So my fiance went and bought me a new fly rod and reel…I’ve never fly fished before but I’ve always wanted to. Now that I have the opportunity to do it how do I store the (**() thing? Do I have to cut the fly every time I put it in the case or is it safe to pull some fly line out, break the rod down, and store it in the case with the fly attached still? It might sound like a stupid question but I don’t want to damage anything. Especially something that costs soo much moolah!
clip your fly, take the reel off, break the rod down. Rinse everything well. It will last forever and you won’t ever have to worry about sticking it into the ceiling fan or cutting it off in the screen door.
This works for me, has worked for years with no problems…tho some may not agree.
I use a loop to loop connection for my fly line to leader. And I also build my own leaders using different width lines…all connected with loop to loops (perfection loops)…never had this fail on me.
So when it comes time for me to break down my rig, I don’t have to cut any lines, I just unfeed all the loops. Rod breaks down, reel gets put away…with just fly line, and my leader material/leader gets hung up. I have a peg board dedicated to fishing stuff, and I just have leaders hanging off of it. When time to go…assemble rod, attach real, feed line, and loop all my leaders together…off I go. I’m used to it now.
If you have bought leaders (usually tapered leaders), those would only work if you have a big enough loop on you fly line, to where you could feed the fly through. Which most loops on fly lines are small and this is hard to do.
Or you have your leader fixed to the fly line, your gonna want to make that leader last as long as possible. Use tippet and be very resourceful with your leader. (not my preferred method…tying straight to fly line)
If your looking to save your leaders, put a good amount of tippet on your fly leader. Cut your fly when you wanna store it, retie when your ready to use. Better to kill your tippets, vice wasting leaders every time you go out.
Either way you go about, it’s gonna involve a little more effort than standard conventional outfits.
And, like you said, its always safe to pull that extra bit of line down, break down the rod and store away. When I do this, I never store it away in its traveling case. This is just for that quick day to day trips. But between trips, I always break down.
Sorry for long read, I type a lot! But hope it helps some!
Thanks guys for the advise. I forgot about the possibility of the ceiling fan…Someone I won’t mention recently put my conventional setups in the fan and then freaked out because I freaked out:face_with_head_bandage:
Oh, and good job on fiance part, buying your a fly rod outfit!
There’s no off season here, so never need to break it down. If you must put in the case, buy a case with the reel compartment, reel the fly all the way to the tip, break the rod down into two pieces and stow it. The more you break it all the way down the less times you’ll use it.
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Yeah I believe she did a good job picking some stuff out…TFO 8wt BVK 9ft 4pc, Orvis Hydros IV, Charleston Angler’s S.A. Tropical/Coldwater Redfish line. I did pick up a rod & reel case. We just live with 3 dogs and I don’t want them playing with it.
Any woman that will buy a man a fly flinging outfit is a keeper. Dogs love the cork handles of a fly rod, may be after the salt or the fish smell from a well used one. Keep it away from them!
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