Another Beginner

1978 Views 15 Replies 4 Participants Last post by nomad_archer, May 31, 2016

nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · May 20, 2016

Hi,
I am another beginner here. I am getting back into fishing a bit more after being a casual 2-3 day a year trout/bass fisherman for the last 10 years. I have gotten back into spin fishing this year and have had a great time.

I have been curious about fly fishing, back in college I picked up a shakespeare 3 piece combo and caught several salmon/steelhead in NY. Frankly I am unsure how I caught anything because I have no idea what I was doing. Most of the fish caught were from a very nice fisherman that gave me a fly after watching me struggle. I proceeded to catch numerous fish until one finally broke off taking the fly with him. So with that said I am mainly going to target trout in south central/south east pa. Hopefully, I wont need to spend a significant amount to try fly fishing again.

So what I have equipment wise
8 foot shakespeare 3 piece rod with 10 year old line.
two boxes of flys but I do not know what I have or if/when it would be appropriate to use.

So my questions are:
Though the rod is not much is it appropriate or serviceable for trout?
I am guessing I need to replace the fly line/tippet the rod says #5/#6 fly line - any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
As for fly's have some most were given to me by my uncle, some where purchased but I have no idea if any would apply to trout. So any help here would be appreciated. If I should pick a few new flies then so be it.

Thanks in advance.
Here is what I have:

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 21, 2016

That's great to hear. Do I need to replace the fly line that has been on the reel for 10 years? Any recommendations for the type of leader as well?

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 21, 2016

I think I will try to run the line as it is. Just new leader/tippet. I will save the money on the line in case I really enjoy this so I can put that money towards a new outfit. Maybe the orvis encounter that was recommended in another thread.

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 21, 2016

Thank you for the information so far. I am off to the store for some leaders and tippets.

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 23, 2016

Alright if anyone is still hanging around, I would like an opinion. I think I am going to upgrade my setup, I am heading to the orvis store this weekend. Any advice is appreciated. I am looking at either and 8'6" 5wt orvis encounter or clearwater setup. I dont want to break the bank but I also dont want to get a combo and then be buying again in a year or two for something better. I say this because I recently updated my spinning rod/reel combo from basic ugly stick to a fenwick and I am all smiles and wish I would have done that upgrade a long time ago.

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 24, 2016

thanks for the encouragement blackpowder. I am going to be taking one of the orvis intro to flyfishing classes in the coming weeks. It should help cut down on the learning curve.

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 24, 2016

blackpowder said:
I'm very lucky that I have a pond in my yard. its loaded with nice bluegills, about a dozen bass and a few crappies and its about 150 feet from my back door. that's usually how I end the day, going out and catching a few fish after a stressful day at work. my sons girlfriend comes over most evenings and fly fishes also. and if the cat is lucky, he gets a small one for a snack!

Thats sounds like one heck of a setup right out the back door. I have access to a stocked private bass pond down the street from my house plus lots of streams and etc within 5-10 minutes. I love putting my kiddo to bed and then running down the street to go fishing for the last hour of day light.

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nomad_archer

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 31, 2016

Well I took some of the advice here and picked up a new outfit. I took the orvis free intro to fly fishing course this weekend and picked up a 4wt 8'6" clearwater rod, battenkill reel and superfine line. I ran out Sunday evening just before the rain started. It took me 20 minutes to get rigged up as I need some more practice with these new knots. I started with a parachute ant and then changed to a rubber worm imitation just flipping it into a plunge pool and dead drifting. About 30 minutes into my fishing trip with the rain starting to pick and me without a rain coat, I felt a bang, bang, bang in the rod. I picked it up and figured it was the bottom or a fish I couldn't tell with the new rod and all. A few casts later, the same thing and I set the hook and thought I missed the fish the line went dead. Then I started to reel in some some line and then we were off to the races. The fish jumped 3 times made a few short runs. Ended up being an average size stocked rainbow. With spinning gear it feels like just horsing in the fish. It was the most fun trout fight I have had in a long time. This rod is so sensitive which I didn't expect, it was a real treat. I went out mid day yesterday to explore some more stream but didn't get any action. I never realized how small the stream was. Roll casting is difficult with all the over hanging branches. Sorry no pictures of the first fish but it was a seriously heavy rain storm and I went home soaked to the bone and smiling ear to ear. I have a lot to learn and techniques to figure out but I think the spinning rod is going to stay at home for a while.

I also picked up a promo 5wt orvis line it is supposed to be in the access/clearwater range for $19 at the orvis outlet. Its perfectly good line for my other combo rod. You never know when you will need a backup.

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