New to fly fishing and need some advice

[atxjess]

bunch of slack laying on the deck, or flopping in the air is a PITA when you try to get a hookup. Hope this helps.

No kidding! So do you bring the fish in by stripping the line back in or do you use the reel? The three fish I have caught I had to strip them in because I had too much line lying on the ground at my feet. It seemed to work ok, and I was able to let that big cat take line and wear itself out. The fight wasn't all that bad. So I wonder, is the reel only for holding you line?

I caught these on the fly rod when I was little and never used the reel(I'm only 18 now). I'm pretty sure the reel is not very important unless your fishing for really big fish.

 

[CodyPomeroy]

Look what I caught on my fly rod tonight...

nice work! =D> I bet that put up a good little fight on the fly rod, didn't it? :wink: Now that you've actually caught a fish on fly tackle, what do you think about it so far? My guess is that, like me, you'll probably leave the bait caster and the spinning rod at home, and start taking the fly rod out more often.

It did put up a fun fight. I am used to baitcasters with heavy line and tend to just drag them in, so it was a change to actually play the fish out. I am amazed that I caught it because the fly just popped out of it's mouth after I had it on the bank. It was a lot of fun. I still am struggling with line management, especially on a bank with weeds, so I am not ready to give up on my casting and spinning rods just yet. Thank you for your words of encouragement.

 

[Coach d]

I love the long rod. I just strip the fish in with the line. I have heard that some really big fish you need it for.

 

[PSG-1]

bunch of slack laying on the deck, or flopping in the air is a PITA when you try to get a hookup. Hope this helps.

No kidding! So do you bring the fish in by stripping the line back in or do you use the reel? The three fish I have caught I had to strip them in because I had too much line lying on the ground at my feet. It seemed to work ok, and I was able to let that big cat take line and wear itself out. The fight wasn't all that bad. So I wonder, is the reel only for holding you line?

Essentially, yes, the reel is only for holding the line. For most panfish, you can strip the line in by hand, letting it coil neatly. But when you have a hookup on a larger fish, you'll need go ahead and try to get all that slack line onto the reel, you don;t want it hanging up on something and costing you a nice trophy fish.

Generally when I have a hookup with something big, I'll continue holding the line with my right hand, then, with my left hand, I quickly grab the slack, near the reel, and drape it between my ring and little finger of my right hand, to help guide it onto the reel, then reel up all the slack.

Once you get the line back onto your reel, remember, the drag system (if so equipped) is NOT for fighting a fish, it only controls spool tension to prevent backlash if the fish makes a fast run. You need the drag turned up, but you are still fighting the fish with the rod, not the reel. If he makes a run, maintain control of the line, making sure your reel doesn't backlash, but let him make his run, once he slows down or stops, start applying some pressure with the rod, and begin reeling.

When fly fishing, the 'drag system' is controlled with your two fingers that you are holding and controlling the line with, Pinch together for more drag, let off for less. And yes, when you hook into something like a bluefish, tarpon, or large spot tail bass (red drum) the line can run through your fingers fast enough to burn you, which is one of the reasons it has the coating. The coating also helps it float, as well as reducing friction through the guides when casting. But that reduced friction also allows it to slide through your fingers more easily, without cutting you. It can still burn the piss out of you, though, so, be careful if you hook something big.

 

[PSG-1]

Look what I caught on my fly rod tonight...

nice work! =D> I bet that put up a good little fight on the fly rod, didn't it? :wink: Now that you've actually caught a fish on fly tackle, what do you think about it so far? My guess is that, like me, you'll probably leave the bait caster and the spinning rod at home, and start taking the fly rod out more often.

It did put up a fun fight. I am used to baitcasters with heavy line and tend to just drag them in, so it was a change to actually play the fish out. I am amazed that I caught it because the fly just popped out of it's mouth after I had it on the bank. It was a lot of fun. I still am struggling with line management, especially on a bank with weeds, so I am not ready to give up on my casting and spinning rods just yet. Thank you for your words of encouragement.

Like I said, fly rods are a lot of fun, even with small fish, because it puts more pressure on the fisherman than baitcasting or spinning tackle. As for line management on the bank or weeds.....here comes the next lesson....side casting. It's basically the same type of motion as you started with (all fly casting will involve this same type of stroke), except, instead of holding the rod perpendicular, you hold it parallel to the ground.

With the rod at about 1 oclock, bring it back to 3 oclock with a sharp stop, let the loop form behind you, then go forward to 1 oclock....when you make the cast, bring it out to 12 oclock, then point the tip of the rod at your intended target, if done correctly, this is where it will place the line and the fly. This is a great cast for overhanging branches, etc.

Once you get good at this, then you can advance to the next step, casting with your OTHER hand. Yep, I can cast a fly rod with either hand. Again, being able to cast from any position, with either hand, will allow you to fly fish under most any conditions. Because, let's say you're right handed, you're facing the river or stream, and there's a 20 MPH wind from your right side. If you try casting with your right hand in these conditions, you can see the potential for problems, like the line crossing your body, and hooking yourself, or, if nothing else, fouling the line when you try to cast. By switching hands and casting left handed, you avoid this.

Speaking of hooks, it's also a good idea to always wear glasses when fly fishing, again, it's a tiny hook flying back and forth through the air, past your face. I've never snagged myself, but I've clobbered myself in the back of the head with a clouser minnow, ouch!

 

[CodyPomeroy]

Thank you all for the great advice. Somewhere along the line someone mentioned getting lessons. I did just that, sort of. For father's day my wife got me a day on some trout streams with a guide. He was EXTREMELY helpful! He talked me through a lot of things, but also demonstrated them as well. It was invaluable to see how he would approach each new casting situation as we moved from hole to hole. Videos and books are great, but they aren't interactive. It was nice to have someone tell me why my casts weren't working and someone who could explain in detail any of my questions.

 

[PSG-1]

Thank you all for the great advice. Somewhere along the line someone mentioned getting lessons. I did just that, sort of. For father's day my wife got me a day on some trout streams with a guide. He was EXTREMELY helpful! He talked me through a lot of things, but also demonstrated them as well. It was invaluable to see how he would approach each new casting situation as we moved from hole to hole. Videos and books are great, but they aren't interactive. It was nice to have someone tell me why my casts weren't working and someone who could explain in detail any of my questions.

Good deal! So, when the guide was explaining casting, did my advice start to make sense? Again, it's always much easier to demonstrate than to explain in writing.

 

[CodyPomeroy]

Thank you all for the great advice. Somewhere along the line someone mentioned getting lessons. I did just that, sort of. For father's day my wife got me a day on some trout streams with a guide. He was EXTREMELY helpful! He talked me through a lot of things, but also demonstrated them as well. It was invaluable to see how he would approach each new casting situation as we moved from hole to hole. Videos and books are great, but they aren't interactive. It was nice to have someone tell me why my casts weren't working and someone who could explain in detail any of my questions.

Good deal! So, when the guide was explaining casting, did my advice start to make sense? Again, it's always much easier to demonstrate than to explain in writing.

He explained a lot. Your advice was helpful as well. I didn't start to really pick up on things until he started showing me. He apologized for fishing a spot first and I said, "No that's perfect. I want to watch YOU fish for a bit." There is so much to casting that can not be put into words.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Cody,

Fly fishing can be difficult to learn on your own without willing fish. You didn't mention where you are from but from the picture of the bullhead you have some ponds to fish.

Get yourself some small poppers and floating spiders and hit that pond where you caught the bullhead. I'm sure there are some nice sunfish in a pond like that and they are the absolute perfect fish to cut your fly fishing teeth on. Bad casts don't spook them and if there are several bluegills around the fly and you miss a strike if you leave the fly there another one will usually take it. They fight nice and will give you practice on how to handle your line with a fish on it. As a bonus you'll get some bass too.

If you don't know where to get some small poppers send me a private message with your address and I'll send you a couple of the ones I tie and use.

Enjoy it and don't take it too seriously. You'll pick things up and the casting and hooksetting and playing the fish will all become second nature to you.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[CodyPomeroy]

Dear Cody,

Fly fishing can be difficult to learn on your own without willing fish. You didn't mention where you are from but from the picture of the bullhead you have some ponds to fish.

Get yourself some small poppers and floating spiders and hit that pond where you caught the bullhead. I'm sure there are some nice sunfish in a pond like that and they are the absolute perfect fish to cut your fly fishing teeth on. Bad casts don't spook them and if there are several bluegills around the fly and you miss a strike if you leave the fly there another one will usually take it. They fight nice and will give you practice on how to handle your line with a fish on it. As a bonus you'll get some bass too.

If you don't know where to get some small poppers send me a private message with your address and I'll send you a couple of the ones I tie and use.

Enjoy it and don't take it too seriously. You'll pick things up and the casting and hooksetting and playing the fish will all become second nature to you.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I am in eastern iowa. That is a private pond that used to have bluegills, but the bass ate them all. I have had some practice catching several small bass and that one cat. I am really close to a river that is full of smallmouth, walleye, and northerns. I haven't tried flyfishing there yet. There is also a lake with really clear water that is fished heavily and one is considered lucky to catch anything at all. I can't wait to fly fish there, I bet they don't see flies much.