Love fishing in the Charleston area and am thinking about buying a Fly Fishing set up. Can you give me some details of what I need to look for to get started? Rod/Line wt.? Rod length? Best Brand names for the $$. Keep in mind, I’m just starting out and don’t have a lot of $$. I’ve got a 15.5 ft Scout and can get back up into some skinny water, so I think fishing for spot tails on a fly rod would be a blast. Anything you can suggest is appreciated and thanks for the ■■■■■■■■.
My $0.02.
Fly fishing is like golf. If you learn bad technique to start, you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to un-learn your bad habits. A little time spent learning basic fly casting will do more to make you effective than any hardware.
After that, for reds in the Charleston area, an 8 wgt 4 piece rod with reel. Weight forward floating line with as much backing as will fit on the reel. There are a number of good options. The Charleston Angler carries a Reddington package (rod, reel loaded with backing and line, case) for a little less than $200, I think. I have Okuma, Reddington, Orvis, St. Croix, Ross, Sage, TFO and Charleston Angler Brand equipment. I can fish all of it. The St. Croix rod is a good bit slower than the TFO, which is slower than the Orvis, which is slower than the Sage One. But , that just means I have to slow down a little with the slower rods. They all throw fly line.
A good reel is a good reel. You’ll want something with a decent drag system. Nearly anything the local shops will sell will be competent.
Back to my first point, The Charleston Angler does periodic seminars (something like Fly Fishing 101) that covers the basics about equipment, technique, and such. I don’t remember the price when I did it. But, if you’re just getting started, it would be money well spent. They provide the gear or you can bring yours.
Finally, I am a rank amateur. Many of the others here can add a lot of wisdom.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
There’s a lot of sound advice in Palmers post. For some of us to help you more how much money are you looking to spend on a setup? I’m throwing a TFO BVK 9ft 8wt rod with an allenflyfishing kraken reel. Rod, line, backing, reel set me back about $550. You obviously don’t need to spend as much money on a reel as the rod so buy a good rod you can always upgrade the reel later.
2007 Scout 221 150 Yamaha 4 stroke
3x on what Palmer said about learning to cast properly. I took that class from Charleston Angler with Captain John Irwin and it was the best $75 I’ve spent in a long time.
As for gear:
Look for an 8 weight setup.
Buy a high quality floating line,Rio Redfish or one of Scientific Anglers redfish lines will run about $80. A quality line can make a decent rod cast great. A cheap line will make a great rod cast decent.
Cast lots of different rods before you buy one. Don’t buy brand “X” because someone told you it was the best. It might be a perfect rod for them, but you might suck throwing it.
For my last rod I tested a $550 rod and a $250 rod and I bought the cheaper rod because for me it cast better.
Prioritize your money on the rod over the reel.
The reel is somewhat important, but something cheap will be ok until you start going after bonefish or tarpon.
Also, go check out the Lowcountry Fly Shop. All they do is fly gear. Scotty is a good dude and won’t sell you something you don’t need. All of the local shops have guys who fly fish a ton and can show you what fly patterns they are catching fish on at the moment.
Lowcountry fly shop times one-million… Scotty and Paul will take ya out back and help you with our cast and you can save the $75 for more gear 
“Paddle faster boys… I hear banjo music!”
http://www.HeroesOnTheWater.org
Charleston Director- www.SCKayakfishing.com
www.lowcountryflyshop.com
Tarpon 160os
WVhillbilly,
Coming up the Mt. Pleasant KOA is going to sponsor a Fly Casting/Fishing Seminar. This on " the Water " school runs 9 to 3 . Class size is limited to 6. The Certified Federation of Fly Fishers Instructor will cover all the fly casting essentials, and so much more. Everything needed will be provided or bring your own gear. After the class ( 3:00 to dark) you can practice your new skills fishing the beautiful KOA private lake.
Call Jackie / KOA office to sign up. April 26 , S60.00
843-849-5177
First setup came from Walmart. 39$ combo gets you everything. Used it to get the rhythm down, figure stuff out and what not then went 3 months later for the first actual saltwater setup. Just something to consider.
Scout '282
tidewater '21
Oscar '10
My thoughts would be to get some casting instruction first, get the correct technique down, and then once you have developed your casting style cast several rods/brands to find which you like the most. If you are just starting out, keep in mind that you may want a rod that you can grow into some. In my own personal experience, I start with an inexpensive rod, then end up wanting and getting one of the better rods. I have had great experiences with both Sage and Orvis rods. My first Orvis rod was purchased in 1990, and Orvis has replaced that rod due to me breaking it 4 times and it still works great. Orvis also has some great deals on starter rod/reel combos. I have not thrown a lot of TFO rods, I fished a 12 wt a couple of times for cobia several years back and it worked just fine, but I do not have much experience with them. There are also plenty of other brands that would do just fine as well. Try and get one with a good warranty. Buy a good line, it makes a noticeable difference. Plan on spending about $80 on line, the place you can save the money on is the reel.
The bottom line, get your casting down some, and then try out some rods to see what you like that meets your budget.
JohnH0802
Lowcountry fly shop times one-million… Scotty and Paul will take ya out back and help you with our cast and you can save the $75 for more gear
^this
“There is a strange sense of pleasure being beat to hell by a storm when you’re on a boat that is not going to sink.” JB
Go see Scott at Lowcountry Fly Shop. Like going to see a golf pro, but he’s not trying to sell you the premium gear.
“I’LL HAVE A BLOODY MARY AND A STEAK SANDWICH.”
John Cocktoastin
Lowcountry Fly Shop.
Low country fly shop
Look at Redington gear. Best bang for the buck in my opinion. Most of my gear is Redington and I have been fly fishing for 15 years.
I’ve been catching fish on flies for 60 years and I can assure you of one thing. Buying a fly rod of any price won’t make you a fly fisherman. It’s kind of like golf. Most people play “golf swing” not golf and think the answer is to buy a new club.
Start by getting good instruction in how to throw a fly. Then, even though you have a boat, hire a guide for a couple of trips out. Use their equipment. You’ll be out $500 or so, but you will dramatically increase you chances to become a fly fisherman, not just a fly caster. It’s worth it.