Myth or fact? Fly Fishing Is an Expensive Hobby

[passionfly]

Fly fishing has been pretty expensive for me and I know it is possible for me to stick with strictly the necessary items and cheap ones but I know fishing wouldn't be as good. Having more flies, accessories like floatant, a net, fluoro tippet, etc make the experience much better but it ends up costing more. So by nature is fly fishing expensive, cheap, or can it be both?

 

[redietz]

Fly fishing has been pretty expensive for me and I know it is possible for me to stick with strictly the necessary items and cheap ones but I know fishing wouldn't be as good. Having more flies, accessories like floatant, a net, fluoro tippet, etc make the experience much better but it ends up costing more. So by nature is fly fishing expensive, cheap, or can it be both?

It certainly can be either one. You won't necessarily catch more fish with expensive gear. I started out in the 60's with a cheap rod and fished mainly a few basic streamers for crappie and pickerel from the bank using straight 6 lb mono instead of tapered leaders. I caught a lot of fish on that setup. If you want to fish for trout, you probably need waders, but beyond that, you can still catch a lot of fish on that setup.

Even now, when I compare the price of even "nice" fly fishing gear to the price of a bass boat, fly fishing is still cheap. A lot of other hobbies cost a lot more.

 

[wildtrout2]

It's only as expensive as you make it, or want it to be. You can do very well with less expensive gear, but quality items tend to last longer.

 

[phiendWMD]

Fly fishing covers a lot of ground. It can be both. You can get an outfit and some flies for less than $100 and go fish. You can also own a cabin on the West Branch or fly to New Zealand. That's rather expensive in my opinion.

 

[Steeltrap]

I always tell my wife it's cheap. Hey...it's just a string on a stick....how much could it cost??

 

[Canoetripper]

I don't need to buy another fly rod. I spend money now on flies that I loose(I don't tie my own) and gas getting to and from the Poconos.

Canoe trips were expensive with all of the camping equipment I have purchased over the years and hiring some one for the shuttle to make sure my vehicle was waiting for me at the take-out. I had my own canoe and wasn't interested in renting one. My canoe was customized for what I wanted to do, and it was just a better canoe than what canoe liveries offer for rent.

I am not complaining though, just explaining.

The cost of my R&G club is very reasonable since I was "grandfathered" in there. The primitive cabins where I stay are only $15.00/night. Try finding a place to pitch a tent at that price at a camp ground.

In addition to the flies that I know I am going to loose, and gas, I like to cook on my Coleman 3 in 1 combination cooker. I will spend some money on those meals.

Then there is the beer, cigars, etc.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

"Expensive" is relative to one's ability to buy things. When I was in high school and college, $100 was way to expensive for me.

As others suggested, you can spend ad many different levels. You could buy used gear on FB Marketplace, yard sales, etc. You could get by with 3 flies on heavy tipped fishing for panfish.

There are a lot of expert marketers in all areas of the economy that know how to get us to open our wallets. Fly fishing is certainly no exception. If you can turn off the part of your brain that's vulnerable to this marketing, you can catch fish quite well with very low priced gear. I have not been successful at switching that part of my brain off.

Warning: The wolf in sheep's clothing can be found on blog posts and videos. Lots of people posting content that subtly, or not so subtly, suggests the key to success lies in buying this or that.

When you strip things to the very bare essence, you can buy a cane pole for under $10, tie 8# mono to it and catch fish (kinds poor version of tenkara).

It's a hobby. Enjoy it with whatever you can afford. Don't buy what you don't absolutely need and you will fins fly fishing can be budget-friendly.

 

[DGC]

Not necessarily. But thinking about it, I probably had to spend too much to realize later that I didn't have to.

 

[tomgamber]

Can be. My most expensive rods are 200 bucks. Bought in the last 10 years. Used the same old llbean angler rod for 20 years before I bought those. Caught a lot of fish and gushed 200 days a year during some of that. If ya got it ya spend it. But ya don't have to.

 

[StreamBottom]

IMO I think with a lot of the “high end names” you’re paying for the marketing hype.

The less expensive rods can cast just as well. Especially if you’re a mid-Atlantic trout fishermen where a long cast is 40’
Maybe the hardware (reel seats, guides etc) are not as fancy, but the taper works just as well.

That being said, I like fishing bamboo. 😃
As others have said, you can make it as expensive as you want to.

 

[poopdeck]

Fly fishing has been pretty expensive for me and I know it is possible for me to stick with strictly the necessary items and cheap ones but I know fishing wouldn't be as good. Having more flies, accessories like floatant, a net, fluoro tippet, etc make the experience much better but it ends up costing more. So by nature is fly fishing expensive, cheap, or can it be both?

huh? I fish cheap and I think I do great or at least okay. I don’t find fishing, trout fishing included, to be that difficult requiring lots of money or multitude’s of flies and gear to do it. I use to catch loads of trout with split shot and yarn crimped on a hook as a ten year old. As I got older I started to believe fishing was some kind of “art” requiring great skill, knowledge and gear. As I got older yet I realized how i should remain ten years old in my approach. Keeping it simple has worked for me for the last 50 years and I strive to be a fishing minimalist. That’s the true art of fishing. Of course over the course of a lifetime I’ve acquired many fishing things but when I go out fishing it’s with as few things as I think I can get away with.

so to answer your question, it can be both but neither makes fishing any better or worse.

 

[tomgamber]

What poop said!

 

[Prospector]

It can be done fairly cheap.

Buy used rods — the used rods I’ve bought are lightly used

Reels - if you strip in your trout then buy a very cheap reel since all it does is hold line

Fly line — take some care and it lasts a long time

Tippet and leader — buying and using trilene spools at 300 yds in a few sizes lasts for years

Hooks — not much wiggle room here except by limiting your patterns to 20-30 flies would be effective most days

Materials to tie flies — if you hunt or are willing to pickup road kill and skin it and dry it you can obtain material for pheasant tail nymphs, muskrat nymph, mink tail for Caddis dries, starlings are good for soft hackle wets, duck wings for wets, rabbits for nymphs, porcupine quills for dries,…etc. A few good chicken necks, or whiting packs would be needed in addition.

It’s doable.

 

[rustbeltwilds]

trout dont care how much you spend... i have 300 dollar rods and 19 dollar rods and i fish my 16 dollar rods more work just as good,, its not the equip more then the operator time on yhe water and practice practice practice

 

[wbranch]

Fly fishing had always been relatively inexpensive until I bought the cabin for $50K and the upgrades and the Hyde, and the bass boat, and the two pontoon boats. Keep your eyes open on the Swap Forum for some sales of fly rods, reels, a Bucks Bag Bronco, bonefish flies, hair wing steelhead and Atlantic salmon flies and various Wheatley fly boxes. Cutting back on all my fly fishing tackle. Losing interest.

 

[JoeE]

It is what you make of it and it doesn’t have to be too expensive. There are tons of things we don’t need but buy anyway.

 

[passionfly]

It is what you make of it and it doesn’t have to be too expensive. There are tons of things we don’t need but buy anyway.

I absolutely agree. Thanks for the help!

 

[pcray1231]

I haven't spent all that much on rods & reels. I got the basics, mid priced stuff, it works great for me, and I kept it a long time. If you add it up over the years the money I've spent on tippet, flies, etc. adds up, but it's not a huge expense. Where the money comes in...

1. Travel - I have trout fisheries close, and I use them some, but I like to travel and the best waters are pretty far. Gas money, especially now, and often lodging. If you look at my yearly fishing costs, this is the bulk of it. And I don't even go out of state very much, this is just like weekend trips to central or northern PA, or day trips up to the Poconos.

2. Waders & boots. I had these things waaaayyyy back when I was a spin fisher too. But having recently outfitted a significant other with the basics, this is far and away the biggest $$$ "hurdle" that somebody new to the sport almost has to have. Yes, you can wet wade in mid summer. But a non-fisherman who decides they want to start fishing and actually get into the sport a little bit, going to buy waders and a decent pair of wading boots, at the same time, is more than a little painful on the wallet. And it's dang near a necessity. And it becomes a necessity well before that person really knows if they want to stick with the sport. The cheap ones wear out and need replaced quickly, like year 2, and the expensive ones last but are real steep up front.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

It ebbs and flows. This is why, when there are treads like "Are polarized sunglasses NECESSARY", I reply "define necessary". Are they helpful? Yes. Do you NEED them to fly fish? No. Guys did fine for generations w/out them.
Most my gear is inexpensive, old, and a lot of it inherited. Waders/boots and flies are probably my biggest expense. But, you know-am I buying those every year? No. A good investment up front saves you money in the long run. I haven't bought new wading boots in about 4 years now, and looking at them this year, it looks like I'll get another solid year out of them. In the meantime, I can put a little money away here and there so that when it comes time to buy new boots, I'll be ready.
Learn to do some things on your own, like tie your own leaders, tie a few of your favorite patterns, learn how to clean your line, maintain your reels, repair guides, that sort of thing, and you really don't have to spend a ton of money on this hobby.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Oh, since you mentioned floatant...Albolene makeup remover. I bought a "tub" of it like, 8 years ago. Haven't bought floatant since.