Andy if you’re new at fly fishing don’t spend an arm and a leg on a rod such as a loomis until you’ve developed a good casting technique.
Unlike coarse rods if you pick the wrong fly rod it can cause more problems than what it’s worth as the faster actioned fly rods will amplify any flaws in your casting technique and timing which if you are inexperienced will cause you nightmares on the bank, not only with casting but tangles and presentation.
The best way I can relate to it is giving an inexperienced pole angler a top of the range maver pole for carp fishing.
If you’ve set your heart on a quality fly rod and reel combination look at a second hand Daiwa Alltmor on ebay, (I picked two near new models up for less then £80 including P&P, RRP £400+). They are a very good crisp smooth progressive actioned rod that will let you get away with minor timing errors.
Alternatively look at some of the Greys and Vision fly rods but see if you can try before you buy.
Reel wise the Shakespeare Trion is one of the best value top of the range reels. It may be slughtly heavier than some but it smacks of quality and is very robust.
TF_thesaint.
