You don't need a quiver of rods, four reels, or a chest pack of fly boxes to start. A handful of things, all in the $250–$400 range as a complete kit, will catch trout on most rivers in North America.
The list:
- 9-foot 5-weight fly rod. The do-everything trout rod. A 9' 5wt handles dries on a small stream, nymph rigs on a tailwater, and small streamers in any condition you'll fish in your first season.
- Floating WF5F fly line. "WF5F" matches the rod weight (5) and stays on top of the water (F = floating).
- Tapered 9-foot 4x leader. Pre-tapered, comes coiled in a sleeve. Tie a fly straight to the tip on day one.
- Spool of 5x tippet. When the leader gets short from changing flies, tie 18 inches of 5x to the end. Cheap, lasts a season.
- A small fly box with five patterns: Parachute Adams (dry), Elk Hair Caddis (dry), Pheasant Tail Nymph (nymph), Zebra Midge (nymph), Wooly Bugger (streamer). Sizes 14, 16, 18 in the dries; 16, 18, 20 in the nymphs.
- Polarized sunglasses, nippers, hemostats. That's it. The rest is optional for the first year.