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Dangerous Toadstool

Cheap Equipment

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Every rod probably alters how you cast a bit.

My first fly rod I bought at Something-Mart (wal or K, I don't remember). That thing was a stick with guides on it. When I got my next fly rod, source and maker unknown, I really learned how to cast.

 

But, speaking of cheap...my favorite fly rod is one that I built myself (first and only) and the kit only cost me $50. So, cheap doesn't always mean crap. But, cheap does mean it's a different rod and therefore might require a change in casting.

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I have fished with and owned many many fly rods from Sage, Winston, Orvis, Loomis, and others. When I worked on tackle shops, I could get anything I wanted fairly cheaply. Since I did a lot of rod building, I would purchase the blanks, and roll my own further decreasing the cost of a "top of the line" rod. I have also fished with some fairly inexpensive fly rods as well. I don't have to alter the mechanics of my cast at all. I may have to adjust the timing of the stroke some, but not the basic casting. The rods I now own are all more inexpensive rods from Echo, Orvis, Redington, and Cabelas. I can cast and fish with them just as well as any rods I have ever had.

 

I am a firm believer in the old saying, "Its not the arrow, its the indian." If you don't know how to cast properly, no amount of money spent on a "better" rod is going to fix that. Your money would be better spent on casting lessons, than a more expensive rod.

 

That's my 2 cents worth.

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I believe that fly casting is a feel more than just timing. Timing is initiated by the 'feel'. ......course I am not a great caster either. 75 feet is about it. I can cast my 6' 5wt almost as far as my 9' 9wt. I do wish I could get out 90' or so but we can't have it all.

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I believe that fly casting is a feel more than just timing. Timing is initiated by the 'feel'. ......course I am not a great caster either. 75 feet is about it. I can cast my 6' 5wt almost as far as my 9' 9wt. I do wish I could get out 90' or so but we can't have it all.

 

Well you don't need to cast much more then 15-25 feet for most small river and stream fishing

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I believe that fly casting is a feel more than just timing. Timing is initiated by the 'feel'. ......course I am not a great caster either. 75 feet is about it. I can cast my 6' 5wt almost as far as my 9' 9wt. I do wish I could get out 90' or so but we can't have it all.

 

Well you don't need to cast much more then 15-25 feet for most small river and stream fishing

 

until you can't get any closer than 30 feet. A big part of the enjoyment of fly fishing for most people is casting well. Much more so than spinning or baitcasting. A gifted caster can do well with any rod, as long as the line is matched to it. I'm only an OK caster, and I've found with "softer" action rods I have issues making good casts--- the issues are with me, not with the equipment. An exceptionally gifted caster can launch a tight loop a long ways without a rod at all!! Lefty Kreh said "EVERY rod casts better than the person using it."

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^^ Agree! Casting is an addiction in itself, anyway some people don't even need a rod! LOL

 

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One little tid bit of casting information That I found interesting was the work Bruce Richards did at U of Mich. they found that the best casters tend to apply equal force to the forward and back cast; in other words their casting is balanced.

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until you can't get any closer than 30 feet. A big part of the enjoyment of fly fishing for most people is casting well. Much more so than spinning or baitcasting. A gifted caster can do well with any rod, as long as the line is matched to it. I'm only an OK caster, and I've found with "softer" action rods I have issues making good casts--- the issues are with me, not with the equipment. An exceptionally gifted caster can launch a tight loop a long ways without a rod at all!! Lefty Kreh said "EVERY rod casts better than the person using it."

 

That's why I said with MOST small rivers and streams, and I never said that it isn't good to be able to cast well,I was just pointing out that in most holes you aren't going to be able to put ont 90 feet of line before geting hung-up.

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OOOOHHHHH!!!!!! One of my pet peeves! Don't know the reason; whether it's to feed the "myth" that flyfishing is an elitest

sport, or what, but it really butters my bisquits to have someone state that you must pay $700 for a "decent" rod or $450 for a "good" reel in order to enjoy the sport. That kind of thinking chases away the future of our sport.

 

I'm probably like a lot of other guys - I started with bargain basement rods and reels. When I found I really liked flyfishing, I started moving up the ladder when I could. I've had some pretty expensive stuff, but finally decided I could do just as well with the less expensive gear, and catch just as many fish.

 

I tell folks who want to get started to get a rod/reel combo from someplace like Cabela's and see if they LIKE the sport first. Then they can indulge if they want.

 

After all, it's just another way to catch fish, isn't it?

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until you can't get any closer than 30 feet. A big part of the enjoyment of fly fishing for most people is casting well. Much more so than spinning or baitcasting. A gifted caster can do well with any rod, as long as the line is matched to it. I'm only an OK caster, and I've found with "softer" action rods I have issues making good casts--- the issues are with me, not with the equipment. An exceptionally gifted caster can launch a tight loop a long ways without a rod at all!! Lefty Kreh said "EVERY rod casts better than the person using it."

 

That's why I said with MOST small rivers and streams, and I never said that it isn't good to be able to cast well,I was just pointing out that in most holes you aren't going to be able to put ont 90 feet of line before geting hung-up.

 

very true- ASSuming you're on a small stream with a 7-1/2 foot rod, a 7-1/2 foot leader, that gives you between 0 and 10 feet of fly line to fish from 15 to 25 feet away... that's not really casting in the way people generally think of casting with a fly rod. I fish these kind of streams too. The original poster didn't say what type of situations he's in.

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I have fished with and owned many many fly rods from Sage, Winston, Orvis, Loomis, and others. When I worked on tackle shops, I could get anything I wanted fairly cheaply. Since I did a lot of rod building, I would purchase the blanks, and roll my own further decreasing the cost of a "top of the line" rod. I have also fished with some fairly inexpensive fly rods as well. I don't have to alter the mechanics of my cast at all. I may have to adjust the timing of the stroke some, but not the basic casting. The rods I now own are all more inexpensive rods from Echo, Orvis, Redington, and Cabelas. I can cast and fish with them just as well as any rods I have ever had.

 

I am a firm believer in the old saying, "Its not the arrow, its the indian." If you don't know how to cast properly, no amount of money spent on a "better" rod is going to fix that. Your money would be better spent on casting lessons, than a more expensive rod.

 

That's my 2 cents worth.

 

 

UT's advice could save you hundreds of dollars and "Its not the arrow, its the indian." is priceless.

 

I fish with Allen reels on an old 8wt St Croix Imperial ($130 on sale) and a TFO salt 6wt BVK ($220) and couldn't be happier, I can cast a fair distance and I get interuped by fish every now and then. Quality can be had for a very reasonable price.

 

In the end it all boils down to what you're willing, can, or want to pay...Even if it does'nt improve your fishing a top of the line $700 rod and $400 reel are nice to own if you can afford it and it makes you happy. I put my money into a kevlar flats boat, a carolina skiff does the same thing, but my boat makes me happy.

 

Life's short fish happy...dave

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I'm with these guys, you don't have to spend a fortune on a fly rod to cast well, or catch fish. It's a tool, and you can buy "cheap" rods,

meaning poor quality, or it could just mean less expensive. I also have some less expensive rods that I like to use and for me, they cast well.

 

Unfortunately, when you buy a rod, no matter what you pay, unless you spend some time casting it before you lay out your cash, there's no guarantee you'll like the way it casts for you!

 

If you're just getting started, then take utyers suggestion, and get casting lessons rather than an expensive rod. Most folks when they first start fly casting, have no clue about how a rod casts, expensive or otherwise, but once you can tell the difference, buy what you can afford!

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