Advice needed for fly fishing newbie

[Allen Der]

I've been trying to get into fly fishing for nearly a decade but getting married, having kids and other hobbies have put fly fishing on the back burner.  I have a few cheap combos I picked up along the way as well as a Mojo Bass rod and some others from my grandfather.  I put them into a spreadsheet in hopes that someone could point me to the best rods to learn with.  The ones highlighted in yellow are from my grandfather and I assume the 2,3,4 WT are for trout or panfish.  I'm also looking for recommendations for a beginner lesson near the NW suburbs.  Any help would be appreciated

 

 

 

[tjtroester]

yeh, the tfo is a good medium action rod and woud be easier to get onto than some.  timothy

[John Gillio]

From what I’ve read and found to be the case, a slower action rod like a medium action compared to a fast or medium fast would make it easier to feel the rod load. Feeling the rod load is essential in making a good cast. I have not used any of the rods on the list but Rob and Timothy know their stuff so the TFO would probably be the way to go. I would also add that If the 5 wt RLS or Cascade are mediums also, you may want to see how they feel in your hand and see if there is a difference in how well you can feel the line load the rod. Not all medium action rods feel the same.

[Allen Der]

Thank you for the responses. 

The Okuma is by far the cheapest outfit.  I bought it for $60ish dollars on amazon a long time ago.

The RLS seems to have a moderate tip but I'm no expert in fly rods

The TFO seems like it could be the one.  I believe it has Rio bass line on it as well.  How long does fly line usually last?  I would estimate it is at least 4 years old but hasn't been used in those  years either.  What type of flies would you throw on this rod?

[Ben K.]

Another vote for the TFO. The bass line should be fine. I would also spend some time with one of the 8 or 7 weights. The heavier line will make it easier to feel how the rod loads. It’s also nice to have some extra power for big smallmouth in faster rivers. 

The 6w Tfo should toss medium to light clouser minnows or wooly buggers, anything foam or buggy, and medium to smaller streamers just fine. Anything without a ton of lead or the really big articulated meaty flys would be fine. 

Check out some Lefty Kreh casting videos on YouTube.  His concepts stuck with me, are simple, and apply well to streamer fishing and more aggressive casting.  

I would be happy to show you some stuff in person if you wanted to get on the water sometime. I’m up by Volo. 

[Allen Der]

1 hour ago, Ben K. said:

Another vote for the TFO. The bass line should be fine. I would also spend some time with one of the 8 or 7 weights. The heavier line will make it easier to feel how the rod loads. It’s also nice to have some extra power for big smallmouth in faster rivers. 

The 6w Tfo should toss medium to light clouser minnows or wooly buggers, anything foam or buggy, and medium to smaller streamers just fine. Anything without a ton of lead or the really big articulated meaty flys would be fine. 

Check out some Lefty Kreh casting videos on YouTube.  His concepts stuck with me, are simple, and apply well to streamer fishing and more aggressive casting.  

I would be happy to show you some stuff in person if you wanted to get on the water sometime. I’m up by Volo. 

 

thanks for the offer.  I'll PM you and try to meet up sometime