Sounds like you're excited to return. Going with two setups is definately the way to go so that you do not have to compromise as much and will be ready for most situations.
You have a pretty reasonable budget and should be able to outfit yourself quite nicely. My recomendation would be a 5wt setup for trout and an 8wt for salmon/steelhead. I assume you are going to wait until you are here to buy everything, are you looking to buy it all new or some things used?
There are so many good lower-mid priced rods to choose from (echo, reddington, tfo, etc) it can be hard to narrow it down and there are some great choices to choose from. I like Sage rods myself and own quite a few of them which can be very pricey new but often found used for around half the price and still carry a great warranty. With fly rods, personal feel definately comes into play and if you can, casting before you buy is very smart. What feels good and casts well to me might not be the same for you.
The same goes for reels, so many options from cheap to expensive. I wouldn't go too expensive on the reel you choose for a 5wt setup. Most of the fish will be smaller, and you will probably strip them in by hand anyways which means the reel is only there for the most part to look good and hold line. If needed you can use your fingers on the spool to add drag to a running fish. There are lots of nice looking reels for low cost that will do the job well and wont break the bank and allow you to use your budget else where. In regards to an 8wt setup, this is where a smooth and strong disk drag reel becomes more important to be up to the task of stopping a big running salmon and a large arbor helps reeling it in.
As for lines, this is an area where you don't want to cheap out. A lot of people buy an expensive rod and reel and then cheap out when they see that most decent lines are around $70. A good line will load the rod properly which make a huge difference in casting and has a very slick coating that helps it shoot for distance. I like Rio's single hand lines myself but scientific angler and airflo make really nice lines as well just to name a few. For a 5wt a good weight forward floating line is a must have. You can always add a sinking polyleader tip to it if need be to help get down deeper. If you plan on fishing lakes a clear intermediate line a and a full sink line (such as a type6 or type3) become important tools to have as well but a floater is a must. For an 8wt you will most likely be fishing rivers and the most versitile line is a versi-tip. It is full floating, but has a 15ish foot floating tip that is removable and comes with 4 other various sink tips that are put in place to help get you further down in the water.
There are so many choices to choose from but any good flyshop (micheal & young, fred's, paciifc angler, sea-run, etc) should be able to help set you up as well as point you in the right direction as far as flys depending where and for what you plan to fish for. It can be a wise thing to make friends with your local fly shop when you are outfitting yourself with new gear. Sometimes they will include backing on the reels or give you a small deal when buying a package as well as help show you a few knots and answer your questions.
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Topic: Coming back to Vancouver..Fishing starts again! (Read 1697 times)