Go for it! You will love it. Get with some one that does fly fish, and they can point out your mistakes. Practice at home, without a fly, learn the basic types of casting, standard, roll cast, tower cast, bow and arrow cast, and practice the proper arm movements, like they said, don't use your wrist, the rod tip does the work. Also when doing a roll cast, always tip your rod out away from your body, so the the fly does not catch you. When you practice, check for wind knots. They are knots that form, from the tippet being whipped, like a bull whip, or snapping the rod tip. The set up you have is fine. When you get more into it, and can afford it, get a G. Loomis, or if you really want to spend some money on the Rolls Royce, of fly rods, order a Morgan. You will have to wait, but it is piece of art work, and extremely well made, and it is like a part of your body. But he may not be around for too much longer, last I heard he was not in good health. His Girlfriend, has been helping him, and doing much of the work. His rods are known, and bought all around the world. NOT CHEAP! You could buy a very fine rifle, for what one of his rods will cost you. Anyway, once you get the hang of it, you will like it much more than a spinning reel, or bait casting reel. I first got started, using a cheap K-Mart reel, and a cheap Kmart rod, I used it for sea trout fishing, and bass fishing, with a stepped leader, it worked great, and I learned a lot with it. I have a couple of nicer trout rods, but no Loomis, or sigh..... Morgans. Fly tying is like bow, and arrow making, or flint knapping, you will get hooked, on it no matter what your beginning flies look like. By the way, ugly flies will work fine also, from my own experience, and I read an article where a top notch fly tyer, would not try to make a museum quality fly, when on the river, or lake, or where ever, but a crude resemblance of what ever was hatching, or the trout, were feeding on, worked just fine. I have caught bass, on nothing more than a bare hook, and a coco plum leaf. Fish aren't fly critics, just wary, and hungry. Once you get the basic casting techniques, down, then try to finesse your presentation, so that the fly, lands on the water surface, as if it just dropped out of the air, or lit there, not with a splash. Learn how to loop your line, so the fly does not drag, in the current. And always keep your line clean. There is a lot to learn, but you can get by, and have a fantastic time, just getting out there, and doing what you can, and you WILL catch fish, regardless of your present skill. Have fun, and get at it, before the season ends. Keep reading the books, and watching the dvd's etc. Enjoy.
Wayne
