New to Fly Fishing - Help

[Rodrigo Vazquez]

Hello,

I am new to fly fishing. I recently got a starter kit. Can I ask you a few questions about adding a line to my rod? I have a 5/6 weight  rod 9FT and 5/6reel (Does 5/6 means that I can add either 5 o 6 weight lines?). Can you advise me if the following line setup makes sense for this rod?

- Backing line - 55YDS 20lb

- Fly line - 100FT WF6F

- Leader- 9FT -- are there sizes for leaders? Do you have any recommendations?

- Tippet - Do I need one? I am confused about the difference between the leader and tippet. If so, are there sizes too?

I would greatly appreciate your help so that I can get started.

Thanks,

Rodrigo

[Rob]

Rodrigo, 

I will cover this in my podcast this week. I will send you a an email direct link. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 25, 2020, at 12:01 PM, Rodrigo Vazquez <rva...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello,

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/48d73c5d-73b8-4598-9221-19de15da1f3bn%40googlegroups.com.

[Daniel Lazenby]

There are others on this forum more qualified than me to answer your questions. These should help get you started.

Your reel is designed for either 5 or 6 weight lines.

20lb backing is appropriate for a 5. Should be okay for 6 weight line depending on size of target fish.

You can definitely get by with 50yds of backing. Did your reel come with any literature? If not, do a google search for its manual. The Manual should offer some recommendations on how much backing to use.

Leader/tippet can be confusing with the way they are interchangeably used. Think of a leader as having three parts, a butt section, a mid-section, and a tippet. The tippet is typically the last 24 or so inches of the leader. Leaders are primarily labeled according to the size of the tippet. different size tippets have different strengths and often work best with a specific range of fly sizes.

Hope this helps.

Daniel

--

[Rodrigo]

Thank you, Daniel. The information you provided is super helpful. My rod didn't come with a manual unfortunately, it's really a starter kit I got from amazon that I am hoping will help me with the basics of fly fishing before I can properly gear up. The information about the leader is super helpful, because my leader is a single string that gets thinner at the tippet. Can I ask you one more question? Can I just replace the tippet portion and keep the butt and mid section or do I have to replace the entire leader when I run out of tippet? I saw that I can just buy a tippet spool online. Thanks again. Rodrigo

You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/6fbHpPh5mxQ/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAJ51Mox0O2B2Qhg0JZtfdNP-FYksBM7Dr7CDOrP73kaZqTmD%2BA%40mail.gmail.com.

[James McCeney]

Hi rodrigo,

Do you know what size your leader is? If you know the size (my guess is it is 3x-4x if it came with a 5-6wt line) youre correct, you can buy a spool of some cheap tippet material of the same weight you can tie about a 2’ section to the end of the tippet with a double surgeons knot. A 9 foot tapered leader like you have is a great length for all around fishing. What species and water are you targeting?

For knots, I love this link. It’ll help you get your rod rigged up quickly so you can get out there: https://www.scientificanglers.com/fly-fishing-knot-tying-basics/

Leader Recipes are part of this awesome sport, and everybody has their own makeup and formulas for the right taper depending on the size and weight of fly they’re using at the time. There are a ton of variables that go into line and fly weights, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that right now.  Just get out and start casting to get a hang of the motion.

I’m mostly after bass these days, so I just use a heavy 6’ length of untapered mono tied directly to the line. I bet Rob will have a ton of awesome info on his upcoming podcast on the ins and outs of leader and tippet lengths for the local species and water here, so definitely give it a listen.

Tight lines and have fun

- James

On Aug 25, 2020, at 4:10 PM, Rodrigo <rva...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAN489_c4BEMGP6Js7MfOVer6ROAVgwt0fo91ieUB6NdsEVbWSg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Doug Graebner]

One caveat is that as you start cutting line off the leader changing tippets, it will eventually get to the point where 1) your taper starts getting funky and 2) you may have to change the knots you use since some leader/tippet knots generally stop working once the diameter of the tippet and thin end of the leader are too far apart. But this will become obvious once you get to a very visible difference. This doesn't matter as much for bass since there's less need for a tapered leader-in fact, I have the bad habit of recylcing some of my used-up fly leaders as bass leaders since a cut-to-useless 5X/7X leader is pretty nearly the right length for a slightly short bass leader and I feel better about not throwing the leaders out.

[Trevor Kendrick]

Rodrigo, I’m also new to fly fishing! Reach out to me directly. Would love to have someone that I can discuss all of these details with.

Trevor

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 25, 2020, at 6:53 PM, Doug Graebner <dgrae...@gmail.com> wrote:

One caveat is that as you start cutting line off the leader changing tippets, it will eventually get to the point where 1) your taper starts getting funky and 2) you may have to change the knots you use since some leader/tippet knots generally stop working once the diameter of the tippet and thin end of the leader are too far apart. But this will become obvious once you get to a very visible difference. This doesn't matter as much for bass since there's less need for a tapered leader-in fact, I have the bad habit of recylcing some of my used-up fly leaders as bass leaders since a cut-to-useless 5X/7X leader is pretty nearly the right length for a slightly short bass leader and I feel better about not throwing the leaders out.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/120f6de7-8bfc-49bf-8f39-52b7f03aebban%40googlegroups.com.

[Daniel Lazenby]

Rodrigo,

I agree with what James said about leaders and tippets. I too suggest listening to Rob's upcoming Podcast.

Like you mentioned Leaders can be expensive and tippet material not so much. Once I became comfortable with leaders and tippets, I began using what is called a "tippet ring". I cut the leader and tied the tippet ring right where the leader material had just begun to thin down to the tippet material diameter. From then on all I had to do was cut the old (too short) tippet from the ring and add the proper length of the new tippet and continue fishing. The only time I toss out leaders is when the leader breaks before the tippet ring. I can get almost an entire season on a leader doing this.

Some people complain about tippet rings messing with the art of the cast. With the way I cast I can't tell the difference between with or without a tippet ring.

Just something to think about when you get more down the road in this sport.

Please feel free to ask any questions. There are always people here who are willing to help.

Daniel

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAN489_c4BEMGP6Js7MfOVer6ROAVgwt0fo91ieUB6NdsEVbWSg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Owen Williams]

Dear Rodrigo and Trevor, 

Welcome! One great way to meet a number of anglers at all levels is to join us for an upcoming Casting Church (if you can get free on the second Sunday of the month and make it to the far end of Fletcher's Cove Boathouse parking lot between 8 and 10 or 11). Watch for Art, Carl, and/or Regan's emails on this forum. 

Best, 

Owen

[Rodrigo]

Thank you all for your tips and advice --  Rob's podcast was very insightful as well. I clearly have lots to learn, but your answers are guiding me to ask the right questions now - I think I now understand the differences between the leader and tippet. I will go out later today to practice my casting to get started. And I'll definitely join the upcoming Casting Church and any other even that is shared in this group.  Regards, Rodrigo

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/ab4d02f7-a08e-4d59-b545-2d92420c28d3n%40googlegroups.com.

[James McCeney]

Best of luck Rodrigo!  There are a lot of aspects of fly fishing that can be kind of intimidating, and can sometimes be a barrier to bringing in new folks.  Things like entomology, knots, fly tying, currents, expensive/complicated tackle, and water access are all a ton to take in for somebody who just wants to catch a fish.  

Catching fish lets that other stuff naturally fall into place as you go along, so just get out to a bluegill pond as often as you can and start chucking bugs at whatever will bite.  Sure, learning to cast might be frustrating, but it's also really fun and rewarding, and the learning curve isn't too steep initially.  The other good thing is that this board is a welcoming place to ask for advice, and DC is a super chill environment for fishing - I mean, our spring revolves around getting after shad and planning float trips for smallies, so you know folks here are cool.  Nobody here is going to give you a hard time for not toting a $1500 rod made out of a fighter jet wing.  Also, I've never been to a casting church (I have been meaning to), but from the posts I've seen here, it looks like they're super successful and really fun, so definitely give one a shot someday. 

Tight lines!  Have a blast out there

- J

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/CAN489_c7gn1g_bJTC2dYaeshDWP9tXdnpNxMgoELG87Jnc685g%40mail.gmail.com.