Hey All,
Typical story of "Not new to fishing but new to fly fishing" Brother in law got me a beginner setup for my birthday a short while ago (5wt 8.5'), and I'd like to give it a fair try to see if I like it. I have a few flies lying around from when I tried tenkara, which I just never found any enjoyment or luck in, as well as from mystery tackle box type things. I recently found I love going after trout after fishing the D&R for stockies and doing some catch & cooks.
I have been watching youtube videos and whatnot, so I think I can cover the basics of how to cast, what to fish for where, gear questions, etc. but I have two quick questions.
1.) Waders - Every entry level wader ($60-$150) that I find has about 20 reviews on it that say "Hole after 2 uses" or "Leaked my first time out" - obviously I want to avoid that. It seems to unfortunately be luck of the draw unless you're buying a $400 pair of Simms, which I'm not that invested in yet. I wanted to ask if I would have a bad time of it if I got an $80 pair of made in china waders, some decent wading boots, and just went over any leaks that may pop up with aquaseal - considering I may only use them a few times.
2.) I live in Trenton NJ, which is not a great spot as far as fly fishing is concerned. Wondering if anyone can recommend a few spots within an hour drive of me that I can wade for trout? I know to get my feet wet I should be practicing anywhere and catching some tiny sunnies and whatnot, but I'm really looking for the "traditional" wet wade for trout experience. Not super interested in fly fishing for bass as I have plenty of bassin gear. I have googled around and found some "spots" i.e. south branch of the raritan, or little lehigh creek, but wondering if anyone could point me to some parking along any specific bodies of water and specific sections to fish? I waded the Stony Brook near Princeton about two months ago or so but I was in a really shallow section with just one decent pool, all I caught were sunnies and rock bass - so It would be good to know where some of the deeper runs are and what not. As a disclaimer, I know its a bit hot for trout at the moment, most of this will be done in say - October when PA stocks (I have my PA license) and when the whether cools down and the trout start chewing actively.
Thanks in advance for any guidance!
Typical story of "Not new to fishing but new to fly fishing" Brother in law got me a beginner setup for my birthday a short while ago (5wt 8.5'), and I'd like to give it a fair try to see if I like it. I have a few flies lying around from when I tried tenkara, which I just never found any enjoyment or luck in, as well as from mystery tackle box type things. I recently found I love going after trout after fishing the D&R for stockies and doing some catch & cooks.
I have been watching youtube videos and whatnot, so I think I can cover the basics of how to cast, what to fish for where, gear questions, etc. but I have two quick questions.
1.) Waders - Every entry level wader ($60-$150) that I find has about 20 reviews on it that say "Hole after 2 uses" or "Leaked my first time out" - obviously I want to avoid that. It seems to unfortunately be luck of the draw unless you're buying a $400 pair of Simms, which I'm not that invested in yet. I wanted to ask if I would have a bad time of it if I got an $80 pair of made in china waders, some decent wading boots, and just went over any leaks that may pop up with aquaseal - considering I may only use them a few times.
2.) I live in Trenton NJ, which is not a great spot as far as fly fishing is concerned. Wondering if anyone can recommend a few spots within an hour drive of me that I can wade for trout? I know to get my feet wet I should be practicing anywhere and catching some tiny sunnies and whatnot, but I'm really looking for the "traditional" wet wade for trout experience. Not super interested in fly fishing for bass as I have plenty of bassin gear. I have googled around and found some "spots" i.e. south branch of the raritan, or little lehigh creek, but wondering if anyone could point me to some parking along any specific bodies of water and specific sections to fish? I waded the Stony Brook near Princeton about two months ago or so but I was in a really shallow section with just one decent pool, all I caught were sunnies and rock bass - so It would be good to know where some of the deeper runs are and what not. As a disclaimer, I know its a bit hot for trout at the moment, most of this will be done in say - October when PA stocks (I have my PA license) and when the whether cools down and the trout start chewing actively.
Thanks in advance for any guidance!