So you have decided to start fly fishing. Congratulations! You are about to embark on a truly wonderful journey. But trying to choose your beginner fly fishing combo can be a daunting task. This article will discuss how to choose the right fly fishing combos so you can set out to catch those fish with confidence!

To make things real easy, I recommend two excellent fly fishing combos for beginners. One is The White River Fly Shop and Dogwood Canyon Fly Outfit for only $89.99. The other is The Redington Crosswater Outfit for just $129.99 (at the time of this writing).  Unbelievable value for the money, well matched and balanced for beginners and novice fishermen and women  and both come complete with everything you need to start fly fishing. Now it all boils down to rod length and weight. For more details on that very subject, please read on.

One of the first steps to start your flyfishing adventure, obviously, is selecting your first fly rod reel outfit. To be successful in fly fishing, it’s very important that you choose a fly fishing rod and reel combo that is well balanced; that all of the pieces work well together. When the right fly fishing rod, reel, fly line, leader and fly work well together, you have a balanced outfit.

The Fly Fishing Basics – Five Elements Of A Combo Outfit

Fly Fishing Rods

When making a decision on choosing your first fly fishing rod, there are three points to ponder. What is the length, action and weight of the fly rod?

Fly fishing rods come in various lengths. A general rule of thumb is to choose your fly rod length based on the fish you are after the most, the environment you will be fishing in most often as well as the usual conditions. In general, most beginner fly fishers will do well with a rod length of 8 foot 6 inches or 9 foot even.

Also, look for a rod with a medium to moderate fast action. This is a bit more forgiving and easier for the person who is just starting to fly fish.

Finally, select the proper weight – referring to the fly line weight of the fly rod. Some fly rods have a 4 weight, others a 5 or 6 and all the way up to 12 and 14 weight. Generally, a 5 or 6 weight fly fishing rod will serve most very well, especially if you’re fishing for fresh water fish. Going after Salmon, large mouth bass or pike? Buy an 8-10 weight fly rod. Finally, if your salt water fly fishing for big boys, take a look at a 12-14 weight rod. Read more about fly fishing rod reel combo outfits.

What Is The Fly Fishing Rod Made Of?

As you can imagine, fly fishing rods are made from all sorts of materials. The type of material the fly fishing rod is made of will also determine the cost. Fly rods can come in graphite, baron, fiberglass, graphite and bamboo.

Fiberglass is usually the least expensive and also, these days, not as popular because of the diameter it takes to make it work properly.

Bamboo on the other hand is at the other end of the scale. Bamboo fly rods more often than not are hand made beauties with high price tags attached. Worth every penny to those who own them but not a recommended rod for beginner fly fishing.

Graphite fly rods are the best bet for the beginner. The price is right too. These are very durable and light fly rods, come in 2 to 7 pieces and quite forgiving. My personal choice is a 2 piece fly rod for most situations. A 4 piece to 7 piece rod is handy for packing.

Fly Fishing Reels

The fly fishing reel is the next critical piece of equipment for you first fly rod reel combo. Keeping it simple, there are  single action reels, automatic reels and multiplier fly fishing reels. Just focus on getting a single action, basic cork and or disc drag reel for your first fly fishing outfit. Also look to make sure that you get the fly fishing reel ready-to-go with backing and fly line already on.

Fly Fishing Line

Here too, there are many choices of fly fishing line. There is line for dry fly fishing and fly line for wet fly fishing. You might see terms like, weight forward, tapered line, level and shooting. As mentioned before, the fishing situation and environment you are in will determine what the best line selection will be. For most beginner fly fishing students, a good bet will be a floating, WF or weight forward fly line. Remember to match the line with the fly rod weight. So if you buy a 6 wt fly rod, buy matching 6 weight line.

Fly Fishing Leader And Tippet

The fly leader attaches from the fly fishing line to the fly and is made of a mono filament material. Selecting the right leader will also depend upon the line you have. The fly fishing leader can come in various lengths, be knotted or not, straight or tapered. My personal choice is a tapered leader in a 9 foot length, knotted. But that works for my situation. Generally, it will work for most.

Fly Fishing Flies

As you may imagine, there are thousands of fly fishing flies and  patterns available today. Fortunately, you will only need a few. Those will be selected based on the type of fish you will catch, time of the year, what hatches may be happening in your area and so forth. There are wet flies called nymphs, bead heads and wooly buggers. There are dry flies in attractor, terrestrial, midges, dry caddis and other patterns.

My personal favorite dry flies here in the Rocky Mountain area are, Adams or Parachute Adams, Mosquito, Red and Yellow Bellied Humpy’s, Flying Black Ants or Foam Black Ants, Elk Hair Caddis and my new favorite, The Madam X Parachute in yellow or olive color. These have all been great to have on hand when fly fishing for trout or white fish.

Your best bet would be to talk with the local fly fisherman and fly fisherwomen to see what patterns they recommend for your area. Try your local sporting goods store too. Chances are they not only know about the best flyfishing flies, they may share a nice fishing hole with you as well.

Hope this helps and can’t wait to hear your beginner fly fishing stories!

Best wishes,

Bradley L. Marlow

PS: I also have an article about the

Top 3 Cabela’s fly rods and reels review

Fly fishing and fly casting video showing how to get the line out of the water during fly casting.

Fly fishing news, products and information from around the blogosphere:

Fly Fishing Combos – The Redington Crosswater Outfit
I had been fly fishing for a while, but never owned my own rod. I got this in the 5 weight for my first rod, and it is a breeze to cast. The graphite construction makes it really light and easy to cast. I spent all day fly fishing the other day, slinging it back and forth, and didn’t feel a thing the next day. With included backing, fly line, and tapered leader, this thing is a steal at 130$. I love it.

The Right Fly Fishing Equipment – Fly Fishing Combos
The structure includes the artificial flies, the fly rod which throws the flies and the fly line. For an improved cast, the line needs to be a little heavier than other types of lines. Moreover, the fly fishing combos come in all sorts of outfits.

R And R Fly Fishing
It was a beautiful weekend for fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains and East Tennessee. Temperatures topped out over 70 degrees.  Drew was pretty new to trout fly fishing and awe struck by the scenery. Drew landed about a half dozen trout by the end of the day and missed about three times that many. I rigged Drew with several dry and dropper combos, but most of the strikes came on the dry fly.

Fly Fishing School Instruction – Toronto Sportsmen’s Show
If you are not aware our Toronto Fly Fishing School has a new venue in 2009. This year we have partnered with the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to hold our 1 day beginner fly fishing schools.

Fly Fishing For Beginners: Fly Tying For Beginners
I know Ive neglected to cover much about fly tying and learning how to tie flies in the developement of this blog. But I do have a full time job and keeping regular posts that have some value to both the fly fishing beginner.

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