yeh I was convinced within 5 minutes until I heard the price estimate at $600 entry level

I've only ever caught a couple of farm trout on fly so I am way out of my league. Would be interested in Flywest's tips though. I think I need to save some pennies before I make the plunge and become a fly convert.

been in Perth all day doin bidness! Boating bidness! ;o)

Look - I'll happily teach anyone to fly cast - just make a day and lets do it - get a couple of you...I have enough fly rods n reels to outfit half the board so just bring yaselves and I'll teach what I know best!

A few small boats on the Mandurah estuary might be the go?.

I'm easey - just tell me what you want and when..if I can get my young fella a day off work at the tackle shop - he can help instruct...

Back in Nannup I used to go to the trout farm brood stock ponds (all 5 pounders) and let first timers catch n release a few big fal ol rainbows - they seemed to enjoy it - but theres a few willing tailor in the estuary down here - who knows what else?

Worst come to worst - we do it of a wednseday night and I'll net a school of something into a big circle so they can't get away! ;o)
(Joking!).

But yeah - only too happy to help..

Just tell me when and where and who!.

Bit of a tuna oil slick across the estuary with some pollard or something, we should be able to get something to come within casting range of beginners!

Fly castings like good sex - when your doing it right it feels good!

But - like riding a horse it takes the comittment to enough hours in the saddle to get good at it! The pay off is that once you have it - you will always have it - like riding a bike, you never forget how!

The method I use to teach shopuld have you well on the way to being competent in a day, or I need shooting!

Some learn faster than others...usually beach fishers used to baitcasting are the hardest to teach...they kinda already have it fixed in their heads - hwo a good cast is made and unlearning everything they already convinced emselves of is the hardest aprt.

Often someone whos never fished with learn really well in 10 mins and the guy whos a gun beach fisho will struggle...
Some people want it so bad they try too hard...

At the end of the day it takes no strength (women can fly cast as far as men) it is all timing and technique.

Many try to spend the family fortune on flash gear to compenmsate for a lack of skill..

I will cast a whole 90 ft line on a cheap Kmart combo or a loomis sage whatever you want - they can ALL do it IF you have the skill.

Better be carefull, I might hafta brush up myself, it's been a while..

Cheers!

What are the differences between the rods/reel's, between a relatively cheapy and a half decent one, how do you determine which is best, what do you look for?

Wouldn't mind getting into it, but the funds don't permit just brought a Navman 5500 colour chart plotter with c-map NT. So no more fishing gear for a while. WHEN DOES IT STOP

BOAT = Break Out Another Thousand!

With saltwater fly gear or Swoffing it does pay to get good gear, but not to go overboard. I once bought a couple $1000 plus US fly rods wth lifetime guarantees - but not these days. Due to our remoteness and the remote nature of a lot of the best fishing places for fly tis best to get fist full of middle of the road rods, and when your 500 miles the other side of the black stump and breeak one, just bin it and grab another and keep fishing - you'll sped a LOT more of the fuel / air fares or whatever to get to great spots than a couple or 3 good rods is worth and of you bust em on day one - then the rest of the holidays a bust!

It can happen - I well recall fishing with Morsie from team Sage @ shark Bay on a day he broke 3 in a row.....

Reels is where IMHO you should invest a bit more for one with a great breaking system. In swoffing the drag does do a lot of the work of stopping the fish coz the rods just a piece of spagetti noodle - you can't do much serious fish fighting with it! It's designed to cast a flyline and fly - not fight fish. The last 12 inches of butt section and the reel do all the fish fighting so your reel wants to be a good one IMHO..

Flylines aint cheap and neithers the braid backing for them!

Probably Chris Dunham at Flyworld in Bayswater is the most comprehensive stocked specifically fly fishing shop in WA - but other retail tackle outlets like Bluewater etc also have a reasonable range...

Get what you like and can afford at the end of the day!

The fish won't know the difference!

They also won't know if yourwearing a patagonia or Columboa short or a fleecy one from target either! Theres a lot of w@nkerisms in fly fishing with what gear you "must" have...some of the BEST fly fishers I ever met had very "poor gear" but they made up for it in the way they fished!

To each his own.

I reckon i can manage about 4 at a time of you guys...in a day - so just make a group and let me know the day so I can pencil it in on the calendar and make myself available!

Cheers!eers!

dont mind flicking the old fly around either. I would recommend something like herring or flathead when starting out with fly fishing.

Its different, more involved but great fun.

[img_assist|fid=17110|thumb=1|alt=Casting Fly|caption=Casting with Fly]

Awesome picture Huggy!

That almost makes me want to get into it!! Now just to rustle up another couple of hundred bucks for the next combo.. but like bolts said, when does it stop... lol :)

Looks very tempting thou.