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Fly Fishing Beginner


bomber85

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Hi...I've got 2 trips planned next year, 1 to Tassie and the other to NZ for 6 weeks over the rugby world cup, and I thought to myself "better learn to fly fish". I would love some tips of what to buy initially (in the $300 range), weight class, length, line all that stuff. Have never fly fished before. I was thinking about a 6 weight but that's a bit of a guess. The ideal combo would also be able to be used in estuaries after flatties, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. cheers

Edited by bomber85
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Hey bomber85 if you do not need to buy a set up straight away save up and get a rod with a lifetime warranty something like a TFO, if its for saltwater get a saltwater reel and you will need to get two lines one for salty work turning over big flies and another for more delicate presentation for trout, if you can only afford one line then I suggest get a Rio Indicator or Grande, as for weight I would suggest a 5 or 6 weight, a 6 would be optimal as it can handle the wind here in NZ and you ca ncast big nymphs an dweighty bead heads just learn to double haul!

PM me if you want more info.

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A 6wt is a good all purpose rod for trout and other freshwater species. But the other would be an 8wt - it all depends on the type and fish you are after. Line- best bet is a floating line, weight forward. flatties and Trout are two different styles, with the flatties you need usually a sinking or sink tip line. If you fish trout in most rivers streams then a floating line is preferred but it is so individual and I am sure others here will give different opinions which is good because fly fishing is such a big area of variety. As a beginner- any reasonable rod will do. $300 should get you an ok set up. I would do a bit of homework and research where and when you want to fish in NZ and from there contact the guides/outfitters for those areas and ask their opinion. Again, this has been said a million times- if you are reasonably serious about flyfishing, forsake a few dollars and get a couple of lessons it will be a massive payoff and I cannot stress this enough. And you need to spend as much time as you can practicing casting. If you cant make regular trips to the water, then your backyard or local oval is fine- you should try and get in about an hour of casting everyday for the month leading up to the trip. The worst thing is that you pay big $$$ to go get a guide and fish great waters and then you cant cast for s&%t!. So it is really important to be able to cast at least 30 ft.

Anyway I could go on forever- but a 6wt is pretty good- that's what I use for 90% of my fishing, and have an 8wt for saltwater and bigger freshwater species.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Matt

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So there's a difference between salt and fresh reels then, no worries. thanks for the tips about lessons, have already got my xmas wish list in ;)

in one of the other forums someone suggested redington...is it any good??? Is the main difference between a fresh and saltwater reel just the corrosion thing or is there a difference in action.

cheers.

Edited by bomber85
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Hi mate

If you want to fish smaller rivers and streams in NZ then the 6wt would be the go. If your thinking of fishing Tongaria or the bigger river systems and lakes then I would go to 8wt.

Line class depends on the rod size but i think i would up the line size buy 1. So if you buy a 6wt then go 7wt line, 8wt rod 9wt line. This will help with casting specially if your beginning. I would suggest the line type for this style fishing is float weight forward or even shooting head.

A slatwater fly reel has a drag system and you fight the fish from the reel just like any other other type of rod reel combo. A fresh water reel just holds the line and you would usually fight the fish using the line running between your fingers. But for flathead and bream and bass this doent matter. It does if you get to kings and salmon and other fast moving units.

The line for saltwater fishing is diffeent though because you most likely would want a intermediate sinking line depending on how deep you want to fish it and how quickly you wan the fly to sink.

Cheers and good luck waving that wand.

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Thanks for that, now i think I'm ready to talk brands in the $300 range, does anyone have any insight that has been shopping recently, is any of the stuff on online auction sites ok?

Edited by bomber85
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for $350NZ you can get an airflo set up with a spare tip reel and line, as for thr mighty Tongariro I fish it with a 6 weight (there is a theory you need an eight to cast the weight that is true in a sense but it is more about leader length and line speed as well as the type of cast check some of the kiwi flyfishing forums!)

PM me and i can put you on track for a good fast action airflo kit it includes ther eentry level reel and the airflo platinum line the spare tip is great as this is usually the section you'll break, for estuary you can use your floater with one of the extra fast poly sink tip leaders from airlo it will get the line down and create an intermediate sink tip effect.

Let me know where you will be in NZ and i can give you a list of must do high population trout rivers, heres one the Waihou near Puturu its where they held the world champs! Approx 1000 Rainbows per kilometre of river! Ranging from 1/2lb to 4lb :thumbup:

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in one of the other forums someone suggested redington...is it any good???

Redington have been making Fly rods'n'reels for yonks and were bought out by Sage some time ago. Their Fly rods are good quality, my 5wt 4 piece is a Redington CT Trout Classic and I love it. They are certainly worth the money, never looked at their reels though?

Cheers

Windy

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awesome thanks very much fellas, will definitely be hitting you up for some secret spots "luderick-angler"!! Am going to be all over NZ north and south following the mighty All Blacks around, and the girlfriend loves her wobbalies too!

Now I've had a good look at those TFO's, geez they look the go, nice 4 piece 9ft 6wt for $150 with case and warranty!

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bomber in terms of range nad the offer of a lifetime warranty I would rate the TFO series only behind Sage, Loomis and Scott. It's a big call but they are widely available offer an awesome warranty and there are rods for beginners and experts alike, I have the TiCR 6 weight its a gun tool and is the mid level rod at approx $450 - $500 very fast and reifoced with Titanium and Chromium in the blank to help prevent bruising of the rod when hit by a tungsten bead head on the cast, the professional series are great and are a more mederate action but can still cast a weight, my other go to tool at the moment is a Sage vantage and for $650 Nz you get the rod reel and line! Check out some of the Aussie forums for flyfishing as they have trade and sell sections and you can get a very good sage at a reasonable price and sage will usually honour warranty even if you are not the first owner that has been the experience here in NZ oh and get some on water experience on the Fish River great browns and will giv eyou great practice for NZ!

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"oh and get some on water experience on the Fish River great browns and will giv eyou great practice for NZ!"

i have heard that it's pretty good at Fish River, i'm only new to the bathurst region but will be definitely hitting up the local spots once i'm kitted out. Thanks again for all your help during the steep learning curve, and everyone else too of course.

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