The Rod Designer, the Professional Guide, the Fly Shop Owner, the Sales Rep, and definitely the Blogger (like myself) all have an opinion on what you should buy as a first time fly fisherman, and those opinions are likely based upon some facts and hard earned experience.  As such, those opinions probably shouldn’t just be ignored. But therein lies the problem a beginner is faced with in selecting equipment: They get wildly differing (and often conflicting) opinions from people “who know,” so who’s right?  The truthful answer is, they all might be.  Which is not very helpful to you is it?  So let’s go a little further and see if we can clear the fly fishing waters a bit. 

There are some aspects of fly fishing that are beyond opinion, and are simply realities of the natural world we live in.  The laws of physics for example don’t suddenly change just because we pick up a fly rod.  Gravity still exists.  The laws that govern momentum and inertia still apply, as do those principles of volume and area.  So regardless of anyone’s opinion, these laws simply can’t be changed or circumvented, and they should be used to provide the basis for selecting fly fishing equipment regardless of your skill level.  Which is why I also happen to believe that the very first thing anyone should determine when choosing new fly fishing equipment is this: What fly sizes do you typically want to use with this rod?  (You don’t even have to choose the exact flies, just the typical sizes.)

The answer to that question provides the foundation for every other decision that must be made in selecting equipment.  And one of the greatest things about this question is, it’s probably the least “glamorous” decision you will make, and it suffers from little (if any) influence from biased sources or opinions. 

The fly sizes you want to use will be based upon the type of fly fishing you intend to do (Dry Fly, Nymphing, Streamers, All Around, etc.) and the intended quarry you are targeting. (Trout, Bass, Pan Fish, Bonefish, Tarpon, etc.) So it’s usually a pretty easily obtained and straight forward set of parameters to work within and there won’t be much debate about what size flies are appropriate.

Once the range of fly sizes is determined, you have established a clear physical attribute for the fly fishing you will do.  In other words, you have defined one variable in any law of physics that applies.  And since fly lines are designed (at least in part) with those laws of physics in mind, you now have an easy way of determining what fly line weight rating you should select. 

It doesn’t take a physics expert to understand that a smaller fly is (generally speaking) lighter than a larger fly.  It’s also easily understood that given the physics used to cast a fly line (see my post Why Fly Fish) a heavier fly line is needed to efficiently cast a heavier fly.  And while an even heavier line could be effectively used to cast the same fly, at some point the fly line’s weight (and size) becomes a negative attribute to gently landing on the water.  For some types of fly fishing this may not matter much.  But for dry fly fishing it certainly does.  Again, physics are at play here, not opinion.  It is simply a fact that the heavier (and fatter) the line, the “bigger the splash.”  So for dry fly fishing, the trick is to use the lightest line weight that will still efficiently cast the typical fly size being used. 

Fortunately for us, we don’t have to do all the math to calculate this, and can just look at a handy reference table to see what typical fly sizes correspond to an AFFTA line weight rating.  And for those of you that haven’t educated yourself on hook sizes, remember this:  Hook sizes are like fractions.  The bigger the number, the smaller they are. 

It should be noted that if you plan to add additional weight (multiple flies, split-shot, weighted flies, strike indicators, etc.) you need to take that additional weight into account and move to a heavier line weight, as the table does not account for that additional load on the line.  I personally don’t consider such things, (or even line weights above a 7) as I’m a dry fly fishermen and have no use for them. I’ve simply included that information here in an attempt to provide a complete reference table. 

Furthermore, (and this does apply to a dry fly fisherman) if you will typically fish where you will experience adverse environmental conditions (strong wind for example) it may require additional line mass to combat their affects on line performance, and using a heavier line than otherwise indicated in the table may be warranted.

So now, without really any bias or opinion entering into the equation (as of yet), another big variable has been decided: The fly line weight rating.  As you can see from the table, it may not be a five-weight, and more than one line weight may be appropriate for the flies you’ll typically use.  Your opinion of which of those to choose is just as valid as anyone else’s, so choose the one you want, and pay no attention to those that tell you otherwise. 

Once you have the fly line weight rating selected, things tend to get a bit more “opinionated.”  But there are still a few things left that can be decided, or at least narrowed down, by the physics associated with them.  For example: Every reel, regardless of the size, has a finite capacity.  In other words, it will only hold so much line.  The thinner the line is, the more line length that reel can hold, and the opposite is also true.  So if you are trying to put a 15 weight fly line on a tiny fly reel, you are likely to be very disappointed, as it simply won’t fit.  Conversely, having a reel that is only half full with the entire line you’ve chosen doesn’t make much sense either, and adding miles of backing to fill that unused capacity just adds additional weight that you likely don’t want or need.  So narrow your reel choices down to just those reels that have an appropriate capacity for the line weight you’ve selected, and all the top reel manufacturers provide the reel capacity information for you.  

From there however you will find all sorts of opinions on which reel is “best”.  But if you’ve done your homework and narrowed your options down as suggested above, a quality reel (Abel, Bauer, Hardy, Orvis, Ross, Sage, etc.) of any design or drag system will likely fill any need you will have.  Which means your opinion is really the only one that matters if you’ve addressed the reel capacity issue appropriately. 

  Another law of physics that applies to the reel is gravity.  Or in other words, how heavy is the reel?  In some cases a heavier reel may be wanted, in other cases it may not.  But consider that you can usually easily add weight to a light reel, but making any reel lighter is another matter altogether.  So I’ll go out on a limb here, and state that, in my opinion, a lighter reel is easier to balance with a rod.  Now before I go into any further elaboration on that point, let’s consider the rod, and then we’ll come back to it.

Fly rods are what most anglers place their focus on when purchasing new gear, (especially new fly fishermen) and they are also where it often becomes considerably more difficult to differentiate between opinions and facts.  Emotions often run high and there are many more “distractions” that personalize and influence how an individual feels about this particular piece of equipment. So it’s easy to get caught up in a “this is better than that” debate, when in fact, both sides of the debate may be right for those particular individuals. Once again, we want to remove opinion as much as we can from the equation, and look at the facts in narrowing down the rod choices.

Here is a fact:  A rod designer has certain criteria they are trying to fill with each rod they create, and they have an intended purpose (application) in mind when doing so.  As such, most (if not all) rods produced today will have a recommended line weight rating for the rod.  This is the suggested AFFTA line weight rating that the manufacturer/designer intended the rod to be used with in the application the fly rod was designed for, (or at the very least, with 30 feet of fly line being cast).  In other words, they (the Designer of the rod) is of the opinion that in a particular application, line weight “X” will provide the optimum performance with that rod. 

Uh-oh… There is that “opinion” word again. But yes, it is true. Just because the Designer/Manufacturer designed the rod for a particular purpose doesn’t mean that everyone that purchases that rod will employ it for the intended purpose, or in the environment (small stream, large still-water, etc.) that it was envisioned and designed to be used in. Nor does it mean that the designer’s opinion on how a rod should feel and perform in that application is the only correct opinion.  (And it certainly doesn’t mean that their opinion should or will correspond with yours.)  Hence the reason one manufacturer’s rods will appeal to certain segments of the fly fishing population, and why so many fly fishermen are brand loyal and try to convince others that Brand X rods are the best. In truth, they simply agree with the manufacturer’s opinion on how a rod should feel, and so (for them) the line weight rating is accurate and they love those particular rods. Others will not share that opinion and will prefer the way a different manufacturer’s rods feel.

Just remember that the “recommended” line rating for any rod is just that, a recommendation from the manufacturer. It’s very good place to start, and I caution you from deviating from it until you are more experienced. By casting various rods with their recommended line before buying anything, you will literally get a feel for how different manufacturers approach their rod designs. Chances are you will find that you have your own preferences in how they feel and may even become a brand loyal fly fisherman yourself, and there is nothing wrong with that. (For my own personal biases and equipment preferences, see my post Who is The Dry Fly Guy?)

So cast some rods that have the recommended line weight rating that you have selected and see which one feels right for you. As a word of caution, recognize that it is easy to get caught up in the moment and some rods will be very aesthetically appealing and have higher end components etc. If you can afford this kind of luxury, by all means consider them. But I’d be wary of casting rods that are priced above your budget as comparisons because you may find that you’ll want to drastically exceed your budget. In this case, ignorance can be bliss, and with the quality and performance of today’s rods at all price points, it probably won’t take long for you to find a rod within your budget that “speaks to you”. When you do, you’ve found the rod to purchase.

Now for the final word on rods, I need to go back to my previous comment that “a lighter reel is easier to balance with a rod” and explain that just a little more fully. 

Many anglers will talk about “balancing” a rod with a reel, and in general, they are talking about the butt end of the rod (where the reel is placed), and the tip end of the rod having an equal amount of weight in relationship to the fulcrum (the angler’s hand on the grip).  The basic idea is that when the angler is holding the rod level (horizontally), it wants to stay there with neither the tip nor the butt feeling heavier and tipping it up or down.  In reality, even if this balance is attained at some point, it’s a moving target and it won’t remain balanced.  As line is pulled off the reel and extended towards the tip of the rod (and beyond), weight is being removed from the butt end, and added to the tip end.  As line is reeled back in, the opposite occurs.  Like I said, it’s a moving target, and therefore can’t be truly attained in a fishing situation unless you always keep the exact same amount of line out.  (In which case you wouldn’t need a reel and it’s called “fixed line” fishing. Tenkara being one form of this.)

That being said, I believe there are some advantages in finding a sense of balance with a rod and reel.  But please recognize that it isn’t a static thing, and again, your personal preferences will dictate what type of balance you actually prefer.  Some like their rods to balance more tip heavy, others like them more butt heavy.  Some just don’t care and none of them are “wrong”.  In considering this though, you should also remember that the rod acts as a lever, with the mechanical advantage (leverage) on the tip side of the fulcrum.  As such, the tip has more leverage than the butt, so the longer the rod is, the more leverage the tip end will have.  Which also means, the longer the rod is, the heavier the reel can be to counter balance it.  And that is a fact, not an opinion.  Regardless, just shoot for something fairly balanced when the reel is loaded with a fly line and backing, and you won’t be too far off regardless of what kind of balance you ultimately decide you prefer.  And if truly in doubt, have it balance “tip heavy” because you can always add weight to the reel if you need to.  (Hence my previous comment/opinion that a lighter reel is easier to balance with a rod.) 

Now let me say that the preceding narrative provides some of the basic facts as they apply to selecting your equipment, but it is not intended to replace the knowledgable individuals you can find in so many fly shops.  These individuals are likely to be your best source for clear guidance on choosing equipment.  Just remember they also have opinions and biases that may, or may not coincide with yours.  So start with your flies.  I know it may seem backwards to some of you, but it isn’t.  The flies will dictate the line weight needed to efficiently cast them, and that in turn will dictate the variety of choices available to you in a fly rod and reel from your local fly shop.  And within those available choices, opinion is likely the determining factor of what you should choose, and your opinion is truly the only one that matters.  At least when it comes to choosing your own equipment. 

~ DFG

Typical fishing tackle (spin casting, bait casting, etc.) consists of a rod and reel with a relatively weightless line (“fishing line”) attached to it. A “weight” in the form of a lure, bobber, lead sinker, etc. is tied to the end of this line, and then (in essence) “thrown” out into the water using the rod as an extension of the angler’s arm.  The angler can then use the attached line to retrieve the “weight”, hopefully with a fish attached.  This “throwing” of the weight that carries the line out into the water is known as a “cast”.

“… He told us about Christ’s disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.”

Norman Maclean – A River Runs Through It

If you have ever tried to throw a feather, you know that it doesn’t go very far, and it certainly can’t pull even the thinnest of lines along with it.  But in essence, throwing a feather is exactly what you are trying to do when you attempt to cast a dry fly. So the question is: How can we throw (cast) a feather?

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and that is likely the case when it comes to fly lines.  Far back in fly fishing’s past, someone developed the idea of using a line that could be cast by itself, and this relatively “heavy” line would be able to pull the “weightless” fly right along with it, instead of the other way around. 

To help provide you with a better understanding of this method, let’s consider an analogy that will perhaps be easier to relate to.  Let’s assume for a moment that you tie a feather to one end of a short piece of kite string. You then tie the other end of the kite string to the end of a leather whip. Now if you “crack the whip” the kite string and feather simply go along for the ride. 

To “crack” the whip you move the handle forcefully in such a way that it causes the leather “line” of the whip to form a hump or “loop” that moves out away from you until it reaches the thin end of the whip and “cracks” right where the kite string is tied on.  Now if you do the exact same thing with less vigor, but still sufficient power to cause the loop to rollout more slowly to the end, the whip will just give a quick “flick” to the kite string and feather. There will be no “crack” and the whole thing will just fall to the ground in a straight line going away from you. 

Now if this whip happens to be twenty feet long, then that feather is also now twenty feet away from you.  In other words, you just “cast” a feather twenty feet! But you didn’t throw the feather, you “threw” the line (whip).  The feather was simply carried out by this slower, less forceful unrolling of the whip, and that is the very principle we use when casting a fly line. 

Now whips and kite string scare fish when they fall on water, so more delicate fly lines were developed for the very purpose of forming a loop that will roll to the end of the line, and carry a relatively weightless fly along with them.  At first these lines were woven from horse hair, then silk, (which is still used today) and now made from modern textiles (plastics).  (For more on fly lines go here: Puzzle Pieces)

As you can see, the two casting methods I’ve described are the exact opposite of each other in how they achieve the delivery of a hook to where a fish can “eat” it.  One method uses the terminal tackle (lures, bobbers, lead, etc.) to pull the line out, and the other uses the line to pull the terminal tackle (a fly) out. Since fly fishing is the only form of fishing that requires you to cast the line and not the “weight,” this is what truly differentiates it from all the other forms of fishing. 

So why should you fly fish? Well, I believe it is a matter of choosing the right tool for the job. You can hammer a nail with a screw driver, but why should you when you can use a hammer? But if you need to turn a screw… That’s almost impossible to do with a hammer and you need a screw driver! Likewise, you can cast “weighted” terminal tackle with a fly rod, but why should you when you can use a spinning rod? But if you need to cast a “weightless fly”… That’s almost impossible with a spinning rod, and you need a fly rod.

In my opinion, the unique nature and challenge of fly fishing is the most elegant, appealing, challenging, and frustrating form of fishing with a rod there is. And dry fly fishing is the absolute pinnacle of this casting application. With a fly rod, casting is no longer just a means of getting a hook in the water. It’s an activity in and of itself, and offers a variety of approaches and opportunities for creative expression. It’s artistic fishing, and requires more skill, coordination, and discipline to execute properly and effectively. Yet even with this complexity, it is also calming, meditative, and just plain fun to do.

~ DFG

I’m not really sure when I began fishing, but it was certainly no later than the early to mid 1960s, because I can remember as a very small boy fishing for (and eating) trout from a mountain stream near Bishop, California with my father.  He worked as a salesman for General Mills at the time, and took me on occasion with him on his route, which included Bishop. 

I migrated from drowning worms to spinning gear as I got a little older, and in my teen years it didn’t take long for my preferred terminal tackle to become a clear plastic bubble with a length of mono tied to a Royal Coachman fly.  I used this to great effect for many years, and trips into the High Sierras at the time were common and cherished. But life moved on and so did I.

Through my early to mid 20s I rarely fished at all, and it wasn’t until I moved to Utah in the late 1980s that I truly began fishing frequently again.  Equipped with my trusty dry fly and bubble, I saw no need to migrate to a fly rod, and I avidly hiked and fished the streams across the State.  

Ignorance is bliss I guess, because one day I happened upon a very large rainbow trout in some very clear and slow moving water.  I visited this large fellow on several occasions over the course of a month, and every time I cast to him with my bubble and fly he just disappeared.  I determined that the plastic bubble was the problem, but without the bubble, I simply couldn’t cast far enough.  I tried stalking ever closer, but always spooked him by the time I was within casting range of a Royal Coachman tied to six pound mono. 

Frustrated, but completely obsessed, one day I arrived to find that a true fly fisherman was eyeing my fish!   To be honest I was a little put out by this, and figured he’d meet with the same result as I did, ruining of course my chance to try again that day. So I sat and watched as he surveyed the situation for awhile.

Finally deciding upon his approach, I watched intently as the fisherman stalked slowly toward the stream, and then G.I. Joe’d it through the tall grass and into position.  From his knees he made a few false casts over the land to get some line out, and then made a single cast out over the water. 

I couldn’t see much else from my position, but a few moments later, the line went taught and the rod was bent as the fisherman excitedly rose to his feet.  It took a little work, but eventually the largest trout I had ever seen in person was brought to hand with a small Griffiths Gnat hooked in the corner of its mouth.  

At that moment I was hooked every bit as much as that fish was, and truth be told, a Griffiths Gnat is still one of my favorite flies today. 

I purchased my very first fly rod and reel very shortly after that experience, (an Orvis Superfine graphite rod and a CFO reel) and the rest, as they say, is history.  That history includes swinging streamers, nymphing, fishing soft hackles and wet flies, I’ve even spent some time with spey rods. But I always return to my beloved dry flies, and will likely forever remain a dry fly guy. As such, I know that I have a certain bias that you should probably keep in mind when reading my posts here, and to elaborate just a little more on that…

For years now I have remained wholly devoted to dry fly fishing.  It’s just the kind of fishing that I love to do, even when it frustrates me to no end.  As you read above, it’s why I became a fly fisherman in the first place, and if you can cast it with a spinning rod, in my opinion, you probably should be. I simply have no desire to “chuck and duck” with a fly rod. Being that an Orvis rod and reel was my very first fly rod and reel, Orvis will always hold a special significance for me, and I have nothing but praise for the many Orvis products I have owned in the past, even if I have chosen to use different equipment now. Today I have a certain affinity for D.S. Shumway bamboo rods, and for graphite rods by Winston or Scott. When it comes to reels, I love the Hardy Perfect and Bouglé reels as well as Hatch reels, and I tend to use Scientific Anglers for plastic fly lines, and Phoenix for silk fly lines.

~ DFG

Now let’s give you a little more understanding of these components without overwhelming you with information and “jargon”.

Beginning at the end where the fish is you’ll have a Fly.  A Fly is nothing more than a fish hook dressed up to look like something a fish would eat.  In essence it’s the “bait” or lure, and it is tied into the system with a Tippet. 

Tippet is a fancy name for a very thin piece of fishing line (monofilament).  The Tippet’s function is to be “invisible” to the fish so the Fly looks like it isn’t attached to anything.  Tippet is tied to the Fly at one end, and the other end of the Tippet is tied to the Leader. 

The Leader is another piece of line but it gets thinner (known as a “taper”) as it gets closer to the Tippet, and thicker as it gets closer to the Fly Line.  So the thin end of the Leader is tied to the Tippet and the thicker end of the Leader is tied to the Fly Line.  The Leader’s function is actually to put distance between the “invisible” Tippet and the very visible Fly Line. It also provides the smooth transition (taper) from the relatively thick Fly Line to the very thin Tippet.  

A Fly Line is the main “fishing line” but it looks nothing like typical fishing line (see photo below), and is usually only 90 feet in length and tapers (similar to the Leader) at the ends. A Fly Line is comprised of a string (known as the “core”) with a plastic coating covering it that causes it to float.  This coating also adds weight and thickness to the line. This is very important because Fly Lines are actually classified by how much 30 feet of the Fly Line weighs, and there are fifteen different weight classifications for Fly Lines. The lightest weight classification is a 1 Weight, and a 15 Weight is the heaviest classification. The Fly Line’s purpose is to cast the Leader, Tippet, and Fly, and then to pull in the fish that gets hooked by the Fly.  The Fly Line is tied to the Leader at one end (note the loop in the photo below for tying the Leader to), and to the Backing at the other end. 

Backing is a fancy name for a special type of string.  (The orange string in the photo above.) Its purpose is to provide additional length for the Fly Line and to connect the Fly Line to the Fly Reel.  You might ask, “Why not just make the Fly Line longer?” The short answer to that question is: The cost would be prohibitive and a line that thick and long would require a very large Fly Reel to hold it. (In the photo above, the Backing is actually longer than the Fly Line is, but takes up far less Fly Reel capacity.)

The Fly Reel is basically a metal spool with a handle that allows a fisherman to wind in the Backing and Fly Line.  Since Fly Lines come in different weights (sizes) Fly Reels also come in different sizes to accommodate different Fly Line sizes. The Fly Reel is attached to the Fly Rod.

The Fly Rod is the “fishing pole”.  They come in a variety of lengths, and are generally made from one of three materials: Bamboo, Fiberglass, or Carbon Fiber (Graphite). They are also designed to cast a specific weight category of Fly Line. Below are two examples. In the image of the Hardy Fly Rod you can see that it is designated as a 9′ #5. Which means it is nine feet in length and designed to cast a 5 Weight Fly Line. In the second image below, the rod is designated 8 1/2′-3. Which means the rod is eight and a half feet long and designed to cast a 3 Weight Fly Line. (Note: The weight classification is not how much the rod weighs.) The purpose of the Fly Rod is to assist the fisherman in casting the Fly Line, and to serve as a shock absorber when “fighting fish” and reeling them in. 

So in summary, the Fly Rod has a Fly Reel attached to it.  This Fly Reel has Backing tied to it and wound on to provide extra length for the Fly Line that it is tied to.  The other end of the Fly Line is attached to the thick end of the Leader.  This Leader will taper down to the thinness of the Tippet, and the Tippet will be attached to it.  The Fly will then be tied to the other end of the Tippet, and hopefully, when it is cast out into the water a fish will be fooled and try to eat the Fly.

There can certainly be a lot more to it than what I have provided above, and you are welcome to search the posts here for more in-depth information regarding these components and of dry fly fishing. But for those that just want a basic understanding of the tackle, hopefully this post provided a clear explanation of what makes up fly fishing tackle and why it’s there.

~ DFG