First Time Fly Fishing
 

Hi All,

I just borrowed a fly fishing rod from a friend yesterday, looking to get some practice in over the next couple days. He will be helping me (and trying to teach me), but I was wondering if you guys have any links/videos/websites/advice I could check out prior to meeting up with him that could help me out? I have seen some videos on youtube as of now, but looking for some more, thanks!

Take a look at the following:

Joan Wullff- dynamics of fly casting
Scientific Anglers Basic Fly casting and their other Introductory to Fly Casting

Where are you located, it might be worthwhile to invest in a Beginners Class as well; most of them are structured to not only teach the casting (which is about 50% of fly fishing) but also how to present your fly, how to read the water, what to look for in purchasing your equipment, knots and matching the hatch.

Welcome to what will be your new addiction; i

I am in Calgary. I will see how it goes with my buddy first, but I may invest in some lessons if I am having a lot of trouble. Thanks for the info!

lessons.. pfft.

It will be frustrating at first, there is no doubt about it... but don't spend money you don't have to take casting-lessons IMO.
I've been flyfishing for over 10 years now... I had no one to teach me and no one to go with. Over time I have perfected my fly skills and have no problem catching fish now. PATIENCE IS KEY!
I didn't catch my first fish on the fly until about 2 years after I started. It takes time to learn the proper technique and how to read the water, but once you do you will start hooking fish. There is a huge learning curve off the start. Practice makes better, simple as that... Practice distance, placement, presentation, etc and you will pick it up in no time.

I think what would really be useful though is learning about fly hatches & what to use, where & when... Which may be offered in a Fly-fishing course.. :thinking-006: haha

I found lots of great tips on Youtube. Also, Google "Orvis learn to fly fish" and it will bring up the link for Orvis's instructional website. There are some great casting tips, as well as instructional videos on the basics of fly fishing.

A few tips I found helpful: On your back and forward cast, make sure it's a smooth acceleration to a hard stop/pause. Try to use mostly forearm movement, and just a little wrist movement. Your rod tip should travel back and forth in a straight line, when you put to much arm or wrist in your cast it will cause the rod to arc and several problems will arise.

x2.... Youtube is your friend

I agree with the above poster.....the only things i can add is wait till the rod is loaded before you do your 10-2 movement. You can tell its loaded when you feel a slight tug on the tip....at that point fling it forward and you should get good distance. Also when you are fishing against a high headwind then try side arm casting (a little) and try to keep the rod closer to the water.

Maybe check this out
 

On the world fishing network or wfn they have a show called orvis guide to fly fishing it's a great show and you can watch it online as well I believe but they break every section of fly fishing into different shows. Example dry fly fishing nyhping casting ect check it out I tape them for my wife and she finds them very informative

Me and guitar got a lot in common lol, I only ever caught pike on the fly. until this spring had i started to catch trout, 3 years fly fishing. Presentation is huge!!!
I still have no clue about hatches and can tell it'll be another 3 or 4 years learning that. But I'm figuring them out. Actually faster then I thought. Cause I'm catching lots lately on top... Fly fishing is addictive, just wait till you pull into one...

As far as advise goes, there isn't really a thing I can say that hasn't been mentioned. Except what goes on in your mind. It'll be frustrating learning how to cast with different winds, different currents learning to throw casts with mends in them and continuing to throw mends. Assuring your flys presentation is perfect. But i think a lot of your success will come from errors that everyone's already made. That can't be taught, but not learned. It's a mental game, don't be flinging your rod back and forth when you get a tangle... And when you get discouraged, look at all the people around you fishing with bait not catching anything.... Your gonna get one, you always do!

One last mention that's worked really well for me, if you make a bad cast always say to yourself, "I've caught fish on alot worst cast then that one!". I can't stress how much of a mental game it is. And you'll probably notice with your buddy how much confidence he'll probably have.... Get confident! Have a couple cold ones you'll be good to go, relax and really appreciate where you are... I hope this little pep talk will help encourage you to really enjoy the sport and art of fishing just that much more! Cheers


Sammy Boy

You can absolutely learn on you own (not disputing that)! Go flail around in the park and get some pointers from a few folks for a couple of times... But you WILL get EXTREMELY frustrated (and it may actually cause you to give up if you learn on the water), so why go through all the headaches?! Shorten the learning curve (by quite a bit) and sign up for a class! Not only will you learn how to cast PROPERLY, but as Kritofr has stated, you will also learn much much more in a class! Why learn someone else's bad habits (or develop your own)?! Get the job done right and you be A LOT further ahead with A LOT less frustration!!

Just my $0.02

P

If you think that you will enjoy fly fishing, suck up your pride and take some lessons. You will learn more in 8 hours than you will learn in 8 weeks on your own. Plus you will get a primer on knots and hatches from someone who has been fishing the local waters.

I took a day of lessons. I was skunked the first day (I spent more time untangling nymphs that I did fishing) but then I started catching fish because I had learned where they would be hanging out and I knew what flies/nymphs to use.

8 hours = 8 weeks... That really depends on how much you fish!! haha.

If you are completely new to fishing all-together than lessons wouldn't be a bad idea. If you are already a competent spincaster than you certainly have an advantage and trial/error is totally feasible.

Good luck, hope you enjoy the sport, I'm sure you will.

You're in Calgary. Cheap and good lessons abound. Every fly shop puts on lessons that not only cover casting and allows you to try different rods, but covers rod and equipment selection, knots, what parts of a stream or river hold fish, etc. Heck, the shop on 1st. street downtown charges you around $200 and something for the day and GIVES you a rod and reel combo with line.

Or you can try to learn on your own and catch a fish in 2015 like Guitarplayingfish. ;) LOL

hahaha. It sounds brutal, but I consider myself to be a very seasoned fly-fisherman... I've never taken lessons and I outfish people on my flyrod almost every trip out..Any guess why? Experience... I have fished most situations, I have learned to read the water, I have learned to present my flies just right, and I could place a fly on the tip of your nose if I wanted to. Sure, it took a while (haha) but what I have learnt in the first few years was detrimental to my skill level now...

This being said though... I don't blame people for taking lessons. I just never had the money to drop on stuff like that, and I still don't. Furthermore, it probably will save you a ton of frustration if you do get some guidance.

Go get some lessons or go out with someone experienced with lots of experience.

It will save you alot of frustration and time. Do it right the first time and more importantly do it and have fun doing it.

Do not get me wrong, in fly fishing, nothing trumps experience. I never said that it was not feasible to learn on your own. When one takes lessons, you get the benefit of the instructors experience and the benefit that they have (likely) taught other people.

And you are totally right, lessons are expensive and a privilege.

Lol
 

All these old dudes will tell you it's really hard and super complicated buts it's actually really easy , Google orvis learning centre and download and listen to the orvis podcast Tom rosenbauer explains things in way that makes sense and shares his almost 40 yrs of fly fishing experience. I watched a video of him teach two little girls how to fly fish and the hooked bass nearly first cast its really not that hard hahaha

Research, research, research. Almost every time I go out, which is usually on the Bow I like to check all reports and what hatches are most likely in that time of year. If you are fishing the Bow don't get discouraged, you will probably get skunked more often than not. Fishing dries is the most fun imo but if the fish aren't rising then you will probably have a pretty slow day. If you are trying the bow try swinging some streamers like a bugger, I say this because it doesn't have to be perfect and because your line will be more or less tight through most of the swing and you will most likely feel any strikes, apposed to watching an indicator you can also try some different retrieves with this method. Nymphing will usually produce the most fish but as most people on here say you need to be bouncing off of the bottom or damn near to it, as well as have a drag free fly which can be pretty tough. Good casting practice is to go to a park or even your back yard if it is big enough, lay down a hoola hoop and try from different possitions to get your fly in or near the hoop. Hope this helps these are just some things that I have found help in my few years fly fishing.

Think of it like driving a standard car for the first time, you may mess up for a bit but give it some time and patience and you will be a pro in no time. :happy0180:

Holy thread necromancy. I love that people are taking advantage of the huge repository of information.

Since I first posted, I have taught over 15 people how to fly fish. Only one person has picked it up flawlessly. it was a smart young girl who had no fishing experience---a blank slate with a natural sense of rhythm. The hardest person to teach was probably the most competent gear angler I have ever known. The 30+ years of muscle-memory and habits (that made him an effective gear angler) were really hard to break. Without someone to actively make corrections to the 10-2 stops and to help keep the rod-tip moving in a straight line instead of the momentum arc that someone would use chucking a spoon or crank-bait, it would have taken him months of frustration to 'get it'.

Fly casting is not hard, but unless a person has a natural understanding of physics (momentum, springs, tension), I would not call it super easy. I agree, instruction is not needed. But I would hazard everyone would benefit from at least a little instruction.

Been fly fishing, including casting, catching, tying flies, building and repairing rods for over 45 years...no lessons in any feature of the sport, read quite a few books and magazines along the way (this was way before U-tube and the ilk)...just get out there and do it, before paralysis by analysis sets in!

Find a good mentor. Someone that is knowledgeable, patient and ethical.

P