I'm afraid I went off the deep end.....

Last week, I borrowed a 5wt fly rod from a buddy. Caught a couple Skipjack Herring, a Bluegill, and a LMB.

Today, I purchased a White River 8' 6" 5wt fly rod, spooled on some backing, and WF5F line.

Took it out to the pond at the main park in town. Started making some casts. Noticed I was getting a bit more distance

Managed to catch a couple more Bluegill. They were small, though. The smallest one was about 3" long

Flies, though, are few and far between around here. The only place locally that carries any is BPS, and they aren't cheap. I'll probably be ordering some online, and trying to buy/beg/borrow some off of my buddy that loaned me his setup.

Next thing you know, I'll be dropping some major $$$ into fly-tying stuff.

PM sent.

Fly fishing adds up fast. Get a vice and learn to tie flies is the best way.

Ok, here's the fish I've already caught with the fly rods, both the one I borrowed and the one I bought:







This little guy wouldn't stay still, and I couldn't capture a broadside pic.



This little guy was an aggressive, TINY thing, all of 3" long.



I didn't get a chance to get a pic of the second Skippie that I caught. He ended up breaking my tippet and falling back into the water.

Sounds like fun Allen. Also sounds like you are HOOKED now. LOL
I do think JoeV has tied a fly or two.

Here's a nice "Stimulator" fly that's good for trout, bass and bluegill. It's tied in a variety of sizes to suit the target fish. It's a more advanced technique fly, and not necessarily for the beginner. This is an imitative fly for the stone fly and the giant stone fly. You'll learn a lot about entomology as a fly tyer as you progress in the hobby.



Here's an 11" gill I caught a few weeks ago on a foam spider made from craft foam and rubber legs.



In my opinion, these are killer flies for bluegill. I've caught lots of "hump head" gills over 10" with these, and they are an easy tie. As a matter of fact, there is one in the mouth of the 11" gill above. I use this fly in my beginner fly tying classes, and it's the first fly many people tie. I always keep at least a dozen of these in my vest in case I catch a "tree bass" and it eats the fly.

Will have a few things heading to Allen in a couple of days. Fly Fishers are like foodies...we love to share!

Just for the record, YouTube has tons of step-by-step videos on fly tying. They are great because you can stop and back up if you miss a step, and do freeze frames.

Thanks Joe! Foam spiders are one of the things I've been looking for. The local BPS doesn't have any.

I've been watching tons of vids on youtube about casting, focusing on Lefty Kreh's videos. I'll have to set my video camera up and capture some footage of my casting, and have some folks point out my errors.

That stimi is sweet JoeV. Like foam bugs for gills as well.

These are killer on both Bass and Gills. " Black Stealth Bomber"