Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at
9:25 am
Obviously, there is no more important instrument for fly fishing than a fly fishing rod. The rod assists you with line casting, controlling the line, and striking and landing of the fish you catch. To be good at these things, you’ll have to choose a rod that feels comfortable in your hand.
The first step is to decide what it is you are fishing for. Will you be looking for trout? Do you enjoy large freshwater bass? And what about fishing in saltwater? The different choices that an angler makes places differing demands on the fly rod itself. For each environment you would probably choose a different weight rod. A 6 wt makes a pretty good versatile rod. When trying to catch a brown or rainbow trout, try a four or five wt. A 6 to 8 wt should be sufficient for any smallmouth bass, and an 8 to 9 wt will need to be used with largemouth bass. Your remaining tackle will be affected by these choices.
Once you’ve established what tyoe of fish you want to try for, you need to examine the action that each rod you’re considering posesses. The flexibility of the rod is called it’s action. Fly rods come in three different actions: slow, medium and fast action. You can easily cast a fast action rod further. For those crazy and unpredictable windy days these are great to have. There are more challenges for beginner anglers to learn, due to the rods power. Also, making accurate short casts is not their strong suit.
Rods with medium action tend to be more all-purpose. They might not have the accuracy or quietness of the slow action versions, but are easy to learn when compared to the fast action rods. Rods with slower action are usually the simplest to use. They work well around small streams when you want to sneak up on the fish in order to tempt them.
You might have to give a few different brands a try in order to discover something that fits your casting method. It may be discouraging attempting to fish with a rod that isn’t suitable to you. A fly shop will allow you to test different kinds of of rods of various costs and labels. If you are unsure about which quality fly rod will work with your budget check to see if there is a casting instructor available to assist you.
After you have picked out the right rod, make sure that you also pick out an appropriate reel as well. Choose the best line, so that you can start collecting all you need for catching your favorite fish.
Not surprisingly, there is a great deal of quality fly fishing equipment being offered online. To browse through some of these listings to find that right fly rod, fly reel or other piece of fly fishing gear, there are many online resources available.