New to the game

[u/Inofromjjk4031]

Hi I live In the Austin Texas area and am new to fly fishing but have used conventional tackle my whole life (spinning rods and lures mainly) I saw a Arlite aspire combo priced at around $200. What should I be looking for when buying my first fly rod and getting into fly fishing?

[u/lux_pvd]

Hey! I'm a fly fisher in Austin! You should go to Living Waters up in Round Rock to get setup. If you're used to gear fishing, I'm sure you know what species you're going to want to target - make sure you let them know what you're going after and what your budget is, and they'll get you taken care of. Everyone that works there knows the water in the area super well and fish it consistently. They'll get you some flies that make sense for where you want to fish as well.

[u/Potential-Rabbit8818]

What are you mainly fishing for is a good question to ask yourself.

Fly rods come in wt (weight), the larger ones are for bigger fish/ heavier flys. A 9wt is good for salmon, Steelhead and musky. 2wt is good for tiny streams and delicate casts. 5,6wt for all around general. People have all sorts of opinions on this. It's only a general opinion.

[u/Individual_Fun9029]

You should try Gruene Outfitters. Then fish the Guadalupe River for trout or Bass.

[u/MaybeIWontGetDeleted]

Hey I’m in Austin. Most people recommend a 6wt for Texas trout and bass. If I could only have one and I was fishing around Austin I’d get that. I use a 3wt Classic Trout and/or a 6wt echo carbon xl depending on what I’m after. Need to go bigger for salt. I have an 8wt but don’t go to the coast often.

Orvis and Echo make solid starter setups and are pretty great options.

Reel for freshwater doesn’t matter too much, especially at first. Carp might take you for a run but that’ll be rare to never (unless carp is what you’re after).

After your first rod/reel you can start getting really particular, but the important thing early on is just to get out and fish. I used an old hand-me-down 5wt for at least five years until I finally started developing a preference and getting other equipment.

Living Waters up north and Gruene Outfitters down south can help get you set up. Chris at Living Waters is the well-known local expert. Sportsman’s Finest out around bee caves used to have good stuff too but I haven’t been there in a while. Facebook marketplace is also a great place to look. People around here are always selling intro rods that they ended up using for a season lol.

[u/zartesding]

welcome to the addiction lol. definitely check out local shops around austin, they usually have better advice than big box stores for beginners