Beginner Gear Questions

[docdom]

My uncle was an excellent fly fisherman who got me into fly fishing about 17 years ago. He set me up with a brand new Redington Red Start rod and real combo when I was 12-14 years old (30 now). He taught me the role cast and had me practice for a long time. I went out to my local stream, Artificial Delayed Harvest East Branch of the Brandywine to test out my rod and the few flies he gave me. I had a few bites but didn't catch anything which I chalk up to my young age and lack of on the river experience.

To be clear, I have been trout fishing with spinning gear my entire life (24 years). I know where to find fish in the stream, how to stalk, but don't know anything other than how to roll cast with a fly rod.

My uncle passed many years ago and I have inherited all my uncles fly gear (a ton of stuff). Alot of Orvis rods and reals in tubes and reals in cases. Tons of fly's, Orvis fly tieing vice, tons of tieing material and books.

I really want to get into fly fishing for trout locally and head up to Tioga and Potter county once I get some experience.


Should I take a class? Are there any Chester County members willing to meet up and do some teaching? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Dominic

 

[docdom]

How long does fly line last? Do I need to strip and buy new fly line that is on all the Orvis reels? I have many boxes of new fly line as well but have to be 10-12 years old. All of this gear has been sitting in rubbermaid bins, no light exposure but not temperature controlled.

 

[CathyG]

Dominic,

Welcome to the forum.

You just missed a newbie jam but keep checking the events and meetups forum for a brush up day.

Ask all the questions you need to, people on the forum are happy to help answer them.

Taking a class is a great thing to do as long as its with a certified instructor. Check out your local fly shops. People here may be able to direct you better than I (I live near Scranton).

In the summer Orvis usually offers free casting clinics.

Cathy

 

[docdom]

Thanks for the reply. I will keep checking for events. I have a local Orvis store so I will stop in there and see what classes for beginners they have.

 

[docdom]

My local Orvis has free Fly Fishing 101 and 201 classes multiple times over the next 30 days. Going to take both classes then go from there. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[CathyG]

Your old fly line might be iffy. It partly depends on the condition it was in when stored. Fly line needs to be cleaned occasionally. Some people clean it after each use (I'm not one of those people).

Try fishing with it first. If it casts and floats well you're in business.

I would think the boxed line is still good.

If the flies' hackle weren't crushed in storage they should still be good too.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Hi Dominic,

Welcome to Paflyfish!

Regarding the Orvis shop in the Plymouth Meeting Mall ;

The gentleman that teaches the classes there is absolutely top notch - I highly recommend taking advantage of his teaching skills.

He'll also be able to tell you if your fly lines are still serviceable - bring 'em along.

 

[afishinado]

docdom wrote:
Thanks for the reply. I will keep checking for events. I have a local Orvis store so I will stop in there and see what classes for beginners they have.

Orvis has free beginner fly-fishing classes FF101 & FF201 running right now. Check out the websites for Orvis Downingtown, Orvis Pittsburgh, Orvis Marlton, NJ , and Orvis Plymouth Meeting for times and dates.

Also some Orvis dealers and many other local fly shops have classes running this spring and summer. Check out their websites, too.

 

[docdom]

Thanks. Stopped into Orvis Downingtown today and signed up for 101 and 201 classss. Also was told 15 year old fly line should be replaced due to advancements in line technology.

They also told me to bring in my Orvis rods and reels and they will check them out and put line on them.

 

[HopBack]

DocDom I was just at the delayed harvest on the East Branch on Sunday. I didn't get anything either but there are still some in there. I had at least a 20 inch bow chase sculpin and at about a half dozen others short strike. The reason why probably didnt have much action is due stream temps. They are really cold for this time of year around 38 degrees. I could only stand to be in the water for an hour before I called it a day. If your fishing nymphs your going to have to weight them pretty heavily to keep them as close to the bottom as possible to entice a strike. Dead drift wooly buggers and sculpins then swing them at the end and you just might get lucky. If you wait until late April or Early May there are some pretty good hatches on that stream and you could get away throwing a piece of old sock out there an have decent success. Keep trying its a lot of fun in the upper limits of the delayed harvest when it gets warmer.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

docdom wrote:
....was told 15 year old fly line should be replaced due to advancements in line technology.

They also told me to bring in my Orvis rods and reels and they will check them out and put line on them.

Dom - At up to $95 per fly line, I'll bet they'd be VERY happy to put new line on all your reels.

I'm sorry, but just because there is new fly line technology out there, it doesn't mean you have to replace your old lines. They may be perfectly serviceable, and may serve you well for years to come. The "excuse" of replacing them just for technology reasons is nonsense.

Yes, the advances in technology typically makes the newest lines beform better than old lines, but the difference is often minor, and may be unnoticeable for a beginner. Beginners are often really hard on fly lines, and you might be better off using your old lines until you get to the point where you can appreciate the advantages the top lines offer.

If you feel the need to have the latest/greatest line available, or have money to burn, then have at it. If not, you may want to excercise a bit of caution on this.

There are fly lines out there that haven't changed a bit in the last 15 years (technology wise). Cortland 444 peach comes to mind. There's a lot of people that actually prefer this line to other newer technology (and $) lines. Newer isn't always "better" in some cases....

 

[lv2nymph]

I agree with HA here. Because I have lines on some reels that are better than 15 yrs on the spool. They float fine and catch fish no problem. Keep em clean and out of the sun when not in use.

 

[docdom]

Thanks for the line info. I will keep what is on the reel for now. I have no experience with fly fishing gear which is why I asked.

 

[RCFetter]

docdom wrote:
Thanks. Stopped into Orvis Downingtown today and signed up for 101 and 201 classss. Also was told 15 year old fly line should be replaced due to advancements in line technology.

They also told me to bring in my Orvis rods and reels and they will check them out and put line on them.

I have line that is over 20 yrs old that casts and floats just fine.

 

[pcray1231]

Agreed on the line. Newer lines are better. But frankly, I haven't seen a huge difference between lines. So long as they float....

Better typically means "more durable" to me. And if your old lines are still good, it doesn't make much sense to replace an otherwise good line just to get more durability out of the new one.

You'll likely need to buy leaders/tippet/shot and small items like that. But those are all small ticket items that are generally bought by everybody every year. And I assume from your spin fishing you got waders, so you should be set on all the big ticket items.

I'm in Chester Cty and would be happy to take you out, but married with children, so I don't get out nearly as much as I'd like to anymore, and tend to make my few outings count. i.e. every 3 or 4 weeks I take a big trip, but don't do the "hour after work" type trips very often.

 

[docdom]

thanks for the info pcray1231. I'm also married with children but own my own company so my schedule is flexible. Let me know if you want to go out sometime and I would be happy to meat up.

I'm a hands on, fast learner. I've done alot of reading but have always picked up how to do things very quickly when shown in a hands on setting.

I have bags and bags of fly boxes, dry, nympths, streamers, tippet, leaders, etc. I have multiple pairs of waders, fly vests, etc. so Im all set in the gear department. I even have boxes and boxes of fly tying supplies, hooks, feathers, fur, etc.

Just need to get some on the water training and I will be set.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

docdom wrote:

Thanks. Stopped into Orvis Downingtown today and signed up for 101 and 201 classss. Also was told 15 year old fly line should be replaced due to advancements in line technology.

They also told me to bring in my Orvis rods and reels and they will check them out and put line on them.

docdom .. welcome to PAFF and good move signing up for the class. Stay up to the updates on the site as we have a bunch of beginner meetups which aren't just helpful to newbies but lots of fun.

 

[docdom]

Took my 3 Orvis reels into Orvis Downingtown today to have them looked at as there was some minor corrosion/rust underneath the spool. They just told me to remove the parts, soak overnight in CLP, scrub with toothbrush then wipe and put back together. Just took them apart, scrubbed them down and the small parts are soaking.

Also picked up a pair of Smith Optics Dover Evolve Chromapop sunglasses while in the store. Wow, love these sunglasses!!

Stagger_Lee, I would love to attend a newbie meet up. Can't wait for the next one. Checking the events section daily!

 

[docdom]

So I continued to use the 18+ year old fly line this season as suggested. I have been getting pretty frustrated with my casts not going nearly as far as I wanted, or thought they should be. What made me even more frustrated was seeing other fly fisherman on the water with their casts going much further and smoother.

I feel like my line wasn't shooting out and more often than not would come to hard stops when starting to shoot out through the guides. My line was kinky which is what was stopping the line from shooting out.

Stopped into Orvis Downingtown yesterday. Spoke to Dan about my issue, which he told me was my old line and took me outside to cast with my rod. Casting with the new Orvis Hydros WF 3D 4wt line was amazing!! Best money I ever spent. I now look like I know what I'm doing on the water. Went back out fishing after having the new line put on and the difference is night and day.

Not sure if the problem was the age of my line, or how much it was fished before I inherited it but the difference was night and day.

Just wanted to provide feedback to the thread.