Florida Outdoors Hunting & Fishing Forums - FOHAF.COM

Good Morning,
my 10 year old has developed an interest in learning to Fly Fish. He has tried it at the casting pond at the outdoors shows, and of course the little snot landed it right in the little kiddie pool target they had down. growing up i dabbled a little bit in Trout streams, but from what i am seeing down here, it seems that the flats would be the best suited type of fly fishing. can any of you recommend a size / weight for a starter set for him? i am guessing that a 5/6 rod would not handle it? any advice would be appreciated.

For small ponds & streams probably, for saltwater flats/tarpon no way. You could always use a higher pound test leader/tippet to land larger fish on a smaller rig. For a 10 y/o & growing like a weed, I'd concentrate on knots, stick to more open areas unless you enjoy untangling knotted up flies from brush/branches. Forget about the fancy shadow casting like on the movie "A RIVER RUNS THRU IT". A simple roll cast will work fine & is the best choice IMO for narrow/brushy areas. I think you will need 2 different outfits for salt (9+ wt, 9 foot +) vs fresh water (5-6 wt 6 1/2- 7 1/2 foot). Leaders/tippets to match the size of the fish. Keep it fun, so he won't lose interest, (short trips as tolerated) GOOD LUCK

Thank You for the reply,. that's what i was thinking,. but not sure about the freshwater side being worth it,. he seems to have a natural ability for the roll cast,. so I will keep my eyes open for a 2nd hand 9wt rig to take over to the flats.. the knots are probably a very good idea. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

Fishindad from this forum makes his own flys. He should chime in!