Leland Rod Co. Sonoma Starter Trout Fly Fishing Combo (Includes: Rod, Reel, Line, and Leader)

The Sonoma Starter Trout Fly Fishing Combo is a "just add water and a fishing license" flyrod/reel combo from Leland Rod Company. While the Sonoma Starter is offered as Leland's price-sensitive option, when it arrived I found it to be a terrific outfit with plenty of added value which I will get to. None of the key components made me feel like I had purchased an entry-level item. But first, a bit of context to help explain my thought process in selecting and evaluating this gear:I have been flyfishing for over 30 years so I consider myself qualified to state that flyrodders develop deep loyalties to their individual brands over time. I am a lifelong fan of the "Big O" and had never been tempted to try anything else. I was not familiar with Leland before getting an email offer for this combo outfit. This prompted me to do some research on this award-winning Sonoma, CA-based rod company and I liked what I learned.During my research I had an informal but very informative email exchange with Leland's lead rod designer. Not only did he give me advice on rod selection, he even gave me specific casting tips for this particular 4-pc 5wt rod/reel combo. I also had an extended conversation with a Leland casting instructor via their website's live chat feature. I was really impressed by how generous these guys were with their time and by their genuine enthusiasm for the sport and for their products. I learned that Leland puts this rod in the hands of students at its fly fishing ranch in California's wine country. They do this because they believe an 8-ft 5-wt, well-balanced setup is the key to nice loops and efficient, accurate casts for people new to the sport. For me, all of this created value in the rod and in the brand beyond its purchase price. I enjoy a great customer experience that begins way before the sale and the Leland guys nailed it. I felt instant loyalty to the brand and couldn't wait to get my hands on the Sonoma Starter.The rod itself is a handsome matte satin wine color matched with a nicely machined and anodized reel. The ferrule connections are all satisfyingly snug. The reel comes set up with backing, floating fly line, and a 12' tapered leader (plus 2 extra leaders). This terminal tackle is identical to what Leland uses to rig their most expensive rods. The included neoprene reel sleeve is a nice touch. Leland provides a small logoed tin with 6 flies to get you started. The outfit even includes a Leland logo sticker to adorn your window, cooler, or rod rack.The Sonoma Starter butt section features a very comfortable full wells cork grip. I'm told that this complements the casting style they teach at the Leland Ranch. I have average-to-large hands and it fit very nicely. The butt section sports classy, understated script graphics. It does not have an eyelet to hook your fly once you're strung up. Leland takes this as a point of pride-- they like to keep things simple especially with the Starter rod. Maybe this is an incremental way of shaving costs but at any rate it is easy enough to hook your fly to the stripping guide.Casting characteristics: True to its billing, I found it easy and gratifying to throw well-formed loops with this rod. I had been advised to avoid trying to get too much line in the air with this rig. Therefore I limited casting to 20-22' of fly line in the air at any time. That, plus the 12 ft leader and the 8 ft length of the rod should easily put me in range of the bulk of my targets. If additional range is required, Leland recommends shooting some line.The only part of the entire setup that mildly suggests cost savings is the carrying case. The 4-compartment cloth sleeve for storing the individual sections is a thin fabric. Once your rod sections are loaded and rolled up, 2 ribbons stitched onto the fabric are used to secure the bundle. We'll see how well the two stitches anchoring each ribbon hold up over time. The protective tube is covered in shiny nylon (not Cordura) and the graphics are screen-printed, not embroidered as they are in the more expensive version (the Sonoma Traveler). From a practical standpoint of course this won't affect the case's performance at all, just the curb appeal (and granted this is my own subjective opinion; in fact, the case is starting to grow on me). Speaking of the case's performance, the rod tube is rock-solid and has a built-in padded reel pouch. Just keep the reel attached to the reel seat, put the included neoprene reel cover on, and this integrated pouch will save you a little time when you're ready to fish.Would I have preferred a heavier cloth pouch for the rod sections and embroidered Cordura for the tube cover? Sure. Would I have wanted a higher price point for those niceties? Nope. After all, this is such a great casting outfit that I hope it doesn't spend much time in the case anyway. I'm looking forward to adding more Leland gear to my collection. This is a solid all-purpose fly rod from a cool company and I am very happy with my purchase.

This is my first fly fishing rod and reel. Caught my first fish this past weekend, a juvenile rainbow trout on the Pere Marquette River in Michigan.There is nothing not to love about this product: it comes ready to fish, casts easy and looks great, too. It's a quality package and, as far as I can tell, the best introductory rod and reel on the market.I can't wait to get back on our beautiful Michigan rivers and catch some more trout.

Update 2: ordered a replacement for $40 plus $10 in shipping, which isnt bad. They responded fast.Update: on my third outing I went to set a hookand it snapped at the 2nd section below the tip so now I cant use it hope they can repair or replace it.Before this I bought a $200 fly outfit from BPS and I could not cast to save my life. I ended up giving up and now I want to give it a second try and bought this. First day I was able to easily cast and caught 3 panfish.

This set is best for a child, perhaps a small woman. Handle is very small, and the strength and reel quality are cheap; what looks like wood elements in the photo are plastic, and the reel feels to also be; not strong metal. Disapointing

Did not explain in the ad on Amazon, the Leland Rod Co. website or in any of the on-line videos I saw produced by Leland Rod Co. (aka: Lelandfly.com) , the reel does not have a "drag". I know for the purist this is the probably the way to go. However, this is advertised as a "starter" rod and reel. For a person just learning or for an adult attempting to "start" a child or grandchild, a drag would be most helpful by reducing the learning curve of the art of Fly Fishing much easier. This is my opinion and I am sure others will disagree. This was enough of an issue that I returned "two" of these (that I had ordered at the same time) right out of the box and replaced them with a different brand that did include a "drag". For me this was a deal breaker. With the drag "option" one can always go purist by just backing off the drag and you can palm the reel. For a beginner, more so with a young beginner, throwing too much at them all at once is overwhelming. Especially coupled with the excitement of the first "Fish On".Very satisfied with Amazon. With Leland Rod Co., not so much.

The Leland Sonoma Fly combo looks great. My beef is there were no instructions manuals with the outfit. I am new at fly fishing so the instructions on how the set the drag and how the reel is spooled with line would have certainly made it easier for me. I had to find this information on U-Tube . There were no instructions what so ever included in this package made for beginners.

My Daughter was pleased with my purchase of her beginning fly rod and reel purchase.my decision was made for me by reading your reviews--.the review, by the fly fisherman ,who ,had fished for 30 years and purchased this same pkg--was very pleased with how it functioned,and the quality of the unit.I made my judgement by his describing what tack he used(and recognized it as much more expensive) ,his review of your product was very good--sooo--I purchased it upon his satisfaction with your product.I think if you do not know anything about a sport--you should ask somneone who has done it for a number of years,and,lets face it--fly rods and reels can be VERY!! spendy--you would not do this for 30 yrs if ya didn't absolutely!! love the sport,and,I assume--be good at it.I do not fly fish--so I needed an unbiased help---end result--daughter satisfied,and I know it doesn't make the rod fish any-better,but,she loved the color--hahaha--Women just got to be happy--umhumm-----------------

I do not normally write reviews, but in this case I must share my joy. This is a well balanced outfit and casts great. I would not hesitate to buy it again. I have fly fished for many years and bought it as a knock-around rod that I could leave in the boat and use for panfish when nothing else was going on. However, it will be my go-to trout rod- it is that good.