Beginners SWF

[GAFF]

Can anyone advise me on a reasonable beginners set up for salt water fly estuary fishin' (mainly bream and lizard in the flats).
My local tackle shop suggested a 9wt set up for about $400.
Is it worth paying the extra for a decent rig, and is 9wt a good size for beginners.
Thanks for any advice.
Gaff

[Quinny69]

#9s pretty beffy, Id go for a #7 or #8, not to much overkill for Flattys but still enough guts to cast in the wind. MQ

[ferralflyer]

Hi Gaff I heard Inovater rods(5yr wnt) are the go and a 8/9wt will make learning a bit easer at first ,you see you get good days and bad and on those bad days,wind that is, you will say to yourself im glad I bought a 8/9 instead of a 7/8 but as you get more advanced you will buy that 6/7,at this stage you are now hooked and commited to the DARKSIDE.

A good reel is importent for the salt and you still have to take care of it,that washing it every time you go out plus rod,its only when you sink lots and lots of money into the darkside you will have a bit more of a apprechiation of your investment,and be more wiser at your next upgrade.

I fish a 6wt with a 7wt line all the time now but started with a 9wt and when the wind comes i use it, not give up or go home.

A good line will help you SA intermediat stiper lines will help you to, but try some other lines to find what fells good for you,because you have to use it and your paying and if they wont let you try some go some were else, and yes the more you spend the better it all feels you have to have be truly comitment to spend 1200to 2500 spondooles on a outfit so,find your feet first on a entery level rod because i would like a dollor for every out fit that dosnt get used because there truly not commited ,they just like to say yer i got a fly rod :-X want to bees if they could bees, in time you will now which side of the fence you are on,Cheers ;)

[hiflyer]

I would definitely go with an 8 or 9 weight (or the 8/9 if that is what is available in the rod you want) It is very versatile. A first flyrod is always a compromise. As Feralflyer said, if you really enjoy flyfishing, you will buy more outfits in the future. Keep in mind that it is much easier to learn to cast with a decent rod and line.

Cheers

Adam

[GAFF]

Thanks a bunch,
For the good advice to all who replied.
GAFF

[Local_Guy]

i might be getting a fly rod for x-mass. i've been interested in it for a lil while now.. i wanted a 9wt. but the store only had the 10wt.. my target species though is GT's (1kg+) and definately queenfish. i also want to use it in the mangroves for barra and jacks if i get the chance.

this outfit is complete rod, reel, line and backing for $109. it's a 2 piece 10wt rod. what do you guys think.. it's made from graphite also.

what are some good all round flys to first get. say target species = flathead, travelly, queenies.

thanks

[landy1]

Welcome to the dark side. i started with a curiosity and bought myself a 8 weight rod setup now ive got 4 setups and growing (damn ebay ;))
Seriously the rod has to be good quality, graphite is not the be all and end all, the real has to be decent and have a drag salt resisant too. Most importantly is the line. i pushed mine one up on the rod to learn to cast a put a 9 weight striper on my first rig. i love this line for its weight forward configuration, very easy to cast. A decent line will set you back $120 + so be prepared. grab yourself some premade braided loop connectors to suit aswell beats tying nail knots. But most important of all is casting leasons. Learn it right the first time from someone like Harro. Dont get bad habits first. The big man will set you on the right track veru quickly and casting will be an absolute joy.
cheers
Mick

[Local_Guy]

unfortunately i didn't take any records of the reel or rod brands. but the reel has a drag and thats really about it. i think it comes with 20lb line.

also the shop where i'm buying it has a whole range of videos that they lend out for first time fly fishers.

i know i've gotten myself into a big thiing. more knots to tie, casting, etc. but i'm a preety quick learner and i reckon i'll have a ball... i'll learn first on the 50cm queenies, then take it out with me into the blue water.

also. with teh decent line. do you mean braid? or do you have to buy a special backing?

[landy1]

With the line on a fly reel there is backing first usually some form of braid eg bionic braid then theres the fly line. fly lines are not rated in pounds/kilos but rather given a weight classification. the weight classification of the rod is to match them up. the fly line is what casts the fly by the weight of the line moving through the air. usually use one weight heavier than the rods rating to get a decent bend in the rod while learning to cast. Getting one on one lessons is the way to go otherwise youll end up having a painfull difficult experience that gets you very frustrated. It is easy to get injuries such as tendonitis through incorrect style aswell. I went from a pissed off wannabe who could cast 5 meters before my lesson with Harro but after an hour or so with Harro i could cast the entire length of the flyline. Youll have a ball with fly gear especiallyon the queens and such. A good tackle shop will offer back up service and will definately know what there talking about. a bad one will sell you a package someone somewhere put together just to get your money. Whats your location so people can offer suggestions on tackle shops.
cheers
Mick

[Local_Guy]

well. i bought it today. can tell u a lil more about it except the rod as it's still in the shop. one of the runners was damaged.

things i have at home you might be able to comment on is the backing and the fly line itself.

backing is brand name : Masterline: Economy backing.
Fly line is Masterline Wf9F Floating.

i also got 1 fly for the queenies.

2 videos i'm borrowing from the shop:
Beginnings: An Introduction to Fly Fishing, by Mel Krieger
and
Saltwater Fly Fishing Methods #1. ... Mick Hall

I'm loacated in Yeppoon, qld. the store i bought my stuff from (well santa got my stuff from as technically i dont' have it till next thursday) is Bluefin Sports in Rockhampton.

how much backing should i have on my reel. the lil package i have only has 45m of backing. is this enough or should i go out there and buy 100m of braided line.

i asked the guy about those premade braided loop connectors , but unsure when i was there i asked about something different, but they didn't know or have what i was talking about.

thanks

[landy1]

G'day Local Guy
Congratulations, the connectors your looking for are braided loop connectors i found out about them through the members here. use one onthe end of your fly line to connect your leader. Leader should be about the length of the rod as a rough guide. You need enough backing to bring the spool up to fullish when you add the fly line. Not to sure on the masterline, never heard of it i use scientific anglers striper taper. it is a weight forward intermediate (half way between a floater and a sink line). Watch out that the videos arnt American or else it will just confuse things. I would still recomend personal lessons, but if you get a chance check out Peter morse's Wildfish series very good fly fishing action set around Aus.
Keep bringing those questions
Cheers
Mick

[Local_Guy]

well. yeah. umm. how much backing should i have on the reel? length wise... 200m, 100m. or will the 45m be enough?
being 20lbs there shouldn't be too much that is going to pull off all the fly line, but every now and again a big one comes along.

be good when i can finally test this out.

[Quinny69]

You need enough backing to fill the spool (different amounts 4 all reels)leave just enough room to wind the fly line on top,should be at least 150mtrs.BEST BY FAR to have some1 who knows a lil about riggin up 2 show you,Dont use the plastic sleaves with your braided loops,they are s*%t, bind and whip finish some tying thread over the spot and coat it with nail polish or Aqua seal. MQ

[SNELLY]

Just another thought on backing - Use two different colours - I use 50m of 20lb dacron which is green on the reel first then the rest of the load is 30lb dacron which is orange.

Bionic briad makes the best backing but use some dacron as well. So put put 50m of dacron on and then the bionic braid so then if you do hook the fish of a lifetime you will know extacly where you are when your backing load gets down

SNELLY

[Local_Guy]

cool idea. Dacron is that a good quality nylon? the backing that came with my stuff is like a braid/cotton type. maybe i could use that as the last 50m, then some other stuff after before the fly line.

[SNELLY]

The dacron that I use is a special flyline backing - I get it locally from erskines - You may have something like cortland micron - what ever you use make sure that it is rot proof

[Quinny69]

If its called "fly line backing" itll be dacron for sure,Like Snelly said wind that on then get another spool of 100yrds Micron or even better(the best) 150yrds of 30lb or 50lb Bionic, put a big double in the end via a Bimini Twist(they aint that hard, I can do em) "loop 2 loop"this to the braided loop on the end of your fly line.The line should fit nicly on top and fill the spool.,,,,confused?In your neck of the woods you may need every mtr of that backing too. good luck MQ

[Maxg]

I'm not sure whether I should answer this lot, there appears to be a culture out there that I don't understand but in for 5 cents in for a dollar.
Fy rods are just another fishing method, its all fishing tackle but rather than you using other gear and hucking heavy lures and sinkers with fly tackle you use a very light lure and an elongated sinker called a fly line. Anyway these fly rods and lines are rated by a mob called the AFTMA, the american fly tackle manufacturers Assoc. The rating, for rods and lines is related to a thing called a double taper line, which is a level line about 80 feet long with a taper at each end. Quite useless for salt water.
The weight or rating of the line is related to the weight of the first 30' of that DT line, the level portion. They say this line whatever is a 9# or whatever and the rod to cast it must also be a 9#. So they say.
But there are snags to this thing, firstly casting a DT line means that to load the rod properly you need more than that 30 feet, in fact it casts around 45 feet, which means that the rod load is 1.5 times the rating.
The lines on uses in the salt are usually weight foward lines, lines with a 30 odd feet head, and a long thin running line at the back. When you get this thing for a rod you have to remember that ideally the right weight is 1.5 times the rating, so for your 9# rod you really need a 10# line. One weight up.There are other ideas that suggest a 11# line on a 9# rod iif the head is 30'.
Having got that far, you can use up to 10kg tippets so your backing line is not much chop at 20lb, so you need 30lb backing and if the fish are smallish you can get away with dacron but if they get bigger you need thinner lower water drag backing, like GsP, bionic braid or other stuff.
You will need a reel, and forget LA reels, what you want to do is get a standard arbor reel about 4 inches in diameter, to get a good one, try a Felty. They work.
A Rod get a Templefork outfitters
To learn to cast is not hard, because if you up line the rod you can get away with just a backcast and a foward cast, which you should use anyway because you will catch nothing with the fly woffling around in the air. Most SWF fishing is done, or should be with a sinking line, or at least one with a sinking tip because we don't use dry flies and salt water fish are not trout.
But get a book or two and digest them, Morsies book on SWF is OK, At least you get an idea about the method, the jargon and how to put things together. Most shopkeepers know stuff all about the requirements for SWF so find yourself a club somewhere and beat a few brains on the subject.
Expect to get into a grand, for rod, good reel, backing and lines and flies to start with. You get nothing for nothing, believe me there are no free rides in fishing tackle, If you got a fly outfit for 100 buks, it probably cost the dealer 50 and he paid a guy who was also making 50% so it probably hit the shore at 20 buks flat. Or maybe 10 buks. Good gear that.
The best value for money in rods are TFO, here and world wide and the best locally availably reel is a Felty. Be good, have fun but its just another method of catching fish. You will catch more on your baitcaster. Max

[Local_Guy]

ok. can now tell u what brand the rod and reel is.

reel is a JW - Jarvis walker BR2400 Red classic design (blackridge)
rod is Jarvis Walker - Drift Wood 9' 10wt.

anyone have any experience with any of these products.

[ferralflyer]

Good luck, you can lead a horse to water but you cant make them drink ,do not load your backing to tight you may spread it after a while,it will do fo a start ,i caught my first fish on with one,wouldn"t go tuna fishing with it ,learn on it, fish with it and the first person you see in the paddock with a fly rod in his hand ask for a cast and see what your missing out on ,but you have to learn to cast on that rod first and you will feel and see the differance ,it will make you a better caster and will help in your next up grade,Cheers :)

[Local_Guy]

well. after searching like mad on teh internet and not finding any useful information on how to cast and setting up the outfit. i thought i'd just drive 5min up the road to the Catch - A - Barra fishing park.... fly only.

giving them $40 for about 2 - 3 hours of tuition... they will help set up my rod, help me to cast on the lawn, then take me onto the lil ponds. using their gear is also included just for a change...

so after x-mass i should be preety much right.