Want to start fly fishing salt water

[Red Slayer]

I am interested in getting set up to fly fish from my yak. I am curious what rod and reel combo would be good to start. Is an 8 wt enough or should I go with a 9 wt? How long of a rod? 2/3/4 piece? TFO or Cabelas brand? Or whatever brand? Good general purpose fly line, type of backing and amnount, leaders? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

[fishtaco]

I am interested in getting set up to fly fish from my yak. I am curious what rod and reel combo would be good to start. Is an 8 wt enough or should I go with a 9 wt? How long of a rod? 2/3/4 piece? TFO or Cabelas brand? Or whatever brand? Good general purpose fly line, type of backing and amnount, leaders? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Talk about a loaded post, lol. I'll get you started but don't forget to do a search of old posts, I know we've covered the basics in depth.

An 8 wt is plenty enough for inshore species like reds and trout. A 9ft rod is the standard and there's no sense in deviating from that. Number of pieces is personal preference, it won't make a difference on the rod's action. I would recommend a 4 piece for travel purposes. Brand is not a big deal, buy whatever is in your budget, most rods over $100 are of good quality. I like to buy rods with lifetime warranties since I know I'll break them at some point. Don't skimp on the line, brand again doesn't really matter, its kind of personal preference. Spend at least $50 and you'll get a quality line. Backing is standard 20 or 30 lb dacron. Tapered leaders will help make your cast look pretty and accurate, 0-2x will work, but really straight mono or fluoro the length of your rod or shorter works too.

[pedalmedic]

I bought a Okuma 8wt at Academy that had a reel and line all set up. It was 100 total, but it is a good starter for me. I have cast it in the yard and like it. I have tied a few Clouser Minnow and am looking at trying them out this weekend if the wind lets me. Side note, Okuma had really good service. I have an older reel that I had in Alaska and they bent over backwards looking in the archives to give me some info on it.

[TidewateR]

check out laflyfish.com

I know they have covered this topic before. If I wasn't on my iPhone at work, then I could dig up a link for you. But Taco pretty much summed it up. I tend to spend more on line too (scientific angler redfish mastery line). Also a lightweight rod with a lifetime warranty is high on my list...reels aren't too important but at the very least you want one that can withstand the salt.

[LuvDaTigers]

ditto what FT said.
I'll add a recommedation for TFO. Their rods are excellent for the money. The Professional series would be a nice starter rod. I haven't cast a 3Forks from Cabelas, but have heard positive feedback on their rods.
I would recommend visiting your local fly shop. Cast what they have and pick the brains of their folks. Also, a good resource would be your local FF club. Attend one of their meetings and tell what your intentions. You'll likely find more folks that will talk your ear off and give you more info than you would imagine.

Good Luck, and be careful. Once you catch your first red on the fly rod catching 'em on coventional tackle will never be the same.

[bigredbobber]

try digging around here: http://www.rsff.org/ I'm not a member, but I've heard they are good people in Baton Rouge. I bet some of our BCKFC members are redstick fly fishers.

+1 on TFO with the lifetime warrenty for $25
+1 on Scientific Angler brand line and backing and leader.

Don't bother buying tippet. Just use fluoro or mono of a slightly smaller diameter to equal diameter to slightly larger in diameter when you eventually add more length onto your leader from switching flies and cutting off knicked pieces.

Look for a middle priced, saltwater-worthy large-arbor reel. It makes it easy to bring line in when you need to.

[Red Slayer]

Thanks guys! I will probably stop at Academy in Baytown on my way back east next week and check out a combo to get started, I looked at some TFO's in Cabelas and the combos got into the $400 range real quick. I will check out the other forum posts and see waht I can see there. I would like something I could keep in the truck and at least be able to play from time to time when I am on the coast. I will probably have 4 out of state fishing licenses next year as I drive a truck.