Fly Fishing Gear and How to Select It
Probably the most important thing to understand about selecting suitable fly fishing gear is that it is first and foremost a question of personal choice. It is you who will be using the rod, reel, line et cetera for months and hopefully years to come so it is imperative that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. Whilst it is advisable to listen to others prior to selection, do not be unduly swayed by the opinion of "experts' in you decision making. Having said that, lets consider a few of the common sense basics we need to take into account when buying fly fishing gear.
Rods The first thing to consider when deciding which rod is suitable for you is what type of fly fishing are you planning to do. There are major differences in a rod you would select to fish a small brook and a rod you would select to fish a 450 acre reservoir. A brook rod may be a little 4 weight item whereas to fish a much larger water or lake you will probably need a 7 or 8 weight rod. Basically, the heavier the number the rod is classified with, the heavier it is, the heavier line it can carry and the bigger the fish it can potentially handle. If you are unfamiliar with the AFTM (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) system of classifying fly rods I strongly suggest you take a little time to look at it; this will be time well spent and help you have a better understanding of fly fishing gear in general.
Reels Okay, we have decided what type of fly fishing we are going to do and have a pretty good idea of the rod weight we are going to need (now we are getting somewhere). The major consideration for the reel is that it must be matched to the rod. It is no good having a huge fly reel designed for heavy weight fly fishing at sea matched with a rod suitable for catching small brook trout! These days you can choose between a metal/ alloy reel (some are very fine pieces of workmanship indeed) or a carbon fibre reel. A carbon fibre reel is normally lighter than its metal counterpart but the choice is entirely up to you depending on your preference and, of course, your pocket. Tip: buy a reel with a large arbour that is the spool that holds you line and remember not to wind your line on too tightly. The reason for this is that a fly line will take on "memory" when it is stored on a reel and the bigger the arbour of the reel, the less trouble you will have with line memory.
Fly Line As with the rod and reel, this item of fly fishing gear must be matched for balance and just like the rod and reel, fly lines are classified using the AFTM system. The lines you choose will, again, depend upon the type of fly fishing you aim to tackle and eventually you may have several different lines in you box. Start with a floating line and explore the other options later.
That is a brief overview of the fly fishing gear you are likely to encounter at the outset. As always, buy fly fishing gear that suits you and that you are happy with.
The author is the owner of the one stop fly fishing resource site [http://www.flyfishinggear.co]. This is a website designed to be a resource for fly fisherman of all ages and levels, men and women alike. The site has been developed drawing on the authors 20 plus years as a fly fisherman and is intended to be a meeting place for all like minded fishermen.
You are sure to find something of interest at [http://www.flyfishinggear.co].
Probably the most important thing to understand about selecting suitable fly fishing gear is that it is first and foremost a question of personal choice. It is you who will be using the rod, reel, line et cetera for months and hopefully years to come so it is imperative that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. Whilst it is advisable to listen to others prior to selection, do not be unduly swayed by the opinion of "experts' in you decision making. Having said that, lets consider a few of the common sense basics we need to take into account when buying fly fishing gear.
Rods The first thing to consider when deciding which rod is suitable for you is what type of fly fishing are you planning to do. There are major differences in a rod you would select to fish a small brook and a rod you would select to fish a 450 acre reservoir. A brook rod may be a little 4 weight item whereas to fish a much larger water or lake you will probably need a 7 or 8 weight rod. Basically, the heavier the number the rod is classified with, the heavier it is, the heavier line it can carry and the bigger the fish it can potentially handle. If you are unfamiliar with the AFTM (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers) system of classifying fly rods I strongly suggest you take a little time to look at it; this will be time well spent and help you have a better understanding of fly fishing gear in general.
Reels Okay, we have decided what type of fly fishing we are going to do and have a pretty good idea of the rod weight we are going to need (now we are getting somewhere). The major consideration for the reel is that it must be matched to the rod. It is no good having a huge fly reel designed for heavy weight fly fishing at sea matched with a rod suitable for catching small brook trout! These days you can choose between a metal/ alloy reel (some are very fine pieces of workmanship indeed) or a carbon fibre reel. A carbon fibre reel is normally lighter than its metal counterpart but the choice is entirely up to you depending on your preference and, of course, your pocket. Tip: buy a reel with a large arbour that is the spool that holds you line and remember not to wind your line on too tightly. The reason for this is that a fly line will take on "memory" when it is stored on a reel and the bigger the arbour of the reel, the less trouble you will have with line memory.
Fly Line As with the rod and reel, this item of fly fishing gear must be matched for balance and just like the rod and reel, fly lines are classified using the AFTM system. The lines you choose will, again, depend upon the type of fly fishing you aim to tackle and eventually you may have several different lines in you box. Start with a floating line and explore the other options later.
That is a brief overview of the fly fishing gear you are likely to encounter at the outset. As always, buy fly fishing gear that suits you and that you are happy with.
The author is the owner of the one stop fly fishing resource site [http://www.flyfishinggear.co]. This is a website designed to be a resource for fly fisherman of all ages and levels, men and women alike. The site has been developed drawing on the authors 20 plus years as a fly fisherman and is intended to be a meeting place for all like minded fishermen.
You are sure to find something of interest at [http://www.flyfishinggear.co].
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