Fly Rod & Reel for beginner

huddlejonny

Howdy,

Can any experts out there point me in the right direction of an entry level Fly Rod & Reel for trout fishing on the River Lee & surrounding Fisheries lakes. My budget is €100.

I have narrowed my search down to the following but am wide open to any opinions from the experienced pro's on boards.ie

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeare-Freshwater-Advanced-Fly-Combo/dp/B003CKL0I6

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abu-Garcia-Diplomat-Reel-Combo/dp/B004O6LQ4U/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1429799860&sr=1-1&keywords=abu+garcia+fly+rod+combo

Having read a few articles and threads the general recommendation is 9ft 5wt Fly rod? It doesn't have to be a combo just something with a nice action and balance to it.

Would this be a good starting point for a complete newbie to fly fishing?

Many thanks in advance.

Welllmade1745

huddlejonny wrote: »

Howdy,

Can any experts out there point me in the right direction of an entry level Fly Rod & Reel for trout fishing on the River Lee & surrounding Fisheries lakes. My budget is €100.

I have narrowed my search down to the following but am wide open to any opinions from the experienced pro's on boards.ie

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeare-Freshwater-Advanced-Fly-Combo/dp/B003CKL0I6

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abu-Garcia-Diplomat-Reel-Combo/dp/B004O6LQ4U/ref=sr_1_1?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1429799860&sr=1-1&keywords=abu+garcia+fly+rod+combo


Having read a few articles and threads the general recommendation is 9ft 5wt Fly rod? It doesn't have to be a combo just something with a nice action and balance to it.

Would this be a good starting point for a complete newbie to fly fishing?

Many thanks in advance.

An 8,6 - 9 foot 5 weight is what you want with a floating line.

The Shakespeare agility range of rods are fantastic for the money(50-70 euro) leaving you at least 30 for the reel .
I'm no expert on reels but there not all important if your just going to be catching trout- just about anything will do so long as the reel matches the rod.

Ive a daiwa yoke that cost me about 30 quid or so (daiwa wilderness I think) and it works perfectly. That prob leaves you 20 quid for a line. That is a bit low but I'm sure if you go into a tackle shop and buy all them together you'll get a good deal .

Welllmade1745

Saying all of that you can't fault the combo deals like you showed- if you don't want to complicate things you should just go for something like that and use the leftover cash to buy some flys

popsy09

Can't comment on the above kits but i have used the airflo starter kit and it does the job nicely straight out of the box

The other fella

Got a Shakespeare oddessey 5wt in Murrays for 25euro including a rod case, great value.

BrownTrout

Murrays won't put you wrong. Also they're excellent to do discounts/deals when you buy a few bits together

huddlejonny

Think I'll go with one of the 3 combos just to keep price down and not have the hassle of trying to match up a rod and reel. Rang Murrays earlier and they recommended a Shakespeare Fly combo, all in for about €100.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know of a decent & cheap online tackle shop? Thanks.

popsy09

With paying for post I don't think you will beat Murrays , always the cheapest when I'm buying gear

Only recently 17e cheaper than other shops for a fly reel I got

fishingmegastore

johnnorris. Are two sites that I use with no problems

BrownTrout

garryevans.co.uk always have discounts and will sell you a combo at a substantial discount

bazza85g

Don't know if you've made your decision yet, but here's a few things that helped me get started:

I got an Airflo 9ft 5/6wt starter kit here:tackledirectireland.ie. Good quality rod. If you are in the Cork area, drop in to Dan in Halfway Angling Centre and he will point you in the right direction. Very helpful guy.

Another good value Irish business: dunfly.ie has very reasonable prices and a good range of flies.

In terms of lines: Barrio Fly Lines get rave reviews online. Looking forward to testing it myself soon. flylineshop.com (Free international postage)


I'm only a beginner myself, just sharing what I've learned so far, so I hope it helps.

huddlejonny

Thanks for the replies. Here is an update on the best prices that I have so far.

AirFlo 9ft 5wt: €75 tackledirect in halfway - in fairness to this guy he said it was a decent combo but the flies that came with it were crap! Everywhere else this combo was €85-95.

Murrays Cork: spoke with the old boy he said he could do a decent shakespeare rod & reel, flies etc for just under €100 or they could put together a budget combo for €55-60. I inquired in the shop itself and spoke to another member of staff and was offered a shakespeare rod & reel + flies for €55.

Other option that I looked at was adverts.ie & done deal - some interesting offers but I'd prefer a receipt with some sort of guarantee, wouldn't trust anyone on there really.

bazza85g

Well I'm very happy with the Airflo. Nice light rod that really improved my casting as I had been trying to re-learn casting using an 11ft 7wt more suited to lough fishing. Send me a PM if you want to try my rod some evening.

€75 leaves you room to buy leaders and flies and a few bits and you'll still be under budget . . . . a rare thing indeed!

huddlejonny

Ended up buying an Airflo 5wt combo kit. For anyone looking to keep prices down I bought it on Flubit for €68 inc delivery via parcel motel.