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Thread: fly fishing

  1. #1
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    May 2012
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    Default fly fishing

    Old classmate of mine just moved to outside Maggie Valley and wants me to start fly fishing and come up there go . Should I spin fish or fly fish and what would be a good starting rod for fly fishing? The man at Cabelas says a 4 wt 8 6" would be his choice for starters and learn to side cast.

    I haven't held a fly rod since I was 12 and fishing poppers in our farm pond with the old spring loaded lever fly reel. It wasn't flyfishing it was sling shotting a bug by pulling back and releasing.

    What would you buy to fish Cherokee, the Tuck and other places?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
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    8ft 3wt.

    Get a mess of various nymphs. The prince has put more fish in my net than any other.
    Get some midges for droppers.


    Other more prevalent trout guys can get into more details, but you’ll catch plenty of fish with nymphs.
    Be proactive about improving public waterfowl habitat in South Carolina. It's not going to happen by itself, and our help is needed. We have the potential to winter thousands of waterfowl on public grounds if we fight for it.

  3. #3
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    Whatever you do don't buy a fly rod.


    I asked a member on here to teach me to fly fish. He gave me one lesson and I bought a fly rod right after. I've only picked up a bait casting reel one time since then and that was to go to the lake with my dad. Fly fishing is probably more addicting than cocaine.
    Houndsmen are born, not made

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    I STAND WITH DUCK CUTTER!
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  4. #4
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    Feb 2016
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    I started out with the Wally world combo fly rod kit. about $40 (under the advice of a friend). I'm not suggesting to go that far down. My next upgrade was a 5wt, 9' combo from bass pro. I liked it fine till I bought a Temple Fork 4wt, 8'6" from a friend getting out of fly fishing and into bass.
    This rod was/is great. Lighter, more action. I 'd haven't tried the 3wt's yet but i bet it be fun on the smaller streams.

  5. #5
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    I do mostly saltwater fly fishing but one of my favorite fresh water rods is a TFO 4 wt. 8'6". I use it mostly for pond bream fishing. If you buy a rod for mountain stream fishing, you should be able to get some use of it back home chasing panfish and small bass.

    Depending on where you are going, a long rod might not be ideal. If you'll be fishing small creeks winding through woods, you may be contending with overhanging limbs and such.

    TFO makes the best bang-for-your-buck stuff but perhaps the best at any price. When I was searching for my 4 wt., I was prepared to pay big bucks for the rod that felt the best. I tried dozens of rods, Sage, Loomis, etc., and ended up with the TFO. None of the high dollar rods felt as good.

  6. #6
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    Jan 2004
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    I fish a lot with a 8’3” 4 WT. It is a good compromise for the mountains. Most all of your casts will be under 30’ and the majority will be 20’ or less. The rod weight has more to do with the size of your fly than the size of river. I have a 6’10” 3 WT that I use for really tight streams. It is my favorite. I can cast size 10 streamers or a dry and dropper combination.

    When fishing nymphs, you often need to dredge the bottom. This means either weighted nymphs or a weight added to your leader. Sometimes both. A longer rod helps to manage that and keep your line off the water. Nothing more than high tech creek fishing.

  7. #7
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    Feb 2018
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    I'm gonna learn to fly fish one day. Been thinking about going up to the Elk River in WV, maybe taking a lesson or two while there. But it sure is pretty over in Bryson City, NC, too.

  8. #8
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    I wouldn’t go shorter than 8’6”. I actually prefer a 10 foot four weight for most mountain streams. You don’t need a fancy rod or reel. At the end of the day, fly fishing is just a fancy way to slap the water. Don’t get intimidated by know it alls that you will inevitably meet.

    As bog said, nymphs will be your ticket for most of your fishing. Get some small split shot to get the nymph near the bottom and use an indicator (fancy fly fishing term for a bobber) If you aren’t getting hung up on rocks every now and then you aren’t deep enough.

    So in summary an 8-9 foot 3-5wt rod, nymphs, indicators and split shot. That should be all you need for a good time on the river

  9. #9
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    Nov 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duck cutter View Post
    Whatever you do don't buy a fly rod.


    I asked a member on here to teach me to fly fish. He gave me one lesson and I bought a fly rod right after. I've only picked up a bait casting reel one time since then and that was to go to the lake with my dad. Fly fishing is probably more addicting than cocaine.
    You must have never partied with cocaine.

  10. #10
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    Cocaine isn’t addictive.

  11. #11
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    whats your 20 RRConductor

  12. #12
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    I need to get another as well. I had an old Walmart cheapy and my brother confiscated it in college. I just used mine for panfish, never used it for trout. Id love to get a nice setup that I can use for both if that's possible. I'm one of those guys that if I spend a little money on a setup i'll feel more inclined to stick with it. Get a cheapy and might lose interest. I went up to chatooga a few weeks ago to fish but didn't get to since my gallbladder decided it wanted out
    "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
    I am haunted by waters" Norman Maclean.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by BMAC_ducks View Post
    whats your 20 RRConductor
    If it's location your asking, Greenville.

  14. #14
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    Nov 2004
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    Start with a firm budget. It can get out of hand quickly. For the money, I love my redington classic 5wt rod. Reels are much less important for what you’ll be doing. Sage makes a decent budget reel (2200 series). I like 5wt bc I also use it for bass, mudfish, and some saltwater.
    Last edited by PUDDY-T; 07-30-2018 at 01:04 PM.

  15. #15
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    I have been watching this go on sale and off for a year or more b/c I want a fly rod without breaking the bank. Something I would use 3-4 times a year at my mom's place in Mtn. Rest. I haven't bought it yet b/c I am left handed and one of the reviews warned against it. If a righty, seems like you could get this and a few other necessities and be out the door for under $250. There is a guy that works in the Greenville Cabela's fly fishing section that is very knowledgeable.

    https://www.cabelas.com/product/fish...4.uts?slotId=1

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Meathook View Post
    I have been watching this go on sale and off for a year or more b/c I want a fly rod without breaking the bank. Something I would use 3-4 times a year at my mom's place in Mtn. Rest. I haven't bought it yet b/c I am left handed and one of the reviews warned against it. If a righty, seems like you could get this and a few other necessities and be out the door for under $250. There is a guy that works in the Greenville Cabela's fly fishing section that is very knowledgeable.

    https://www.cabelas.com/product/fish...4.uts?slotId=1
    I talked to the older man at Cabela's and he said most all of the reels are reversible to right hand retrieve since I am also left handed and reel with my right hand.

  17. #17
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    take a trip to mountain rest and go by chatooga river fly shop they will get you set up
    "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
    I am haunted by waters" Norman Maclean.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phone Man View Post
    I need to get another as well. I had an old Walmart cheapy and my brother confiscated it in college. I just used mine for panfish, never used it for trout. Id love to get a nice setup that I can use for both if that's possible. I'm one of those guys that if I spend a little money on a setup i'll feel more inclined to stick with it. Get a cheapy and might lose interest. I went up to chatooga a few weeks ago to fish but didn't get to since my gallbladder decided it wanted out
    I heard you had an interesting trip to TN. Hope you are healing up quickly. I want to get into flyfishing one day too. Just go too much going to even think about it right now.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by uga_dawg View Post
    I heard you had an interesting trip to TN. Hope you are healing up quickly. I want to get into flyfishing one day too. Just go too much going to even think about it right now.
    no I was in SC at Oconee st park. I got one more week and I go back to work.
    "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
    I am haunted by waters" Norman Maclean.

  20. #20
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    Nov 2015
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    It all comes down to budget and what you want to get out of it. For me starting out a 8'6" 4 wt would be my recommendation.

    I'd second the Redington classic trout recomendation. I have 3 of them and great little rods. I picked mine up when they changed models and they were 50% off. They are a "medium" tempo rod in my eyes and they can be very nice to fish with. A lot of the new rods are super fast which has its appeal but they aren't always needed or wanted on the river.

    One thing that gets overlooked is a quality line. Spending the extra money in a good line ($50-$60 vs $25) will make a big difference in my opinion.

    Reels for trout on the East coast are basically line holders. I like click and pawl reels for my small stuff and starting out that is all you need. Going forward you can get some fancy reels with sealed drags but the price on some of the lighter stuff can get crazy. I have some but they aren't needed for starting out.

    I like using a sling pack for all my gear vs using a vest but that is a personal preference. If I did it again I'd look at some of the newer vest/pack combos out now.

    Budget is a big thing. You can easily be in for more than a nice shotgun in no time fly fishing. Do you need all that? Probably not but if you stick with it you will find your self justifying nicer and nicer gear purchases. My wife thinks I have a problem when I tried to justify another Sage rod to make my count go to 8.

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