Fly fishing on the cheap

[igojuone]

I'm just starting out with fly fishing and I picked up 10 reels at a yard sale the other day, 4 fly reels, a couple of mooching reels and 3 spin cast and 1 bait cast for $40.

My questions is about the fly line, sink or float that's easy, weight forward or double tapered also no problem but is there anyway to tell the weight of the line or do I just need to try in my fly rods and see if any will work well with them?

Thanks

[walks with deer]

Typically a line will work even if it's the wrong weight I say giver a go.

[steel_ram]

Just try it with whatever rod your using. You'll realize pretty soon if the line is too light. ie. not loading the rod or the opposite, line too heavy and 'casting' like a wet towel.

[SPEYMAN]

There are line charts for the rod weight. If you have an eight weight rod there is a recommended line weight for that rod. When you find the recommended weight of the line for the rod, you will have to weigh the line to see what rod it is suited for.

Or as suggested, give the lines a try.

[835]

im not understanding...
did you buy a bunch of random fly gear and are now asking if you can identify the weight of a fly line you bought at a yard sale?
that's not meant to sound like it did.... lol...


now, to address the "Fly fishing on the cheap" part....
this is my opinion... lots will disagree.... but I don't! lol
the more you spend on fly gear ( to a point ) the faster you will learn.. to a point...

the rod is the most important thing..... it needs to match you if you can, other wise you will need to learn to cast the rod,, not a rod that is built for your cast...
the line is second most critical..... for the 50$ a good line costs .. this makes it the last thing I would cheap out on....
Reels ... as long as thy are the right weight for the rod your good.... you can improve on that later....

to me fly fishing is casting not trolling.. so if all you are going to do is troll,,, by all means go uber cheap!
But to properly cast... in a nut shell,,,, what you are doing is taking energy built in your arm and properly transferring it to your fly.... that takes a certain amount of money to make it easier and faster for you to learn...
cast clinics help a lot too.....


or you can garage sale and not give a damned! lol

[Wagonmaster]

Take the spool off the reel and have a good look at it. Very often there is a sticker on the spool indicating what line has been put on it. Worth a try.

[One Shot]

Take the spool off the reel and have a good look at it. Very often there is a sticker on the spool indicating what line has been put on it. Worth a try.

This and also peel the line of the reel as some times there may be a tag/marking at the end of the line.

A weight forward floating line WF-F will be easier to cast and use for a beginner.

The line should ideally be matched to the rod ie: 5 wt (5 weight) WF-F to a 5 wt rod, 7 wt WF-F to a 7 wt rod for best results.