How to get started in fly fishing
If you’re looking at this page it’s probably a safe bet that you’re intrigued enough by the sport to want to buy some equipment and start throwing some line. There are two things you need to understand. First, finding functional, durable and reasonably priced equipment is relatively easy. Second, casting is the name of the game and involves a little bit of skill, both physical and rational. It’s easy to cover equipment in a diatribe like this but it’s a lot more difficult to describe the act of casting. The best way to learn it is with some instruction from a competent source. (If you’ve already got equipment and are exploring the possibility of upgrading you’ll find a list of our offerings and editorial comment in our Products page.) What I want you to do next is visualize what you’re fishing for and what the surroundings in which you’re doing so. Doing this will help guide your equipment selections, a necessity because there are lots of choices. To cast a fly to the fish of your choosing you’ll need a rod, a reel, a line, a leader and a fly.
The Line is where you start. Lines are either heavy or light, with a #16 being the heaviest and #00 being the lightest. Lines are weighed in grains in the first thirty feet. As examples, a three weight line weighs just 100 grains in the first thirty feet while a six weight line weighs 160 grains for the same length. Because a # 6 weighs more than a # 3 the six weight rod will be correspondingly stiffer and heavier and the line will throw a wider range of flies than the three weight. While there’s no such thing as an all-around fly rod, we usually describe a six weight as the crossover point between power and delicacy and a good place to start your search. If the fish you visualized earlier was a trout you should choose a five weight or possibly a four weight line. If you’re planning on fishing for trout out west, or out of a boat for trout or pan fish, a six weight line is a good choice. A seven or eight weight line is a good choice for bass or steelhead. All tapered fly lines have three sections, a skinny tip section, a tapered section and a fatter belly section. A weight forward taper is designed for casting greater distances and a double taper is reversible. While they cost the same, a double taper is more economical…when one end wears out (or you cut it off in your tailgate) you can reverse it and go back to fishing. Prices range from $30 - $65. We don’t sell bad fly lines.
The Rod is the next step. A fly rod is graphite, or as my friend Jon accurately points out, carbon graphite. They range in length from 6 or 6 1/2’ to well over 10’ and in price from $70 to over $700. There is no disadvantage in owning the very best fly rod you can afford. (You could probably fish with a broom handle if you had to, but the results wouldn’t endear you to the sport. The same is true for the junk you can pick up at Wal-Mart.) Like I said, fly rods are graphite and start around $100. Choose a rod that fits your budget and the line weight you selected, e.g. a five weight rod for a five weight line. The conditions under which you fish will determine the rod’s length. If you’ll be fishing for trout locally an 8’ or 8 1/2 ’ rod will be suitable for most applications while fishing out west or from a boat will demand an 8 1/2 ’ or 9’ rod. Spend your money on the rod and the line because they do all the work. We don’t sell bad rods.
The Reel is primarily a storage vehicle for the line so you want to choose one that will hold your entire fly line and about 50 yards of backing. Backing is a small diameter braided dacron line that fills the reel arbor before being attached to your fly line. It provides a little insurance in case a sizable fish grabs your fly and tries to swim away with it and it also prevents your fly line from becoming tightly coiled on the reel. A simple die cast, single action fly reel with an exposed rim (for slowing down a running fish) and a disc drag will run you $35 - $40 and is all you need to start. A reel like this is lightweight and has a high capacity. Step up to a reel machined out of aircraft grade aluminum (not really necessary but nice to have if you can afford it) and the price bumps up to about $100. Even at $35 we don’t sell bad reels.
The Leader, when it’s working properly, has to turn over the fly and deliver it to the target. All leaders are tapered,with a fat butt end that attaches to the fly line and a skinny tippet end for attaching the fly. For fishing for trout or pan fish your first leader should be 7 1/2 ’. As you acquire more skill you can switch to longer leaders. Trout and pan fish leaders are chosen by the diameter of the tippet. A 3X leader will turn over a #10 sponge spider nicely, while a 4X leader will deliver a #14 trout fly with ease. Carry a couple of spools of tippet material in 4X and 5X for rebuilding or lengthening the leader. Bass and Pike leaders are typically 6’ – 8’ and are designated by test, eight or ten pound test for bass and 20 pound for pike.
The Fly is the last link in your arsenal. There are thousands of trout flies and advocates for all of them. If you’re a budding trout angler you need a selection that’s manageable and identifiable. For dry flies, start with an Adams, a Light Cahill and an Elk Hair Caddis. For nymphs, carry a Hare’s Ear Nymph and some kind of caddis larva. For streamers, it’s hard to beat a Woolly Bugger, but a weighted Muddler Minnow is another good choice. If you stop in here I’m going to encourage you to pick up some Soft Hackles. We have some killers, but a Partridge & Green or Partridge & Yellow are fine and can be gotten anywhere. Now memorize those before you add additional patterns. Bass anglers need a couple of poppers in yellow and frog colors and some Bead Head Woolly Buggers. Bluegill anglers will find that small poppers or sponge spiders will do the trick.
Thus equipped you’ll need to learn to cast well enough to deliver the fly to an inviting target. Listen to me: We ALL need casting instruction. You can rent a video from us or take a casting class or just ask us for some casting help. Casting is the name of the game. Come in here and just get a little instruction. As your skills improve you’ll have more fun and that’s the reason we all fly fish.
“If
you don’t know where the fish lie but can cast well
enough to cover all the water with finesse, you are likely
to solve the mystery and catch fish. If you know where they
lie but can neither
reach them or present the fly naturally,you are not even
in the game.”
– Joan
Wullf
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