Martin Complete Fly Fishing Kit, 8-Foot 5/6-Weight 3-Piece Fly Fishing Pole, Size 5/6 Rim-Control Reel, Pre-spooled with Backing, Line and Leader, Includes Custom Fly Tackle Assortment, Brown/Green

2019 - I took this rod out with me fishing this year for the first time, and found another Fly Fisherman on the river that was willing to give me some pointers. Firstly he complimented the rig, and said it was nice for a starter fly fishing rod. I then watched him do the exact same casts that he was doing with his expensive rod. A day later, I had been practicing on rivers, and lakes, and I caught multiple beautiful Rainbow Trout on this rod. I would suggest finding someone to give you some instruction, and make sure to understand which fly's are in season. This is an awesome little fly rod to start with! Update: Spring 2020 - I took this fly rod back out to a cabin that we were staying at that had a pond with bluegill and bass. It did great at catching both, a year later I am still extremely satisfied with this purchase! You honestly get so much for your money, and it catches fish just fine once you learn the mechanics of fly fishing, which I have honestly fallen in love with! I am going to buy another to keep as a backup, and to teach friends on! Update Fall 2020 - I have taken this amazing little fly fishing combo out 2 more times in June and September of this year and caught beautiful trout on it both times! Still very happy with this amazing purchase!!!

Got these for my nephews when we went camping on the river. Everybody caught a fish for the price. These are a great deal. We made memories. These are a great starter fishing poll

A little about me. I fly fish, by that I mean I fly fish almost 100% of the time. Multiple days a week, sometimes 7 days a week. I purchased this fly rod, not because I needed it or even wanted it. But, because I often teach people and some ask about cheaper setups. It had been a long time since I tried one. So I purchased a few cheaper setups, this one included. Addressing a few other reviews first. It is a click and paw reel. No drag. The reel itself will spool either direction. To flip the retrieve simply let out all the line, flip the reel around, then reel back in. To many peoples surprise, the reel is the LEAST important part of the setup. When fly fishing unless it is a huge fish...you aren't using the reel at all. It is more of a line storage device. Your finger does all the work (or hand on the reel) . This rod isn't made to cast large flies or in salt water. So, a drag isn't needed. I tried a few ways (on purpose) and I think the people complaining about too much line coming out and "backlashing" are routing the fly line over the frame support instead of under it. It is acting like a wheel. (See photo in the add) route the fly line the same). Casting, while the price is very fair for what you get. Don't expect to make ultra long casts with this setup. You can get it out fine but I suspect those having issues need lessons. I can easily almost cast to the backing on this rod, though it's small arbour reel makes reeling it in a task. I didn't measure it but it isn't a standard 90' fly line. Maybe 50ft. That is more than enough to be productive. I prefer a 9' rod myself because I often I from a boat and have no reason to sacrifice leverage with a shorter rod. Good times for a shorter rod would be creek fishing for example. Remember no matter the cost of a fly rod, they will all break. You cannot fight a fish close to the rod (high sticking) and a lot of breakages are due to flies hitting the rod during the cast. Usually caused by a bad cast, heavy flies, or wind. I found this rod personally a little slow action for me. I prefer a much faster action rod and think most beginners would be better off using a medium/fast rod. Overall, a good value for the money and though it takes a little more effort to get a cast, at least for me. It is usable and functional. If you are seriously getting into fly fishing I would look at a $200 combo from a few of the better brands. Otherwise, this is a decent starter setup but too soft of a rod for most beginners in my opinion. I think with softer rods, you need to be a better caster to begin with.

Good product

How much can you really ask for out of an item this inexpensive? Both my dad and I caught fish with it. It was his first time out. I've been fly fishing for nearly 2 decades. Everything about this kit worked well as a beginner rod. I didn't expect much from it. The single biggest issue with this rod, for me, and the reason I'd hesitate to recommend this to anyone else is that the ferrell rods do not stay put. At one point, I grabbed the rod from my dad after he had fished it for some time and the rod was nearly falling apart. I pushed the pieces back together so the ferrells were flush. After a short bit of fishing, I noticed they had shifted and become loose again. Honestly, knowing this, I regret my purchase. I knew this would be a possibility and felt it was well worth the risk given the price point. If I were to do this all over again, I'd spend a little bit more money on a rod that won't come apart while fishing.

I typically use a spinning reel and sometimes a baitcaster and noticed a guy fly fishing at the local urban pond near my house. He was catching plenty small bass so I thought I would give fly fishing a try. I didn't want to break the bank as I wasn't sure I would like fly fishing. After some research I saw this Martin combo on sale with everything I need, except a case but that wasn't a deal breaker. I have only used it about 4 times now and some of my casts are better than others, but I have caught about 20 panfish (bluegill/sunfish) and 4 small bass so far. I figure I already have gotten my money's worth from this purchase. Some reviews complained about the 3-piece rod separating but that has not been an issue for me. I haven't even bothered to check it. I did notice it was a tight fit between sections when putting the rod together, so maybe Martin (e.g. Zebco) has addressed this. I also saw at least one complaint about only having 5 flies instead of 6. The yarn without a hook is for newbies like me to practice in the backyard. Since most reviews mentioned the quality of the flies was iffy, I did buy assorted mix of flies, that were cheap as well, as I figure I'll be losing flies in trees, etc. I have caught on the included popper, the included wooly bugger looking fly, and a couple of flies from the other collection I bought. As I have only had this combo a few weeks, I really can't speak to the long-term durability. Also, as this is my first fly fishing set up, I don't have comparative experience with other combos. However, I have been able to cast, catch fish, and have had a fun time doing it. I will keep using this combo for now and decide after I've used it a bit more if I want to step up to a nice set up.

My teen loves this as his 1st fly fishing rod

I bought it for a cheap combo to take out with me to the creek where I like to swim, it doesn't cast as good as my other rods, but I'm no pro by any means, I'm creek fishing and it does the job perfectly for what I need, Im attaching 2 pics of fish I caught with it today, this was the first time I took this one out and I instantly decided I should write a review, REMEMBER it's cheap and designed to get you to go out and fish and have fun, it's not about the quality of the items it's the quality of the time you have. I definitely recommend it for beginners.