Hi all,

Well, you have a new member of the fly fishing family. I've sea fished in the North East for over 30 years and always fancied trying giving the fly a go but never got around to it.

I eventually got my act together and recently went for a lesson with Clive from Northumbria Water at Derwent Reservoir and I think I've discovered my calling. What an unbelievable difference to what I'm used to! And the good thing is is that I seem to have got the hang of casting too, at the end of the lesson I could get an overhead cast out to about 30 feet and the roll cast was getting there, slowly but surely. I know I've got a long way to go and a great deal to learn but you have to start somewhere.

So what about getting kitted up ? After reading reviews and general comments on this site and seeing as I'm serious about taking this up properly, I was quite cautious about getting a basic all-in starter kit so thought I'd try and obtain some better quality second hand gear which would see me through my first couple of years. And thanks to this site and the classifieds section, I'm awaiting receipt of my first ever fly rod, it's a second hand Bloke 9' #7 (thanks to beanieboy) and I'm like a kid at Christmas waiting for it to arrive!

I now need to obtain my first fly reel but I'm absolutely bamboozelled by the choice of reels that are out there and I wouldn't honestly know what was a good buy or not to go with my rod. Some say that reels are just line holders, others that they are an integral part of the set up. There seems to be some reasonable deals out there and some bargains on ebay, but rather than take pot luck, I'd like to ask your advice on what type of reel is approriate for my rod. I haven't got a great deal of cash to splash out, in laymans terms I'm just after something with #7 line on that will allow me to polish my skills.

I also need to get myself a landing net and terminal gear so if anyone has any advice on that too I'd be very grateful.

Thanks for reading my post and I look forward to receiving no doubt excellent advice from the more experienced fly fishermen out there.

Cheers and tight tlines,

Tony

For lines - pm the Pitsford Pirate on here - his lines are highly recommended and very reasonable.

for Reels pm Grommit ( AKA Ian Woods Fishing Tackle ) He will advise you on suitable deals does a forum discount and free postage.

For a reel I would go with a cassette type that comes with free spools to enable you to use different types of lines. If you buy a normal type reel spare spools are expensive for a starter

Quite honestly Tony, can I suggest you get a good book about stillwater trouting...it's a big subject, particularly as regards leaders, flies and set-ups ie what you've summarised as terminal tackle.

"Trout From Stillwaters" by Peter Lapsley is still one of the best books with something useful to say about all aspects of the game. Once you have progressed a bit, the various books by Henry Lowe, Gordon Fraser, Charles Jardine and Peter Cockwill would all be recommended. Once you get very good indeed - the Arthur Cove and Steve Parton books !

Lapsley's book is available inexpensively second-hand on amazon.

__________________
"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Welcome to the Obsession, Tony!!

Like you I converted from sea fishing, albeit I had not been for a few years, and I think you can consign you 8oz gripper weights to the bin!

If you are interested I have some gear that I have now 'grown out of', that is a euphenism for bought a load more than I can possibly use, it is referred to on this site as 'tackle tartdom'.

There is a reel which has a 7wt line on it, a net, leather trace wallet, about 50 assorted flies, couple of fly patches, 2 Clearview fly boxes, a zinger and some other odds and sods including braided leaders, tippet material etc. This will certainly get you started and that is a top rod you have picked by the way, got a 5wt myself

If you are interested, send me a pm

All the best

OTT

__________________
'If you didn't waste your youth, you never had one!'. Bloke in the public bar circa 1970

Hi

welcome... you have arrived here via another form of fishing like many of us.. my fly fishing epiphany happened on the beach... there was i with 2 15 foot beach casters beta box tripod shelter, 5 different kind of bait.. a chap walked down the beach with a fly rod, he was catching mackerel.. i fancy a bit of that i thought...
i have never baited a hook since..

in contrast to bait fishing, the reel is probably the least important element of your kit, the rod and line will have a much bigger impact on the experience you have, the action of the rod and the taper profile of the line you use will effect how easy/hard it is for you to cast.

Don't get sucked into the tackle tart trap... you can buy some perfectly serviceable gear at sensible prices.. the type of water you will be fishing will dictate what you by but you should be able to get going for under £100 quid..

Fly fishing is very different to sea fishing... i still learn new things everytime i go to the river...

Enjoy

__________________

tbh in fly fishin reels really are just line holders theres no need to play fish off the reel if you dont want to so my advice is get yourself a cheap one to start off with you can always get a better one when you get better

gl,

james

Hey fellas,

Thanks very much for the warm welcome and for the sound advice given from each one of the replies, much appreciated.

I've clearly just scratched the surface and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the challenge, I'll let you know how I get on !

Tight lines,

Tony