Match your rod, line, and leader
Complete fly fishing setups, real line and leader maths, and the charts you need on the water
A 5 weight line carries 140 grains in its first 30 feet. 5X tippet is 0.006 inches. A size 16 fly divided by four gives you 4X. Everything on this site starts from a published figure like one of those and ends with something you can act on: a complete kit with a banded total, a calculator that shows its working, or a chart you can check with cold hands.
Three complete kits, bought line by line
Not a list of categories. A rod, reel, line, backing, leader, tippet, flies, a box, nippers, forceps, floatant, a net, waders, boots and a wading belt, each with a price and a real running total, plus the items every other list forgets. Buy any one of these and you can fish that weekend without a second order.
- Beginner setup, under $750A matched 9 ft 5 wt outfit, consumables, tools, waders, boots, a wading belt and a net. Complete, with a bank-only version under $500. Open →
- Intermediate setup, under $2,000Bought piece by piece: a fast 5 wt, carbon drag reel, premium line, two tippet materials, four layer waders and a wading staff. Open →
- Expert setup, under $3,500A flagship 5 wt, sealed drag reel, a second glass rod, five layer wader legs and an inflatable PFD. Says who should not buy it. Open →
Six calculators that show their working
Every one of these tells you where the maths stops being reliable, which most fly fishing calculators do not. Sink rate times time gives you a depth in still water and overstates it in current. Knot strength figures vary by test protocol. We say so on the page rather than in a footnote.
- Line weight calculatorMatch a line to the rod you own, using the AFFTA grain standard. Open →
- Leader and tippet calculatorBuild a 60/20/20 leader and get the right tippet X for your fly. Open →
- Sink rate calculatorTurn a line type and a count into a real depth. Open →
- Split shot calculatorHow much weight to add, and where on the leader to put it. Open →
- Knot strength calculatorConvert a knot efficiency into the pounds your rig actually holds. Open →
- Rod length calculatorMatch a rod length to the water you actually fish. Open →
Gear, compared honestly
Twelve roundups, all organised as beginner, intermediate and expert, each with a plain statement of who should not buy the expensive one. We compare published manufacturer specifications and verified owner reviews. We do not test gear in person and we never pretend otherwise.
- Best fly rod for beginnersWhy a 9 ft 5 wt medium-fast blank is the answer, and which fast rods to avoid first. Open →
- Best tippet for troutThe X scale, nylon against fluorocarbon, and which spools live on the lanyard. Open →
- Best fly fishing wadersBreathable against neoprene, where budget waders fail, and how to size them. Open →
- Best wading bootsFelt against rubber, and why felt is banned in several states. Open →
- Best dry flies for troutThe short list of patterns that catch fish, and how to budget for losing them. Open →
- Best fly line for troutThe cheapest genuine performance upgrade in the sport. Open →
More in all gear reviews, the head to head comparisons, and published specifications for 40 fly rods in the spec index.
The part nobody budgets for
Fly fishing is not a sport where you buy the kit once. A rod is a one-time purchase, but tippet, tapered leaders, flies, floatant and split shot are consumables, and a regular trout angler spends roughly $45 to $80 a season replacing them. Flies are the biggest line, because you lose them in trees, on rocks and to break-offs. That is why the consumable pages here are treated as main content rather than as accessories.
Start with the consumables restock guide, which has the per-season numbers and a checklist to run before every trip.
Charts to check on the bank
- Tippet size chartX rating to diameter to typical breaking strength. Open →
- Rod weight by speciesPanfish on a 2 weight through tarpon on a 12. Open →
- Leader formula chartThe 60/20/20 taper written out in inches. Open →
- Knot strength chartTypical ranges as a percentage of rated breaking strength. Open →
All eight are on the charts and reference hub, along with the full AFFTA line weight standard from 1 weight at 60 grains to 12 weight at 380.
Before you fish, read this one
Wading is the real hazard in fly fishing, not the hooks and not the weather. The force moving water exerts on your legs scales with the square of the current velocity, so water that looks only slightly faster is dramatically harder to stand in, and moving water at knee depth can take a strong adult off their feet. Cold shock on entry, not hypothermia, is the immediate danger, and fine motor control disappears within minutes. Wear a wading belt cinched snug at the waist every single time, face upstream, move one foot at a time, and if you are unsure of a crossing, do not make it. Felt soles are banned in several states and provinces because they carry invasive organisms including didymo and whirling disease between watersheds, so check current local regulations before you buy boots.
The full treatment is in the wading safety guide, and it is the most important page on this site.
How this site works
Two retailers, on purpose. Rods, reels, waders, boots, packs, nets and eyewear lead with Backcountry, which carries Orvis, Simms, Patagonia and Redington. Tippet, leaders, flies, floatant and nippers lead with Amazon, because that is where the repeat purchase actually happens and where the small spools and fly packs are stocked. Where a product has no verified listing, the button is a scoped search rather than a fabricated product page.
More on the about page and the affiliate disclosure. Questions or a correction: contact us.
