Can a Cheap Fly Rod Catch Wild Trout? My $50 Amazon Wakeman Challenge

A wild brown trout came up and ate a hopper on a cheap fly rod I bought off Amazon for less than fifty bucks. That's the whole experiment in one sentence. Fly shops will tell you that you need about $300 minimum to get into fly fishing, so I bought the cheapest fly rod and reel combo on Amazon that still had decent reviews (the Wakeman Outdoors starter kit), rigged it up, and fished it for two hours on my local Utah water to see if it could do the one thing that matters.

Here's the full challenge on video.

Short version: it caught fish, it cast better than I expected, and the weak spots are the reel and the line, not the rod.

What's actually in the box

Per the Amazon listing, you get an 8-foot, three-piece rod with a fiberglass body, an EVA foam handle and stainless guides, a 5/6 reel, 45 feet of fly line, a 9-foot 4X nylon tapered leader, two dry flies, and a zippered carry case (35 by 7 inches). The listing calls the rod a 6/7 weight. It doesn't say what weight the line is.

Two things are missing, and I said so on camera. There's no backing. And nothing comes assembled, so you're tying knots before you ever see water.

Rigging a cheap fly rod that ships without backing

Amazon's own review summary flags that the included line and leader don't come with loops. I think Wakeman expects you to tie the fly line straight to the reel. I added backing because I had some on hand and because I'm giving this rod away, and I'd do it again. Here's the order I rigged it in.

Step 1: Arbor knot the backing to the reel

The arbor knot snugs the backing (or the fly line itself, if you skip backing) onto the spool. Wind on enough backing that the fly line will still fit afterward without rubbing the reel frame.

Step 2: Albright knot the backing to the fly line

The Albright knot joins two lines of very different diameters, which is exactly what backing to fly line is. Skip this step if you're tying the fly line directly to the reel.

Step 3: Nail knot a short piece of monofilament to the fly line

A nail knot grips the fly line's coating without cutting into it. I nail-knotted a short mono butt section to the end of the fly line and tied a loop in the other end of it.

Step 4: Connect the leader loop-to-loop

With a loop on that mono butt, the leader attaches loop-to-loop. Tie a perfection loop in the butt end of the included leader if it doesn't have one. Now you can swap leaders streamside in seconds.

If knots scare you off, that's fair. But these are the same knots you'd tie on a $900 outfit, and learning them on a $48 rod costs you nothing.

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Two hours on a Utah river

I missed a bite first. Then a brown ate the hopper, and I landed him. A wild brown on the Wakeman. That was the bar for this challenge, and the rod cleared it early.

The second fish was a jumper. He took the nymph and went airborne. Pretty fish. Back in the water.

Then I got sloppy. I saw one roll on the fly and set late. I hooked another small one and put a little too much pressure on him, and he popped off. On the video I said it out loud, and I'll say it again here: that's not the rod's fault, that's my fault. Late hooksets and a heavy hand are user error. A $50 rod and a $900 rod lose that fish the same way.

I also scared off a bunch of big trout along the way. Also not on the rod.

How does a $50 fly rod cast?

Better than I expected, honestly. I went in assuming I'd fight it all afternoon, and instead it put the fly where I wanted it. To my hand it felt like a medium to fast action, which surprised me given the listing says fiberglass body. It's accurate at normal fishing distances, and I could launch line way farther than I'd ever need to on a small trout river.

My guess is the heavier 6/7 rating helps here. A heavier rod loads easily with a short line out, which is exactly what a beginner needs. The tradeoff is delicacy. It's not the rod I'd pick for tiny dries on glassy flat water, and a standard 9-foot 5-weight is still the usual beginner trout recommendation for a reason.

The weak spots: drag, foam, and a short line

The biggest annoyance was the drag. Out of the box it's tight enough that you have to give the line a good jerk to strip it off the reel. On a trout stream that's more irritating than dangerous, but it's the first thing I'd adjust.

Loosening a tight drag on a reel like this is simple. Find the drag knob (usually on the back of the reel), back it toward the lightest setting, then pull line off by hand. You want it to come off smoothly with a light tug and stop when you stop pulling, without the spool overrunning into a bird's nest. Set it there, and palm the spool if a fish needs more resistance. If yours won't loosen enough to strip line without a yank, that's a reel problem, and it's the first part I'd upgrade.

The foam handle got dinged up during the trip. Cosmetic, but it tells you where the money was saved. Amazon's review summary says durability is mixed: some buyers call it pretty durable, while others report it breaking within a week. I can only speak to my two hours, and it held up fine.

The 45 feet of line is my real gripe. A standard fly line runs closer to 90 feet, so this is about half a line. That's plenty for beginner casts, but tie that straight to the reel with no backing and a strong fish that runs has nowhere to go. Ten or twenty bucks of backing fixes it, and it fills the spool so you're not cranking forever to bring line in.

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Do you really need $300 to start fly fishing?

No. But you need more than $50.

Fly shops will tell you $300 is the floor. That number protects you from junk gear, sure. It also protects the shop. The real answer sits in the middle, and here's roughly what my $50 setup costs to make it fishable:

• The Wakeman combo: $47.99 on Amazon right now.
• Backing: roughly $10 to $20 for a spool.
• A handful of flies that match your water (hoppers, a few nymphs): budget $15 to $25. The two included dries won't last a day of snags.
• A spool of 5X tippet and a pair of nippers: roughly $15 to $25 together.
• A fishing license. A Utah resident adult annual is $40, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources fee schedule, and kids under 12 don't need one.

Call it $130 to $160 all in for an adult in Utah. Less than half of what you'll hear in a fly shop, and you're fishing. Waders can wait. I'd wade wet or fish from the bank all summer before I spent money on them.

Wakeman Fly Rod Combo: Best for Curious Beginners and Kids

After two hours, here's where I landed. It handled well, I enjoyed fishing it, it caught fish, and it flung my flies where I wanted them. What else do you want from fifty bucks? I'd hand this to someone who wants to find out if fly fishing is their thing before spending real money, or to a kid who's going to step on it in the boat anyway.

Who it's for

Curious beginners, kids, and anyone who wants a backup or loaner rod in the truck. It breaks down into its own case, so it lives in the car easily. Skip it if you already know you're hooked on fly fishing and plan to fish most weekends. You'll outgrow the reel fast, and a name-brand 9-foot 5-weight outfit with a real warranty is worth the jump.

Pros & Cons

• Pro: Caught wild trout on both a hopper and a nymph in a two-hour session
• Pro: Casts accurately, with more distance than a trout stream needs
• Pro: Complete kit with a carry case for under $50
• Con: Drag comes very tight out of the box
• Con: No backing, and only 45 feet of fly line
• Con: Not preassembled, and the line has no welded loops
• Con: Foam handle dings easily

Price: $47.99 at the time of writing. Check the current price of the Wakeman combo on Amazon.

When to spend more

You'll know when this rod starts holding you back. On this kit it'll be the reel first, then the short line. The rod is the last thing I'd replace. If you're past the "do I even like this" stage, look at a proper 9-foot 5-weight trout rod, a reel with a smooth adjustable drag, and a full-length weight-forward line from a name brand. Upgrade in that order and you'll never feel like you wasted the first $50.

Whatever you fish, log it. I track every trip in Bushwhack, and it's the fastest way to see whether a cheap rod or your own late hooksets are costing you fish.

Win this exact rod

I'm giving away the Wakeman I fished in the video, rigged with backing, plus a lifetime subscription to Bushwhack Premium (an $80 value). Upload a fish photo and it fills in the date, time, location and weather, maps your spots and tracks your personal bests.

To enter, leave a comment on the YouTube video answering this: what water, and in what state, would you take this rod to first? Entries close Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM Mountain Time. I'll announce the winner Tuesday, November 3. US residents only, one entry per person.