I know this is not a hot topic here but I gotta think some of you do fly fish or at least have knowledge in the subject. SO here is my question.
IF you were going to purchase say, your Ultimate Dream of 2 fly rod setups for inland fishing whether it be on shore or in the bow of a boat.
What specifically would it all include?
Would one be for a little more all around and the other for a specific time? Or not?
I don’t know now, perhaps @rootski would better be able to consult with these days.
Back when I first dabbled in fly fishing…perhaps 15-20 years ago?
3M Scientific Anglers offered complete introductory packages with everything to get started except the “lesson”…rod, reel, fly line, and a couple leaders.
“Blue collar man” priced and all you needed to get started.
Not sure they even offer anything like that now, but on a side story…very interesting the connection with 3M Company, a global giant and the certain employees with the affection for fly fishing.
3M.jpg
Andy, this would be your “Ultimate Dream of 2 fly rod setups for inland fishing”?
Andy, this would be your “Ultimate Dream of 2 fly rod setups for inland fishing”?
Well…they also did have a similar package for panfish and another for bass/steelhead (heavier weight).
Not sure I would qualify it as “Ultimate Dream” because I had to buy it myself in an affordable (to me) budget. Give me everything for less than a “hundo”… 
And that it did…”Ultimate Dream” might be some Orvis brand,
phew…I’m only a blue collar man 
Jeez Andy! You beat me to it, didn’t even realize it! Steve it going to wonder what the heck is going on in here!
While the other Steve is going to be a much better source of information, I’ll offer my insight, Denny.
The most universal, all-around, easy to find setup is going to be a 5wt rod in 8.5 or 9′ length. Anywhere from a 4wt to a 6wt would be fine, but you’ll find 5wt to be more common. You can use this for stream trout, panfish, and even moderate size bass. Tip: Don’t invest too much in the rod or reel right off the bat. Reels are essentially just line holders for these applications. You’ll be much happier with a budget rod and reel, but investing in decent line. Get a weight forward floating line for this setup.
For your other setup, I’d say go with a 8wt in 9-10′ length with a reel to match. This can be used to target steelhead, larger bass, and pike. The reel’s drag matters a bit more in this scenario, but we’re still talking about inland freshwater fish here so no need to spend $500 on a reel with sealed drag and carbon fiber components that tells you the future and cures cancer. Again, prioritize line on your setup. Perhaps invest in an additional spool/cassette and put some intermediate sink tip line on to throw streamers or nymphs at deeper depths.
Hope this helps.
If you are going to throw large poppers, deehair bugs and streamers for bass and pike a 9ft 9wt with floating bass bug taper line. For panfish bass with nymphs etc a 9 ft 5 wt with a forward taper floating line. If you are doing indicator nymphing for steelhead I use a 10ft 7wt with indicator taper 7 wt floating line.
I spend my money on good rods and flylines. I use cabelas wind river or martin reels which have been holding up quite well for the price.
Mwal
Good to see some fellow fly anglers here!
I agree with the above suggestions. The fishing author Jim Harrison once stated that you can catch any freshwater fish in North America with a 6 weight and an 8 weight. Since he made that statement, the game has changed a little bit. Today’s 5 weights are a lot like the 6 weights used to be. I have a 9 foot 5 weight that I use for everything from stream Trout to panfish to small stream Smallmouth. I have a fast action 8 weight that I use for 99% of my summer Bass fishing. If I had to, I could survive with those two rods. Of course being a fisherman it’s in my DNA to get more stuff so I also have a few (OK more than a few) other rods.
This thing about weights……it’s roughly analogous to Ultra light, medium light, etc. with conventional rods. In fly fishing the fly line throws the fly. The heavier and more wind resistant the fly, the heavier the line has to be to throw it. The rod is designed to deal with a specific weight of line. The trade off is delicacy. If you use an 8 weight to throw tiny little dry flies at shallow water Trout, you will struggle with the line slamming onto the water hard and making too much commotion. On the other hand, if you try and throw a Bass Popper with a 5 weight on a windy day, your arm will fall off before you can get the fly out there. It’s not so much about the size of the fish, it’s about the size of the fly and the conditions you’re fishing in. Lakes are windier than small streams, for example.
I don’t think anybody makes a rod that is so bad you really can’t cast with it. Some are better than others, but I’ve never spent more than $120 on a fly rod and I seriously maintain that there’s nothing that somebody can do with an $800 rod that I can’t do just as well as a $150 dollar rod. Expensive fly rods don’t catch more fish. As Moustachesteve said, the reel is mainly there to store the line. I can’t think of any fish I’ve ever lost in 55 years of fly fishing that I could blame on the reel.
Lines are a different story. Cheap lines are tough to use. Good lines are wonderful. A good line will cost you in the neighborhood of$60-$100. I clean my lines after every use and get many years out of them. Oh, and I don’t use fancy expensive fly line manufacturer approved fly line cleaner either. I use Armorall.
S.R.
I’m going to ask some questions, even tho they may sound like a duh answer (meaning I believe I already know the answer but it is possible,,,,) 
Questions about the differences in the quality of a rod, Y/N.
Will the rods quality help detect the bite?
Will the rods quality help fight the fish?
Will the rods quality help casting the bait?
Will the rods quality help placing the bait precisely to your target location?
Will the rods quality help put more trophy sized fish in your hands? 
Then please explain.
I will follow up with other questions about line, reels tippets and other. 
< Will the rods quality help detect the bite?
The heavy fly line transmits the feel of a bite really well.
< Will the rods quality help fight the fish?
I don’t see how.
< Will the rods quality help casting the bait?
To some extent. The more a rod is ‘self dampening”, the easier it is to cast longer distances. In other words if the rod keeps bouncing around after you stop moving it, that increases friction in the guides and shortens your cast. It also impairs accuracy.
Will the rods quality help placing the bait precisely to your target location?
Yes, see above.
< Will the rods quality help put more trophy sized fish in your hands?
That’s like saying “will a better Formula 1 car help me win the race?”. Sure, IF you know how to drive it.
SR
Steve is dead about getting quality line and cleaning ot and dressing it. I use piece of paper towel with dish soap wipe line thru folded towel wipe thru dry towel then use a line dressing . I get 5 to 6 years of use on a line
Gentleman, I enjoy your humor and appreciate your advice!!
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mwal wrote:</div>
Steve is dead?How?
Get strangled by the lasso in his avatar?
Hi Steve
That is good! 
<< Will the rods quality help fight the fish?
I don’t see how.
SR
SO a rod that is a Xwt is able to retrieve the same fish in the same body of water within the same conditions the very same way? Absolutely with no differences?
Steve is dead about getting quality line and cleaning ot and dressing it. I use piece of paper towel with dish soap wipe line thru folded towel wipe thru dry towel then use a line dressing . I get 5 to 6 years of use on a line
I read this that Steve Root stated. I think that never occured to me nor have I read about that. Ok, gotta look into the cleaning of the line, Armor All eh?
“SO a rod that is a Xwt is able to retrieve the same fish in the same body of water within the same conditions the very same way? Absolutely with no differences?”
Better quality means nicer cork in the handle, maybe a higher modulus graphite, or better materials used in making the guides. None of that makes much of a difference when you’re fighting the fish. One point to make here. Fly rods are made to bend. If you “high stick” a fly rod when you’re fighting a fish, you won’t put much pressure on the fish and you could even damage the rod. Learn to point the rod towards the fish so you’re essentially fighting with the bottom of the rod.
” I read this that Steve Root stated. I think that never occured to me nor have I read about that. Ok, gotta look into the cleaning of the line, Armor All eh?”
An essential part of fly casting is the ability to “shoot” line out through the guides. I false cast no more than 30 feet of line, and then shoot the rest out to get where I want to fish. A limiting factor is friction between the fly line and the guides. Any gunk or dirt built up on the fly line increases that friction. Enough dirt can also make your floating line turn into a sinking line.
SR
IF you were going to purchase say, your Ultimate Dream of 2 fly rod setups for inland fishing whether it be on shore or in the bow of a boat.
What specifically would it all include?
Denny,
You have gotten better advice than I can give. That said I’m going to “change” your premise just a bit and give you my response. Change “inland fishing” to “Iowa fishing” Why?, just because if your like me, the majority of the time you will find yourself fishing close to home.
I like a short 3 wt set up for fishing small creeks. Just like I like a short ultralight spinning rod for small creeks. A guy can have a blast catching anything that tugs the other end of the line and one is always surprised at just what you will find in those small creeks.
Then I step up to a 5 wt for almost all the rest. (again close local fishing) For all the previously mentioned reasons.
Sure I have some heavier set ups for throwing to pike and muskie, but I find MYSELF using the 3 wt and 5 wt the most.
IF you were going to purchase say, your Ultimate Dream of 2 fly rod setups for inland fishing whether it be on shore or in the bow of a boat.
What specifically would it all include?
I have fished quite happily on 3 continents with these rods:
– A 9 foot, 5 wt (in 4 piece for portability) – WF line, a decent but not obnoxiously expensive Teton reel.
– A 9 foot, 8 wt (again, 4 piece) – WF line, decent reel, extra spool for sink tip. In truth, a #7 would be fine as well, a #7 in 9.5 foot is a tremendously versatile rod.
With those two rods, you can quite effectively cover everything from small trout in tiny streams to salmon, steelhead, bass, and pike and even the “light” saltwater flats species.
Is it nice to have more rods for niche situations? Of course. My favorite rod for trout is an 8.5 foot #4 followed by my “small stream special” a 7.5 foot #4. But while these rods give me an increase in terms of fun, they also lack versatility. Also since these rods are not replaceable (out of production and very difficult to find on the market), I won’t travel with them.
Questions about the differences in the quality of a rod, Y/N.
Will the rods quality help detect the bite? It depends on what and how you’re fishing. Pulling streamers, buggers, bass flies? Yes. Nymphing, chuck-n-duck, traditional wetfly, dry fly then no.
Will the rods quality help fight the fish? Not really.
Will the rods quality help casting the bait? Gasp! What is this “bait” you speak of? If you’re going to get into this fly game, you first need to cleanse your vocabulary of the use of the word “bait”. Or at least learn to say it with disdain dripping from your voice.
But the short answer is mostly yes, a better quality rod does help with casting precision to an extent. Does a $1000 rod cast 5X better than a $200 rod? No.
Will the rods quality help placing the bait precisely to your target location? There you go again…
Will the rods quality help put more trophy sized fish in your hands? No. Fishing where the trophy fish are is the first factor. In fly fishing, fishing the technique is paramount. Technique trumps gear every time.
Grouse
Thanks for bringing this thread back up!
I still have not made any purchases yet but it was in my mind just 2 weeks ago to get back into digesting this info. 
Been a busy winter for me with work. Geeze, I’m supposed to be semi retired! 
Monsieur Root, I sincerely hope you are getting better Sir! 
Most forward looking to see your posts in a regular fashion once again! 
Grouse, ya got me! I do need an other lesson in the other sport of fishing!!
To all other replys, I need to reread this once again and digest. This side of fishing I’m going to be a novice as “Mr. Grouse” has pointed out. 
”I can’t think of any fish I’ve ever lost in 55 years of fly fishing that I could blame on the reel”
This statement would not be true if an automatic reel were in play.
Fly Fishing, the most fun you can have standing up.
Will the rods quality help casting the bait? Gasp! What is this “bait” you speak of? If you’re going to get into this fly game, you first need to cleanse your vocabulary of the use of the word “bait”. Or at least learn to say it with disdain dripping from your voice.
Funny… A fisherman would drift spawn. A fly fisherman would drift yarn. If a fly fisherman resorted to the former and was called out on it they would only admit to using Ovarian Hackle.
TheFamousGrouse wrote:
Will the rods quality help casting the bait? Gasp! What is this “bait” you speak of? If you’re going to get into this fly game, you first need to cleanse your vocabulary of the use of the word “bait”. Or at least learn to say it with disdain dripping from your voice.Funny… A fisherman would drift spawn. A fly fisherman would drift yarn. If a fly fisherman resorted to the former and was called out on it they would only admit to using Ovarian Hackle.
Tegg, was that you I met last fall on a well-known fly fishing river? You were wearing the t-shirt with the slogan:
Bait is for Fat Kids
I’m sure that was you.
Grouse
”I can’t think of any fish I’ve ever lost in 55 years of fly fishing that I could blame on the reel”
This statement would not be true if an automatic reel were in play.
Fly Fishing, the most fun you can have standing up.
I was just thinking back to fishing chinook out of my float tube in lake MI, out from Racine. I guess if your only looking at small inland fish, guess it really doesn’t make too much difference. But if you chase the extreme cases, then I disagree with some of the above. Having 25-30+# chin peeling out 100-150 yrd runs and pulling me around in my tube has burned up a few cheap fly reels. It’s a trip when you see smoke coming out of a fly reel then seize up. Reel failures have led to a bunch of break offs.
I started with a ugly stick fly rod, then to a pflueger, then loomis and then moved into a very high end sage. The ugly stick and cheap pflueger sucked donkey dung to use. All 9wt, but all different. The cheap ones were limp noodles when it came to lifting line off the water or punching a cast. Once getting into the loomis I’m-6 and similar rods, casting became so much easier. A solid tug on the line and a snap of the wrist was all it took to lift the line off the water. In the river, a local ft of the tip and a quick snap gave perfect rolls up underneath limbs. When I got my first RP II-Sage, it only got better. 5x better -NO. Maybe 1-2X better. But I think quality produces quality.
Btw , after years of debates I still think Glo bugs are lures and NOT flies
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Well Randy You might have had a reel burn up fighting a fish, but not all of us have the opportunity to chase Chinooks. I’ve never had a Bass, Northern, or a Muskie “on the reel”. It’s close quarters combat, but no 150 yard runs. There’s a reason they call those Salmon “Kings”. But a guy could fly fish his whole life and never need anything better than a Pflueger Medalist.
Well Randy You might have had a reel burn up fighting a fish, but not all of us have the opportunity to chase Chinooks. I’ve never had a Bass, Northern, or a Muskie “on the reel”. It’s close quarters combat, but no 150 yard runs. There’s a reason they call those Salmon “Kings”. But a guy could fly fish his whole life and never need anything better than a Pflueger Medalist.
Everyone has the opportunity, they just choose not to
Gotta have a 3wt for panfish and small trout… More fun
This is what works for me. Buy the most expensive St. Croix (I live in northern WI) you can afford. A $300 rod is noticeably better than a $130 rod. Is a $600-2000 rod better than a $300??? Yes, but “noticeably better”??? not to me. AND I do have a Loomis and a Sage. But with that said I was looking at a $550 rod lately.
To me a reel just holds the line. On bigger (7wt+) reels take more abuse so maybe a better reel on those. Mr. Pop make a good reel at a fair price. Just make sure you get a reel with a good drag. I have seen some Muskys take some line. Fishing the Kenai in AK is where the line really screams on a 150+ yard run. Those never come back.
Sizes:
4wt 7 1/2′ with WF line for stream trout and panfish.
6wt 8 1/2 – 9′ with WF and sinking line for panfish, walleyes and other game fish.
10wt 9 1/2′ – for Musky, Walleye, Salmon, and Rainbows on the Kenai.
I have 4-5 other setups but those 3 are the only one I have use the last few years.
There are multiple directions you can go:
I’ve been using a 7’6″ 3-wt for small stream & an 8’3″ 5-wt for standard stream trout fishing here in the driftless. If I went out west I think I’d want a longer 5-wt due to better room and mending ability. The 5-wts are pretty versatile for both trout and panfish and allow for some bigger fly patterns.
My next class up is a 9’6″ 7-wt I’ve used for SMB, Superior steelhead & Canadian brook trout. I did spring for a much higher quality reel for steelhead. If I wanted to target more LMB I would be looking into an 8-wt.
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