Wanted Starter Set-up for 18 YO

H

holtad

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
Hey All!

I have a friend who's kid is doing his high-school senior project on fly fishing (nice right!). He's in Albuquerque and is pretty much starting from scratch other than fly fishing 1x on a family trip. I told him I'd try to source a starter set of gear from this group so he can get going, somewhat on a budget. He has waders/boots so trying to see if anyone has a full set-up or pieces they're willing to offload? I'm thinking any/all of the following
- 4 or 5 wt rod
- reel and line to match
- assortment of the basic dry flys & nymphs
- any other of the accessories (tippet, indicators, nippers, gink/floatant)
- net

As I said, he's based in NM so will likely be fishing the Pecos, San Juan, Chama. I have no knowledget of those rivers but pointed him to high desert angler for local intel.

I generally tell folks to spend money on higher quality used/older gear v.s. spending the same $ to get something new that is isn't as nice. Let me know what you got!

The great thing about his program is that he'll get to spend up to 30 hrs a week doing it for the last 5 weeks of his last semester, not bad right!

Thaks,

Adam
 
I would just get him a good starter setup. I don't have anything. There will probably be some options at the FF Show in Bellevue next month too.

Whatever you can find, he'll have fun I'm sure.
 
A number of places sell "starter" fly rod sets. LL Bean, Cabelas, etc. all offer what you are looking for at a "reasonable" price. If you are looking for used, try your local Craigs List.
 
Evan B said:
Bias aside, I think it's hard to beat the ECHO Lift Kit. Excellent place to start.
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Was going to say the same thing. Maybe upgrade the flyline that comes with it, but both the rod and reel in the Lift kit are solid.
 
Brian in OR. said:
What actually does his senior "project" consist of ?
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From what I understand he needs to pick a focus area/skill and then spend at least 30 hrs a week dedicated to it. They have a 4 week block allocated to this where other classes are off/reduced and then he'll present some sort of senior thesis.

I appreciate the other replies. The back-up plan was always just to point him toward a reddington or echo set-up but I figured I may be able to source a slightly higher quality rod/reel for the same price (looks like $250 min) here. I'll keep my eyes on on the classifieds for deals that may come up but feel free to DM me if you have something to offer.
 
A little late to the party but cannot recommend the echo more highly for the quality price range and in particular customer service… with it being a new to him sport, you’ll likely be in contact with customer service sometime and echo is super good/reasonable
 
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