Outfittng a beginner/tweener

[Prosperflyfisher]

I'm ready to really get my boys into fly fishing. I've looked at and bought a couple of starter rods for them, but they are stiff as a telephone pole and weigh about the same. Any good suggestions for a decent fly rod at a decent price? Same for reels. They are 10 & 11, creeping up on 5 feet. Something suitable for Beavers Bend will work. We're about to head to Red River and probably hit the red near the convergence with the Rio Grande, and the Costilla.

Thanks!

[huntnfish2much]

If you want to be versatile, and if the young-uns are prone to sharing, you might look at getting one rod 7.5 ft and the other 9 ft. Just so they’d be light in the hand, a 3 or 4 wt setup would be plenty to start out with. IMHO, and depending on your budget, a decent reel purchased now will last them a lifetime. Ross makes some really nice reels. Lamson does, too. I’m in no way affiliated with Sierra Trading Post other than I’ve spent TONS of money with them, but do a little research on their website. They usually have big discounts on really good merchandise. You might even find some good deals on wading gear.

Find a product (fly rod) on Sierra, go to your Local Fly Shop, test it out, and go back and purchase it at a huge discount at STP. I’m sorry if this offends the moderators / owners of BBFS and the message board.

STP usually has 100 percent of the gear you’d need to get lined out as you indicated. You could potentially save hundreds of dollars!

JR

[highlonesome]

You can find really nice vintage rods on ebay fairly cheap. I'd suggest a  used fiberglass rod, they're near indestructable are excellent fishin tools. Lots of 7' thru 8' rods in 5 and 6wts. Maybe post on Fiberglass flyrodders forum. Those guys will steer you to some great rods in your price range. 

[golferjeff]

Redington makes 5 wt kits. 8' or 9' will work. Simple, cheap, great learner rods