But before I go get a decent setup I was told to buy a cheap set up from Walmart which I have two options Either a Cortland Fairplay 8' Fly Fishing Combo, 5/6 Weight, or the Martin Fly Fishing Combo Kit which kit should I go with ? TIA
Posted by Same_Football9277
17 Comments
Save your money on those and either get a [Redington](https://farbank.com/products/redington-original-kit-590-4) or [Orvis](https://www.orvis.com/product/encounter-fly-rod-outfit/3AR9.html?srsltid=AfmBOor9G76MHeA3p4w628HcS5ybtL0Z2oAlvpsEX0paoHQX4JDKaVDl) combo outfit. Somewhere between $200-$300 depending on if they are sale and if you get a 5 weight you can fish any creek in the US for trout.
I would just buy a not shitty set up to begin with. Buy once, cry once
The 8’ 5/6 will work great. Also, there can be a lot of pressure to spend a lot on gear. I’m currently using a total off brand 5 weight that was less than $80 – it’s my favorite rod I’ve ever had. Skill is 100x than equipment.
Look for a second hand rod you will get a much better setup for the price. Get a decent rod, good line and the reel doesn’t matter that much.
The short answer is neither if you plan to stick with it. Where in Colorado are you and what is your total fishing budget? What other gear do you have? I lived in CO for years and worked in a fly shop happy to give you pointers about gear.
Check Facebook Marketplace for a used Orvis combo or similar.
The fly line is 80% of the performance of a combo for trout. A crappy fly line will frustrate you as you learn. Even a used quality fly line would be better than what comes in one of those starter kits.
All the cheaper ones will be about the same quality. Get one and see if you like it, no need to spend 100s right now to get on the water.
Echo Carbon XL.
Stay away from the cheaper one. The cortland will probably be fine to learn with.
I just want to see if I like fly fishing before I buy a setup that’s 200$+ or so 🙂
Look – you can fly fish with a flexible branch and some string like they did in the very early days, this stuff will work.
And there will be a lot of people spouting the buy-once-cry-once line as they did when I was considering my first kit, a Reddington Crosswater, with some people even saying I should not spend $260 on that but just drop $5-600+ on something better. If I had that much to blow on new hobbies I would have, but I don’t.
Get what you can afford because the best fly rod is the one you have and use. That said, if you really like fishing and spend time using one of those two you’ll probably quickly learn the limitations of something like these or at least what you don’t like about them and you may want to upgrade.
I would sooner see what you can get used for a little more, or go to some Bass Pro sale and get the least expensive of their starter kits which might serve you a bit better.
I’ve been fishing for 11 years and I still use the same Reddington Crosswater rod and plastic reel, neither of which are the determining factor in either me having fun fishing or me catching fish. I feel like only now do I know enough about it and have used it enough that I know what upgrades I want to make.
And the guy at my local river who is the guru and slays the trout every time he’s out is the guy who uses a setup like mine, wears Walmart hunting waders held together with flex tape and shoe goo, and keeps his flies under the brim of his hat. *But* I have almost never been there when he isn’t, he ties his own flies, and the guy can practically taste the water and tell you whether you’re going to catch fish.
Check out the Leo fishing 6wt combo w case. Usually great price and not too far off in terms of quality to other cheap brands.
I started on a cortland and it has been just fine. I actually love how the cortland rod feels. The reel kind of crapped out on me so I bought a temu sougayilang reel for $15 and put it on the cortland rod. Put $100 scientific anglers sink tip line on the temu reel and the set up is honestly money and casts really well for the streamer fishing that I do. Have caught 100s of fish on the cortland
https://www.cabelas.com/p/white-river-fly-shop-riseform-fly-combo
This is a decent bit better for not a lot more and will actually feel like a tool not a toy. For others this is the replacement for the cabelas bighorn. As far as I can tell it’s basically the same.
As others have said you get what you pay for and the setups in the 200-300$ range are very good products that last years and years.
This is another option which be that next step up but from a very good entry level brand. https://muskyfool.com/products/echo-lift-kit?variant=43625642000610&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21953532624&gclid=CjwKCAjw_-3GBhAYEiwAjh9fUDfKomGX397cpCRUTwT123iNhw8mepuUgAcsAT01Jo7Df91t0kDa9xoCwpUQAvD_BwE
This is an expensive sport so if you don’t plan on spending a ton of money or don’t have the means it may be best to look online used.
The 5/6 will be easy to get the hang of. I’m new to fly fishing too, my 20$ temu rod and 10$ reel are doing just fine, you don’t need to spend 100’s to start out, spend the money on fly line, leader and tippet, I’m my experience that makes WAY more of a difference in your casting!
Welcome to the rabbit hole my friend!
That Martin rod is very terrible. It’s really heavy, poor sensitivity, and poor balance. I’ve heard the Cortland fairplay ones are half decent. If I was starting over again I would get the fair play. Could be just as bad, but there’s a chance that it’s better. Expect to want to upgrade immediately though. Other comments about finding a used setup are probably right.