Any flyfishing enthusiasts ?

[BillyRay]

I used to flyfish a lot back in the day with my father, who is not so much an enthusiast, as a full-time nut. We're talking about scouring the net for the best price on exotic feathers and brewing his own batch of colours and tints in the basement here. I can't hang (money and telent wise) with the places he now fishes at, so I now go alone.

My father-in-law has a little artifical pound, stocked to the gill with trout that has become indigenous after a few years. The water is very clear and you can clearly see two pounders at the bottom of the lake. I go there as many times as I can and there's really no thrill comparable to seeing that big fish take a perfectly placed fly. Except maybe when you catch said fish, unhook it and let it go back to the water.

What do you think ?

PS: If you have recommendations for a cheap setup, I'd be willing to take suggestions. My dad is now a full-on Sage snob and he bought his last medium action, working man's setup back in '87 or so, so his advice on moderately priced options wouldn't be that practical either. He also concentrates on Salmon now, while I would mainly fish on lakes and ponds and the occasional river or stream for trout. I probably will dabble with sinking flies too, since fishing in lakes in the summer is not really productive with dry offerings and I like to troll a lot when using bait.