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What is a good fly rod brand for one who has taken 5 lessons and wants to seriously pursue the sport more?

Also, what type of line weight and rod size is good for a river?

Public Comments

1. Go to LLBean.com to see what you can afford. Then call to talk with someone in sporting goods. They'll advise on evrything you can think of to ask. The house brand is good to very good. If you are going to get a kit go with $100.00 set or higher.
2. Redington is a good all round brand name, it will serve its purpose for some time any yet still be fore-giving should you make and beginners mistakes, however what i really recommend is the Sage launch, its a quality rod made by sage, who we all know are famous for rods such as the z-axsis, depending on your funds the z-axsis is a great fast action rod but a little too expensive if you're just starting out, that's why i recommend the Sage Launch, its a cheaper version but still the action is an excellent tip action that's great for river fishing, a five weight rod should work well, i wouldn't normally recommend a tip action rod for a beginner, BUT since you're river fishing you need to quickly cast your dry flies to rising trout and also it allows a shorter casting stroke which means you spend less time trying to retrieve your flies you lost in the over hanging tress. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20431-cat600591&id=0029862318396a&navCount=2&podId=0029862&parentId=cat600591&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600591&hasJS=true Even though these rods are rated to have medium to fast action, ive found them to be pretty much a tip action rod, great for river fishing. My son has one and he is just starting out, with practice you will have no problems casting it, you may want to use a lighter 4 weight rod, although i recomend a 5wt for general river fishing and it can cope with a slight breeze. You could also look at temple fork outfitters rods, although im not a fan of them myself they may suit your price range better than the sage, but remember teh sage should last a long time so long as you look after it carefully, for river fishing try to get as short a rod as possible, once again to avoid contact with trees etc. If you want to spend a little more you might want to look at the ultra light Orvis Helios. http://www.orvis.com/store/product_directory_chart.asp?dir_id=758&Group_ID=759&cat_id=14457&subcat_id=14458
3. I recommend TFO- Temple Fork outfitters- I've fished MOST of the rod companies out there, and I use the TFO on an ongoing basis, as it's a GREAT rod for the money. They start at 100, and go up. If you buy the basic 100.00 TFO rod, you will have a good rod that you won't need to trade in for a long time, maybe ever, and they have a lifetime no fault warranty so no need to worry about breaking it which is big for me, the worlds biggest klutz. So far as the river, if its big, and windy, go with the six weight. smaller medium size with less wind, go for a 5. very small river (10-20 ft across) got with a 4 wt. tiny creeks, I use a 3wt, but that starts to get pretty specialized, and you can't buck wind or chuck big nymph rigs. if you only buy one, buy a 5 wt, unless you fish mostly bigger rivers, then I'd say a 6. You didn't ask about lenght- definetely go with a 9 ft. in bushy small streams it will be hard, but anywhere else you'll appreciate the extra length- makes it easier to nymph, mend line, keep the line higher on the land and in boats, float tubes. good luck
4. Airflow has given you some great tips. I purchased a Sage Launch for my daughter. The Orvis Z-gravity Helios is just spectacular...... but it is $750 Depending on the size of the river will dictate what size rod. If the river is no more than 60 ft across I would recomend a 8' 5wt rod for general purpose trout fishing. Larger rivers may require a 9' rod. A medium-fast action rod is great for a beginner and quite frankly is the action that alot of seasoned veterans prefer. Without breaking the bank, check out the Redingtons (Red 2 for $99), they are serviceable rods and the company is owned by Sage, so the quality will be there. Cabela's makes a fine rod call ed the Sli price of $325 St. Croix makes a decent rod for the price, check out the Reign for $130 Echo makes another good one, the Classic for $150 The above are medium fast action rods Pair them with a decent reel such as a Ross Flywater ($90), Scierra IC3 ($80) or an Orvis Battenkill ($89) Get a decent flyline such as Rio Classic ($45), Scientific Anglers GPX ($64) or Cortland 444 Classic ($52) and you 'll be ready to do some fishing. Tight Lines