new to fly fishing in Connecticut close to Rhode Island border looking for advice

[wallstreet]

Hello I am sure a million people come on these forums looking for advice so here I am. I have fished my whole life but just getting into fly fishing with my 2 high school aged sons. We did an Orvis class and we all really enjoyed it. We would like to do some freshwater stream and pond fishing and we live close to the ocean where we can catch stripers and blue fish. I am struggling with what we should buy. Some folks say todays rods and reels are all great compared to years ago and just get something to get started. Others say buy the best you can afford. I can afford upper end equipment but want to be smart about spending money on something thats new. we also were told that you can't really use the same set up for streams and saltwater that is another issue if we want to do both kinds times 3 people. Really looking for some guidance in what to buy. Should we buy used but quality? if so where do you find quality used? or do we just buy the 9 foot rod with the 5-7 wt that we can maybe catch all the fresh water and some small school bass? Lots of decisions and excited to start. Any help here would really help.


Thanks Rob

 

[MACFLY]

Orvis has some great starter fly rods and reels. Are you close to a fly shop? I’d say a 5 or 6weight rod will be great for trout and smallmouth bass in the stream or pond. You will def need a separate outfit for the ocean like an 8 or 9 weight rod with a good reel that has a sealed drag to keep the salt at bay. The saltwater outfit will depend on what you are targeting so it’s possible a larger rod may be needed as for new vs used. You will find a lot of used gear on the market on eBay and other sites. I see a lot of flyshops offer used gear they have bought as trade ins from other anglers to put towards new gear. I would say buy new if you think you will be fishing consistently. Orvis, Sage, Scott, loomis, T&T all make quality stuff and most offer lower end outfits. Other rodmakers like redington,TFO, st Croix have great rods at low cost. I’d say go to a fly shop and try a couple out. Have a price range in mind. For a starter set you can spend as little as a 100 bucks to about 300 bucks. That top end will get you a pretty decent set up. You can spend a lot more but might as well start out at the lower end and if the addiction takes hold you have a reasonable back up outfit. Keep in mind you got other things you will need like a good pair of polarized glasses, a vest or sling, flyboxes, tippet, flies, lone clippers. You don’t need to go all in at once but if you are going to fish a bunch you will need to get it in short order. If you don’t have waders you will need those as well.

It’s a great sport but it can drain the wallet

 

[wallstreet]

Thanks for the advice. I live in southeast Connecticut in Stonington so need to research the fly shops around. I appreciate the help. Looking forward to trying the sport.

 

[dcabarle]

Thanks for the advice. I live in southeast Connecticut in Stonington so need to research the fly shops around. I appreciate the help. Looking forward to trying the sport.

It's a bit of a ride but why not take a trip to the T&T rod factory in MA.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=LO...0i71j0j0i22i30j33i22i29i30j33i160.ddd11P8vHY8

They offer tours of the company and rod making process.

 

[finnflyfishing]

With starter rod/reels, one tip to getting the absolute best performance out of it is to make sure the rod is perfectly balanced. If not, you can always use a fly rod balancing kit to fix the issue instead of buying a new reel.

EDIT
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[charlietrout]

I am completely New to fly fishing and I just bought a used 9 foot 5/6 wt rod (brand not relevant). I also bought an old reel that has no identifying marks or name on it whatsoever, but it looks like it matches well with my rod. It seems to be in good working order, but I wonder if it is really meant for the 5/6 weight rod. Hoping to learn a lot from this discussion forum.