First Time Fly Fishing

-relk- · #1 06-21-2012, 09:29 AM

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!

kritofr · #2 06-21-2012, 09:42 AM

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

-relk- · #3 06-21-2012, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kritofr

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!

Guitarplayingfish · #4 06-21-2012, 10:29 AM

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..

haha

quiteeye · #5 06-21-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitarplayingfish

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..

haha

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

ÜberFly · #6 06-21-2012, 01:09 PM

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

Iceman4 · #7 06-21-2012, 10:32 AM

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.

Guitarplayingfish · #8 06-21-2012, 10:35 AM

x2.... Youtube is your friend

Calgaryguy1977 · #9 06-21-2012, 10:37 AM

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.

vital shok · #10 06-21-2012, 12:03 PM

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