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I'm a longtime lake troller and spincaster. I putt along in my boat and drink beer, just like grandpa did. Sometimes I even catch fish. Time for something new.
I just bought a fly rod, some line and a couple reels and I'm not sure where to begin. I'd love to hear any tips, suggestions, or advice that anyone has for a complete jong wannabe flyfisher. How did you guys learn?
Bluegill!!!!!!!!
salt water fisher my whole life till I moved out west. my boss was a flyfisher and I pretty much just learned from him. main advice I can give is look behind you before casting.
youtube. i also learned a lot from a couple of classes I took at a local shop, worth looking into.
I fiddledicked around for a few years on my own. Then started fishing with a friend who is really good and I learned more in a couple of trips than I did in all that fiddledicking time. Find someone to who knows what they're doing to fish with. More fun than fishing/drinking alone anyway. I hired a guide on one trip and that was super helpful as well.
And to counter criscam, learn to roll cast. Where I mostly fish, there ain't no room for a back cast.
Buy a copy of the Curtis Creek Manifesto.
Practice casting in a field or someplace with nothing around you, with no fly on the line (maybe a strike indicator or something you can see).
Practice fishing in tiny creeks where you don't really need to cast for real any way -- just flicking the fly into the next pool -- to learn about presentation and to catch some easy fish and enjoy the new sport.
secondedQuote:
Originally Posted by snapt
I've been learning to fly fish for a little over a year. A lot of this has been mentioned, but I thought I'd share my perspective. Best thing you can do is fish with good/experienced fishermen who will talk to you about what to do. These can be friends or you can pay a guide. 2nd thing to do is read a lot. Curtis Creek Manifesto looks good. I also like The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing. I read a lot of blogs like Midcurrent, Hatchmag, Gink & Gasoline, and Orvis. Practice casting in a field a lot. Learn to roll cast.
Get yourself a leader straightener. Better yet, get two. You'll wear the first one out pretty quick.
^ I rarely need that with 15lb maxima. ;)
Thanks for the ideas. I'll get that manifesto for sure.
When I first looked into this thread I thought about mentioning the CCM, but it's a bit dated in some ways and doesn't have a lot of info on casting, which I think is the hardest part to learn. It's an excellent resource for things like fish stalking and the overall lifestyle and attitude though and belongs in every fly-fishers library.
Fortunately there are a number of good casting and knot-tying instructional videos on YouTube, and your local fly shop should be able to help with flies and locations...unless they're pissy, but the chances of that aren't any worse than at the local bike shop.
so you've got an 80-90% chance of attitude, bad advice, and someone trying to pawn off the expensive shit they couldn't sell on you? There's a ton of information out there, tons of opinions, philosophies, reams of bullshit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
a rod, reel, some leaders, some tippet, a hemostat, nippers, floatant, some weight. Some flies - small selection of dries (a range of sizes), nymphs (range of patterns), some generic streamers. Online in bulk will save you money, if you are new to casting you'll likely lose a bunch. Go fishing - the where you are will influence the how you fish. If you fish small wooded streams for brook trout you might never do anything but rollcast with dries.
You get exponentially better with the more Simms gear you own.
^ FKNA right! This guy gets it, clearly.
Seriously, leader straighteners. I carry several every day.
wanna catch a bunch o fish
learn to nymph
want others to think your'e a decent stick or take pleasure from doing it right
master line control
J Wulfs fly casting techniques book helped me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m0QbVTWhtwQuote:
Originally Posted by skifishbum
Beat me to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by dfinn
Best video of all time! Everyone who I fish with knows how much I despise starting at that stupid bobber!Quote:
Originally Posted by snapt
Last week, I was fishing the Beaverhead below the dam. Driving in, I could see about 15? boats on the water. Whatever. Anyway, I walk downstream, cut into the river, and there are 3 boats below me and about 4 above, but only a few guys wading within sight, so I figure this is alright. PMDs are just starting, and only a couple fish rising in a hard to reach back eddy across the river below the line up of boats, so I let them eat.
Fish start to rise regularly, boats pass, I've got maybe 10 fish rising in a circle around me within easy casting distance. Nobody is not using a thingamabobber. Nobody.
I get 3 or so, and a late boat goes past, and the guy says: "You fishing a dry fly?" I nod. He says (like a Texan): "Woooooo, nice!!!!" He was serious, btw.
WTF?
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...psuqxroi1u.jpg
bobbers and the wooly bugger hatch. and "industry standard' overpriced bullshit from simms, sage and whorvis. It's what you have to do to be a real flyfisherman. and watch tons of shitty youtube crap. If you are cool and complain one of the cool bro's here will toss free shit your way, maybe, because that's what makes this board awesome.
In addition to some of the other advice, here are a couple of points:
1) find out where the smaller/dumber fish hangout. The big boys are big for a reason. You may already know where these locations are, but if not your local Fish & Game guys can give you some good pointers. (like where they have the recently planted a fresh batch of hatchery fish).
2) Try to find areas that don't have a lot of brush and trees, and it is easier to fish slower water than it is to fish faster water when you are getting started, (this may even be fishing some of the same lakes that you have been trolling :) ).
OK, for the OP, I practiced a shit ton in my back yard, but I was 8. Now I take beginners to a couple small mountain streams near me. It's more like climbing than fishing, but you still can't have drag or you get rejected. There's usually only one fish in each pool, so you keep climbing. From this morning:
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...psahvcb6pi.jpg
Of course, (prolly not to you but), Cutties are easy
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps2yksxbqf.jpg
^^^i loved that creek
so much satisfaction hitting little cutthoats at each cascade
the small/dumb advice is good but hatchery fish are .... hatchery fish. And dumb in a way unlike wild fish. east or west some small mountain stream gives you an abundance of trout that don't talk to each other so if you fuck up, there's always another pool to move on to. If you are in the west and fit (it's TGR, everyone's an ultramarathoner with 3% bodyfat and a cock like Secretariat and the stud list to match right?) you might be able to hike in to bigger, dumb fish.
^^^ agreed on the hiking. The further one is willing to hike, (at least in Idaho and Wyoming where I fish), the more likely you are to find those "dumb" fish are also bigger. AND, if you hit the high mountain lakes as they are just melting out, they are also so hungry that they will pretty much go after anything that you toss out there.
I fished for stocked trout in a shitty little lake and just taught myself. I highly recommend getting a bit of instruction, took me 3 years to figure out the double haul. I had no idea what I was doing.
Hugh, this is not Polyass you dont have to be a douchebag if you dont want to be.
My advice from someone who came from growing up fishing in a boat for walleyes, get someone who knows what they are doing to help u get started. i had a free guided float and the guide was great. When I went fishing by myself I would carry my fly rod and spinning rod, and when I got frustrated with the fly rod I would switch. I could usually catch fish with the spinning rod but it was like a crutch. I finally quit taking my spinning rod and just kept fly fishing. It would sometimes be extremely frustrating, but the more I used the fly rod, the easier it got. It takes time and more patience than you have to get decent at fly fishing. i still do not claim to be a good fly fisherman but I have gotten to the point that just being out is a fantastic day. Just realize that it will take time to get to that point, but every day on the water is great. Catching fish is just a bonus.
It's TGR. Everyone's a douchebag. Guess I'm a douchebag for pointing out if you know how you learn, choose that way. First hand instruction vs. books/videos vs. flailing. It's not that hard.
This seems odd. You bought one rod, but 2 reels?Quote:
Originally Posted by wicked_sick
And you didn't buy some line, you bought A line, or a couple lines. There is a difference. Did you split the "some line" between the 2 reels? I would advise against that.
A few have mentioned finding an experienced friend or whatever. How about hiring a professional? There are people that make their living teaching people to fish with fly rods. And some of them are pretty good at it, too. Some suck though, so beware.
There are even a few long-time guides that post in the TGR fishing forum...
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...psd2d72445.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by teleee
LOL^^^
I just started fly fishing for the first ever too this spring/summer.
I began this spring with high waters and nymph fishing with thingamabobbers as an indicator and trialing nymph rigs. mostly roll casting on the river and practicing dry on the lawns. I caught fish to my surprise!
I have hired a guide twice, once for wading and once for a float trip. That helps sooo much, I highly recommend it. Plus getting a local fly shop to know and trust you.they are your best resource.
Luckily I started having opportunities to throw dries and still learning lots. but still the nymph fishing here on the Blue was always more productive.
Now it's changed a lot lately,and I am using hopper/droppers and double dries for better hits and getting lots of fish!
I also practicing on other rivers like upper Colo River and the Snake, and others in the area.
(Amazing all the different presentations one can use to hook a fish!)
I get skunked every other day, and then one in three/five fishing days I hook a monster only to lose him.
But ...every now and then I actually get to net an occasional big one, and it makes all those bad days worth it. (see the stoke thread)
I am a complete JONG yet I am having the time of my life flailiing around cluelessly with my entry level 5 weight!!
I fish now 3-5 days a week and try lots of different streams. I am getting to know all the holes and spots from fishing them myself.
Just get after it!
Don't expect much as a newb.
Just enjoy the amazing places this sport takes you!
It is more amazing Than I ever thought it could be!
.
Late to the party, but screw it, I'll pitch in.
It sounds obvious- but I learned to "fly" fish...by going fishing. Seriously. There were a lot of things I didn't know when I started. There are a lot of things I still don't know. I would say it's a constant, ever-evolving learning process. I am still constantly learning, every day, every week, every trip. For myself, it's not just a hobby, it's an obsession.
My advice. Go fishing. Practice. If you have experienced people to fish with, then take advantage of it. And if you don't, don't let it hold you back; learn whatever you can, however you can, and try to apply what you learn. Identify the parts that frustrate you and focus on reading or learning about those specifics. Bit by bit you will get better, you will learn. Gotta pizza before you French fry.
If that doesn't work-Copious amounts of beer, garage sale metronome, and A River Runs Through It.
I bought two lines. A floating and a sinking and a reel for each.Quote:
Originally Posted by Underoos
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeleHoar
You guys are totally right. I made it out a couple weeks back and actually caught a fish. I had just as much fun flailing around on the river bank, pulling my gear out of trees and bushes as I did landing the trout.Quote:
My advice. Go fishing