyfisher]

ok abit to cover but
should I get into fly fishing and why?
how much should I spend on a rod and reel?
how much would the rest on the accesories cost to get started?
and what is the catch rate compared to lure fishing?
I know this is hard to answer but just ball park.
thanks :)

[Rosso]

OK, i have been a bait fisherman for years and then onto lure and finally (in the last year) fly. So...i will answer your questions to my ability.

Q) should I get into fly fishing and why?
A) Yes! Because you will outfish anyone with bait and lure.

Q) how much should I spend on a rod and reel?
A) Anywhere between $150 - $300. That should get you a decent rod with a decent reel, maybe even backing or a line (if its cheap with the line don't get it!) In brisbane goto The Tackle Shop are Carseldine or the Tackle Warehouse at Caparoo for a nice selection.

Q) how much would the rest on the accesories cost to get started?
A) Line cost varies from brand to what your going to fish (sinking,floating or intermediate). Flies to buy are something around the $5 mark(give or take) to buy and about $2 or so to make. You have to watch out for materials you get. Pliers, Boxes, tippet, clippers shouldn't cost you any more then $60 tops (for the lot).

Q) and what is the catch rate compared to lure fishing?
A) Urr...well this one is abit out of my league because i haven't done both for all that long, but it does catch alot more because the flies look,swim and have the same texture (or close to) the real thing.

Q) I know this is hard to answer but just ball park.
A) Come to the Bullocks Rest, North Pine dam next sunday. I have been told there will be people there who will show and convice you for sure!

Regards

Rosso.

[Maxg]

Answer, Forget the hype, and all of the re-inventing of the wheel, do it only if you want to. It isn't any better at catching fish than other methods, particularly bait, and spin rigs with white lead head jigs and plastics. The best rod to get, a Templefork 9 weight, the best reel probably a Felty for the job in hand. Lines can be standard Weight foward lines backing Dacron or Micron and you can tie a fly in nothing flat without expensive vyces etc.
Fly fishing in the salt is just another method of catching fish, it isn't any better than anything else, the best lures are fresh or live baits, next are lead head jigs or plastics and flies actually come last in the productive cycle because there are places you just can't use the gear while you can use spinning rigs etc.
If flies were better than anything else people would have caught marlin off the rocks on fly, around Jervis Bay years ago, but the truth is they haven't but they have caught a stack of billies on baits. Spend as much as you can afford, but better gear has a better resale value if you get fed up catching zilch. Cheers and have fun. Max

[Muzzy]

do it it cant hurt...

I chose to start fly fishing so I could do it, not to catch more fish as bait fising rules there IMHO...

So I use all methods just about all the time. I take out handlines baitcasters and the fly rods. every bit of equipment gets a flogging untill one is producing more than the other then I stick to that. I feel I'm a better tradesman cause I can use more tools. It is personal opinion only like max says nothing is 100% mickey mouse better than the other.

just have fun weather its with a stinky prawn bait or a flash looking bit of feather a fur, so long as you think your cool every one else can stick it up their...

But one thing I like about fly fishing is this...

now when I go out for a flyfish I try to have a better casting day than the last and any fish are mearly ice cream. Where as with me baitcaster it was all about fish fish fish...

It cant hurt to have one more weapon in the shed, cause when the fly is outfishing other tackle (sometimes it does but not often enough to say its better) at least you can play the game...

Spend what you are comfy with spending I started on an abu fly max combo from Kmart for 190 bucks or something I got a rod with floating line and backing ready to fish. I felt comfy using this equipement so I did and I had fun. Sure there is more expencive shit out there but if ya aint comfy using it how could it be labled as better? So set your budget and go for that but 300 odd bucks got me fishing fly with a heap of change.

Yes abu combos do stop quality fish, end of the day unless you are fighting the monsters ya dont need a reel for much more than holding a line. 70cm barra very rarley pull to the reel so I cant see no flat head doing it.

Muz

[Steve_Ooi]

Basically people fly fish for the same reason they do other forms of fishing.
Because they enjoy it..
Try it you might like it. :)

Poony

[richard_m_h]

Hi,
I find fly fishing more intense than other fishing. I have to concentrate a lot more and hence enjoy it more. Its a lot like stalking. Sometimes I get more than the bait fishermen sometimes I don't. I started out fly fishing while waiting for a bite on a bait rod but now only fly fish. You can get set up for a few hundrd dollars, but it depends a bit on what you are fishing for. (you need a better reel in the salt)
R

[mick]

hmmm should you get into fly fishing.


look at who your asking

its like asking a car dealer "should i buy a car"
i'd recomend an abu combo and steer clear of the kmart combo packs. fly tying is great for when the weathers bad. or you just need to escape the missus. i catch more on lures but its a better fight on fly.

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Go nuts.
It's certainly a different challenge and it's now something I really enjoy - especially catching a fish on a fly you've tied yourself. ;D

[Rosso]

i'd recomend an abu combo and steer clear of the kmart combo packs. .

I actually have alot of ABU baitcasters and multipliers, but not one fly real. I hear that the ABU make a real crap fly real (dunno about the rod though)

Actually when it comes to any type of fishing gear (exp rods) don't buy from kmart. The staff there don't care about the stuff and it would be more damaged/dropped/trodden/etc then the stuff at the tackle stores. You might pay abit more $$$ at the tackle stores, but the service is far far better.

I would also like to mention it depends on what you want to fish for. If you after the stuff in the dams then your looking at rods weighted perhaps 7 and under. If your "Tuna Chucking" then your looking at 9+ and probably one of the lifetime warranty ones (that are close to the grand mark in price...)

I personally think that fly fishing is better then any other forms because it can take you to the most magic places on earth.

Also, casting the fly (and creating it) is an art. Like all art forms if you don't do it correctly the first time, you practice it until you get better at it. And thats where the magic is. When it comes to flies i have actually seen a tied huntsman spider. It took the guy something like 20 or so hours to do. Looks bloody realistic as well!

One last thing. bait cost money and will start to smell if you don't look after it (ie freeze) Lures cost roughly $15 a pop. Flies, to produce are worth about $2 each. and you can have a box the size of your hand full of them (which can be something between 40-80). You don't need to carry around a huge tackle box, you don't need to keep them frozen or try to bite you when you attempt to impale them with a hook.

Stick your box is your pocket, grab your rod and thats all you basically need to get away...

Good luck.

Rosso.

[swflyfish]

I was very surprised to get the negative tones in the reply from Max. Of course he is going to give the temple fork a rap as he has an active interest in them. Try a lot of brands and decide on what is best for you both in price and quality. Also- the fly will (at times) outfish other modes of fishing. I have had a stack of times when i have fished the fly against someone fishing lures and the catch rate on fly has been a lot higher. There are also places where the fly is the only way to fish and bait and lure just won't cut it.
Flyfishing is an active mode of fishing and to get the results you sometimes have to continually move and seek water where the fish are- that is what is great about it. You have to learn a lot more about the fish to be successful as well- what do they eat? where do they live?, what tides and moons do they work on? what sort of retrieve will bring the strike?

Catching fish on the fly is very enjoyable and rewarding and it is more a way of like than a way of fishing. You will also find that a lot more people tend to practise catch and release while flyfishing.

[Muzzy]

I actually have alot of ABU baitcasters and multipliers, but not one fly real. #I hear that the ABU make a real crap fly real (dunno about the rod though)





have stopped well over 10 milkfish on one... reckon thats a good a test as any... but it does not click any more when it spins backwards, but thats better as that noised pissed me any way. Reel is still used and abused...

like any tool it is only as good as the tradesman using it.

as for Kmart, for me the fact the staff know diddle squat is a plus. that way they dont try and shove a bloody loomis down ya throat when alls ya need is a rod. As for handling an inspection prior to purchase, and they do replace stuff. i have had one rod replaced cause I didnt notice the eyelet on the guide was loose.

One thing we all forget is not all that pick up the fly rod stick at it, as it sometimes is much ado about nothing. So why chop and arm off strait away, why not just a finger, I would rather waste me finger than me arm ie buy a cheapie then get and flash one...

each to their own but those abu rods and reels when used with in the capabilities will do any thing any other rod would do IMHO that is.
especially if ya areonly chasing whiting flathead etc etc cant see a tailor pulling a milkfish backwards either.

Also me mate took his first barra on fly with one 93cm is another good test in heavy lilly cover.

when I break it I might replace it with a sugar coated casting rocket, but till then I only needs a fishing rod.

rather than really crap I like to think the abu reel is basic like their baitcasters but definetly not crap it works to well for that.

[Maxg]

I've read all this stuff but in getting gear you need reasonable reels and rods. Cheap is cheap, both in performance and resale value. I've been through this stuff, when I walked into a shop in 1967 and said, I want a fly rod to fish in salt water, the guy went, "dunno, don't have anything", then he grabbed a Jervis Walker bream rod, sawed off the bottom grip and said "There you go Max, fly rod". Funnily enough it threw a 5 weight line and actually worked well enough to catch a little GT second cast, a long tom third cast and a Queenfish fourth.
But I still suggest a Temple Fork Rod in 9 weight at least and a Felty reel.
Both are good performers, and the TFO is star quality at a cheap price.
But start off knowing that its great stuff, just another fishing method, and leave the other gear at home.
Cheerts Max

[Rosso]

but it does not click any more when it spins backwards, but thats better as that noised pissed me any way. Reel is still used and abused...
.

Heh, when they first came out, they had a lifetime warranty. My father has one of the first ones, and when it broken he actually sent it all the way back to sweden for repair. You can't do that nowdays! *sighs*

Do you have the manual? It has a exploded diagram of it for service (and you can order the parts trough your tackle store)

BTW what do you mean "spin backwards" Are you refering to when you cast it, or when you have the drag set?

Rosso

[Stuie_02]

Hey Krazy

I would go with the Temple Fork Outfitters i have two now. The #12 is nice max works well on bream.

I wouldnt go with the chopped up bream stick.There are loads of good entery level fly fishing gear out there.

Why i picked up SWF is i like the idea of sport fishing i guess. hey #12 and bream aint sport i know but i works. i will stick with the #7 for that stuff geeez.

with the fly rod i think you have more control and input into the whole scenario more than bait or lures. It more encompassing and more i have to catch that fish type thinking.

Cheers
Stuie

PS have a look at your local fly club if your in Vic give me an email and come swoofing.

[vince]

You catch one fish on a fly than you won't go back to bait fishing.
Vince.

[krazyfisher]

well thanks everyone I have found a couple of fly set ups that I can take for the weekend and try as soon as I get time I will give it a go and let you know what I think
thanks again

[Maxg]

Perhaps you should recognise that asking that question on a fly forum is going to get a lot of very biased replies, maybe you should ask the same question on other forums. I find that its fun, but so are other types of gear. Cheers Max

[troutstalker]

#### bait slingin. From my expierience, bait slingers kill fish, even if they release most swallow hooks and end up floatin.they also leave trash everywhere. i guess hardware is okay if u use single barbless hooks, but please, stay away from treble. in my opinion,flyrod is funnest, most challenging, and the best way to go. T&T baby! pinch down your barbs and become a real sportsman. J/K but it is smart to do. peace

[Maxg]

Firstly lets get a few things straight. I didn't start SWF in 1967 because it caught more fish, I started it because it was harder, it still is. Fly fishing is not the be all and end all of salt water fishing. I can catch more fish in more places using a spin outfit and lead head jigs, than I can on fly and that means shallow estuary, off rocks, off boats whatever. The reason is simple, you need specific sea/weather/site conditions to use fly outfits, while you can cast spin gear just about anywhere. But I can also handle larger fish on the threadline gear, than most people could on 9 weights like. I think thats been proven about 1000 times. My SWF gear is mostly 12# stuff and I use it anywhere. These days my prime fly outfit is a 10/11# 15' Talon double hander. Where "You" might use a 8 or 9# I'll use a 12# because then I don't give a dam what gets on the end, and little stuff gets despatched in short order and are fine for release. But I always use shooting heads and special running lines and usually I use large flies, which is a sort of size filter. I don't want little fish. I generally use 15/18lb line on a fibreglass 8'6" rod with a fair threadline reel, and I cast 1.5 ounce white lead head jigs or lead/tin silver jigs. I once did the sportfishing thing, but now I'm old, like, practical common sense stuff is more important to me than funny and fancy ideas. I do my thing my way.
Of course it might not suit a few Gurus, but who the hell cares about that. Max