I'm new to this

[sureshot43]

What do you guys think of my combo? I am new to fly fishing, and was convinced by friends to try,so I watched E-Bay and got a Cortland Silver Stream 8 and1/2ft 5/6 wt rod, with Fair play 6F line,backing and(given by a friend) an Argus Flite III 5/6 wt. reel. Will this work for a beginner? I have a grand total of 33 bucks invested.

 

[bede]

Not too shabby, sounds like you just need to add water.

Take some lessons from friends, read some books and go get them.

Best advice I can give you as a beginner: Catch and Release.

 

[Padraic]

Every time I cast a Cortland rod, I am impressed with how nice they are. Good luck! As you have questions, come back and we'll see what we can do to help out.

 

[Fishidiot]

sureshot,
The combo you've aquired is perfect at this point. If it turns out you don't care for FF you have not lost a lot of bucks. I agree that when you first start it's a good idea to fish with someone experienced as they'll help you overcome the inevitable tangles and such that discourage new FFers. If you are already a fisherman who knows he likes fishing and has some experience with conventional tackle it's almost a sure bet you'll like FF. If however you are completely new to fishing don't feel like you have to master FF - there's nothing wrong with conventional fishing and it is usually easier to catch fish.

 

[Wulff-Man]

I agree with Padraic that Cortland makes a nice rod for the money. I looked up the Silver Stream and I see that it's a very inexpensive fly rod, but there's no reason you shouldn't get good use out of it, considering it's made by a reputable manufacturer like Cortland. I'd say you made a good choice in spending so little on decent products to get started. You can always upgrade later if you want, and after you have a better idea what this thing is all about.

As far as the size and weight of your combo, it's a good setup for the normal fly fishing you will probably be doing. It will work well for trout and for bass on medium sized streams and for casting the "normal" size flys. But it will also be OK for smaller and larger streams.