Launching the Family into Fly Fishing

Feeling comfortable on the river and competent in your casting is as important for the beginner as it is for the expert. Compare fishing to golf or cycling. If you wanted your partner or child to take up golf or to learn to ride a bike, you wouldn't put them off at the start by kitting them out with say oversized clubs or a man's bike! The satisfaction of a good golf shot can be likened to making a good cast, but it will never happen if the equipment doesn't fit. Your pupil will blame themselves thinking, this fly casting is beyond them, and most likely they'll decline the next fishing invitation.

For the small fry this season Hunting & Fishing New Zealand has introduced the Brookie, a 'youth' fly fishing combo. At $199-99, the Brookie isn’t the lowest priced fly fishing combo we offer, entry level NZL combos are priced from just $149-99. Getting back to the Brookie, it's a 7'9" scaled down package, designed to get young anglers underway with a rod they can manage. The Brookie will enable even pint sized anglers to develop skills and hone the basics for success.

Women too need equipment that suits them. I've enclosed a photo of my wife Michelle taken last season on her first serious fly fishing expedition. She took advantage of the 'Test Fish a Sage' promotion offered at Hunting & Fishing New Zealand stores and teamed up with a couple of experienced lady anglers for two days of trout fishing on the Opihi River in South Canterbury. With quality gear and excellent guidance, Michelle was able to hold her own and enjoy real success. Not surprisingly the name 'Sage' appeared on the Tannock family Christmas list and her rod of choice was the ZXL as it is light and with a slower action it best suits Michelle's casting style.

Of course Sage does make its own beginner friendly starting out package, the Launch combo. This like all of the other balanced Fly Kits listed is factory balanced tackle and by purchasing as a combo there is a considerable saving to be made no matter what the budget.