Fly Fishing

acal · Newbie Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 2

I am fairly new to fly fishing and I will be going for Steelhead and Browns in Western New York and Pennsylvania streams.

I would appreciate recommendations for an affordable rod and reel. Maybe a good used outfit is available from one of you !

What strike indicators would you recommend ?

joey · Newbie Joined: May 31, 2004 Posts: 108 Location: Colorado

I have used a 7 weight TLS and 8 weight Zero G (both orvis) for steelies and think it is perfect. The 7 weight is 10 feet and helps with mending. Any mid to large arbor reel should do the trick. I like to use balloons for indicators, especially in the colder months. They are real sensitive and do not ice up when it gets cold. Good luck

bfly

Acal,
Nice to here from a fellow western, New Yorker. It's good to hear that you are getting into fly fishing for steelhead and brown trout. Welcome to the madness!
My opinion on rods, reels and indicators are as follows....You don't need to spend $400-$600 dollars on a great fly rod or reel, period! St. croix, Cortland, Temple fork outfitters and Redington are great companies and offer great prices($150-$250) on great rods. Even companies like Orvis and Sage have rods that are very affordable and perform very well for the price. I use mostly medium to medium fast six and seven weight rods that are 9 feet in length for tributary trout. If i fish the Oak or other larger tribs i might use an eight weight. Most streams in this area are small, so longer rods can get tough to handle and the medium to medium fast action rods will perform better because they load better with shorter casts. Joey makes a good point on reels.....make sure that you get either a mid-arbor or large-arbor reel. They increase your retrieval rate and reduce line coil. A good drag is also important. especially if you hook up with a 15 lb. steelhead that wants to head back to the lake. Orvis battenkill mid arbor, Redington CD mid arbor, Cortland cross current mid arbor are a few of the "best for the money" if you can spend a little more....go with Ross Cimarron large arbor, the Lamson Velocity large arbor or the Orvis Battenkill large arbor. All these reels are solid and perform exceptionally well. As for the strike indicators...i use either hard foam indicators or Yarn indicators. The yarn indicators do not work during the cold winter months...water freezes in the yarn fibers and it loses its ability to float well. Yarn indicators work really well in the warmer fall months and you can make your own indicators with yarn and customize the colors so you have less of a chance of spooking weary tributary browns. Just do a search in google for "make your own strike indicators" I hope everything goes well in your search for a trib set-up. Let me know how it goes. Bfly

acal · Newbie Joined: Jun 09, 2008 Posts: 2

joey and bfly,

Thanks much for the information that you guys have shared, it is very much appreciated.

acal