Learn Fly Fishing

Much mystique has been built up about dry fly fishing over the years, but hatches of fly are less likely to be dominated by just one species than they were a hundred years ago, and the fish (thanks to hatchery breeding) are more catholic in their diet anyway. However, there is still a lot to be said for the challenge of pursuing trout with a dry fly which has been carefully chosen to match the hatching flies, although it can be argued that skilful, accurate presentation counts for more than precise fly selection.

You have to put in a lot of effort to learn fly fishing to be a good fly fisher. There are many factors which can affect your chances of a catch. For instance, most of the bigger fish in the water didn’t get that way by being easily hoodwinked by anglers’ flies; it always pays to have an eye for color and size and to know the times of the season, or the day, when a specific species of fly might hatch. Also remember that fish will sometimes feed more greedily on one species of fly than another. Other factors to take into account include the direction and quality of the light and its effect on fish vision, and the more subtle effects of drag, often undetected by you but not by the fish you hope to delude.

Most times on running water you should try to cast upstream to the rising fish. This will ease your problem of remaining unobserved and help place your fly over the fish without instant drag being induced to scare it away.

It often pays not to cast too far upstream of the fish, for the simple reason that there is then more time for drag to be induced before the fly gets into the taking zone. When fish prove very difficult it’s sometimes a good plan to cast into the receding ripples from a previous rise. This requires great accuracy and dexterity, but it will often get you a fish which is now taking on impulse, before it’s had time to give the fly or its movement some critical examination.

This method will often work wonders when there is more than one fish in the same taking position. This is when greed comes first, and in a mad dash to get the fly first, the fish will often throw all caution to the winds.

Most times, of course, a large trout in a stream will occupy its own well-defended territory and will seek to drive off other small fry or fish which try to intrude. Trout born and accustomed to life in the wild are essentially very territorial creatures. Those with hatchery origins, which spent a lengthy period being pampered with artificial feeding, tend to form into schools at first rather than establish territories, and it may be some time after their release into the wild before they abandon this habit.

In the clear chalk streams, a territorial trout can easily be identified as it cruises up and down its pitch sipping in the hatching duns. Chalk streams, because of their origins, are much more alkaline than rain-fed rivers. As a result, they have abundant weed growth which harbors a large number of natural insects, and for this reason the chalk stream trout are invariably larger than other river trout and much easier to see.

Trout which have got used to the plentiful supply of food in a chalk stream can be very selective in their feeding habits, but so, too, can fish in other waters. So being able to recognize the natural flies and choose an artificial to match them is a good skill that is essential to learn fly fishing.

Although it’s usually best to catch a dry fly upstream when fishing running water, there’s nothing to stop you casting it across or downstream if you prefer. However, if you do this, there’s more chance of your being seen, and of imparting drag to the fly before the fish has time to intercept it. If you do cast downstream, try to cast a slack line which may, for a few seconds, present your fly well without any drag. It will also avoid covering the fish with your leader.

You can practice and learn fly fishing on flowing water, but it may also be used to good effect on still waters. Here the technique is merely to cast the fly out and wait hopefully for a cruising fish to come and take it, sometimes giving the fly an occasional twitch to attract the fish’s attention. But the use of the dry fly is essentially a tactic for the chalk streams or those rivers with only a modest rate of flow, where it provides one of the most exciting of all forms of trout fishing.

In many fly fishing situations, especially for trout, only needs one good cast to catch one. It therefore pays to develop all the skill and dexterity with your tackle that you can muster to learn fly fishing cast. Even if you don’t catch anything, you will get a great deal of satisfaction arid pleasure from just casting well and being by the water.

In the early stages to learn fly fishing cast it’s essential to master the basics. All good casting is done with a combination of wrist and forearm movement. Some novices develop too much wrist action while others think that sheer, brute strength will enable them to wave the rod about to good effect, using only laxly power.

For most of us, the hammer and-nail analogy has proved to be the best way of visualizing the way to handle a single handed fly rod. If you’re using a hammer to knock in a large nail, you don’t use it with a totally stiff wrist. Nor do you use wrist action only with no forearm movement. Instead, you bring the hammer hack with forearm movement and return it in much the same way. But just before the hammer hits the nail you flick your wrist forwards to add extra impetus to the forearm power stroke. You should use the same sort of action when casting with a single handed fly rod.

In overhead casting, all good forward casts begin with a good back cast. This is essential to load the ‘spring’ of the rod, so that when it’s driven forward there will be a release of that spring to drive the line and fly towards the target.

If you want to learn fly fishing cast, the first thing to do is to practice this wrist/arm action. It may help to sit on a small stool, with the rod in your right hand. Place your right elbow on your right knee, and keep it there while flicking the line back and forth to get the right rhythm.

The rod should be raised and flicked with your thumb coming up alongside your right eye. But if you find that you’re tending to bring the rod too far back angle your arm slightly to the left, so that when you raise the rod your thumb comes up to your nose. Then, if you’re doing it all wrong, the rod will bang you on the forehead at the precise moment that it should be stopped anyway.

Following some practice, casting a modest length of line becomes easy. But beware of trying to cast too much line, for this is when faults start to creep in. You may let the rod go too far back and have the line catch the ground behind. Alternatively, you may develop a tendency to push during the final forward cast. This push will do nothing to give more power (and thus greater distance), as it merely kills the spring of the rod.

Greater distances are best achieved by what is termed `shooting line’. This is best done by holding spare coils of line in your left hand and releasing them at the precise moment of the application of power in the forward cast. With practice, some remarkable lengths of line may he shot in this fashion; but it’s not a technique you can master in the first five minutes.

Once you’ve gained some experience you’ll want to try some other types of casting. The roll cast, for instance, is most useful for laying out a line under trees or for merely recasting in the same direction without bringing the line and fly behind you in a back cast.

Instead of lifting the line off the water in a back cast, just bring it. feathering hack slowly until the rod is just past the vertical behind you and the line is sagging down from it at your side. Then, with a powerful flick forwards and upwards (you should exert power as if trying to break your rod), send the line rolling out like a large ‘O’ and follow through by bringing the rod tip down to almost water level.

Modifications of this cast are most useful when you’re fishing under trees or in places where a back cast is impracticable or impossible. Known to salmon anglers as the Spey casts, they are easily achieved with the longer single handed rods and involve something akin to a roll cast with a change of direction.

The type of Spey cast you should use will depend on which bank you’re fishing from. The single Spey cast, for instance, is best done from the left bank (looking downstream), while the double Spey, cast is most used on the right batik. Both entail an initial positioning of the line in front of or slightly upstream of where you’re standing before the final roll out.

Whenever you’re making overhead casts, however, it’s important to be able to place the line and fly accurately at the required distance to cover a fish. Differing techniques will be needed for dry fly and wet fly fishing, and there is also a most useful distance cast known as the double-haul cast.

Casting in a wind poses many problems, but it can sometimes be made easier by casting with the rod held horizontally and down near the water. Most times a headwind will cause the leader and fly to curl back and thus upset your plans. The late application of power in the forward cast will sometimes ensure that the line and leader just unfurl in time to alight on the water before the wind can do its damage; but sometimes it’s better to find a more sheltered spot or move to a position where the wind is more helpful

The dry fly technique is one of the more interesting ways of catching fish, but many anglers will argue that successful wet fly fishing demands greater expertise and so provides greater satisfaction. However, both methods have their own type of challenge, and both may be very easy at times or test the patience of a saint at others.

Unlike the dry fly, which is fished floating on the surface, the wet fly or nymph is used below the surface. In general, sparsely dressed wet flies are preferable to the bulkier patterns.

Nowadays, a lot of wet-fly angler’s fish with an imitation nymph cast upstream and then manipulated so that it drifts close to a fish which has been seen taking nymphs. At other times, perhaps when the fish may not be seen so easily, you can cast across and downstream and let your fly swing round in the current until you feel the pull of a taking fish. However, it’s usually better to work the fly a hit to make it more attractive.

This is especially true if you’re fishing with more than one fly on the leader, for instance with three flies, each separated by about twenty inches of leader monofilament and mounted on what are known as droppers. This team of flies can be trailed behind a moving boat, but when cast across and downstream they will merely dangle in the current, tethered by the line, with no natural-looking movement.

To work a team of flies in a lively way you should cast with a slack line and let the flies sink well down. Then, as the current takes them downstream, lift the line slightly just before the full drag of the stream takes effect- The tail fly will obviously swim at a greater depth than the top one, and it will he largely a question of a fish’s mood at that moment whether it’s more interested in the tail fly or the top or middle one.

During the cold water of the early season, for example, it’s often the fail fly which attracts most trout. But it only needs a bright spell around lunchtime and a spasmodic surface hatch of natural flies for the fish to be more interested in taking the top fly or even a dry fly.

One very successful method of fishing with wet flies is to stand at the head of a pool or run, cast the flies out arid across, and pay offas much line from your reel as is needed for the flies to reach the tail of the pool. Then slowly handlinc the flies back towards you and through the deeper water. This is a good way of enticing deep-lying trout in cold water and, depending on current strength, may be practiced with either a sinking or a floating line.

On shallow rivers you might find it helpful to use a full, white floating line for the simple reason that it can be seen better than a sunken green one. Quite frequently, the first indication that a fish has intercepted your fly will come as a brief hesitation at the end of the floating line before you feel a pull. Constant alertness to what’s happening to the end of your line will often get you more fish than if you just wait for a good pull. You may only detect a subtle hesitation or twitch at the end of the line, but when you do you should strike instantly.

In very deep water, though, it often pays to fish with either a full sinking line or one with a sinking tip. It’s also wise to use patterns of fly which have been tied to sink well down, rather than those with more buoyancy which are intended for low water conditions.

For nymph fishing, where you want to get your fly down to a trout’s level in the shortest possible time, use those with a piece of lead wire tied to the hook shank before the nymph is dressed. Known as leaded or weighted nymphs, these are ideal for chalk streams as well as for many of the large rain-fed rivers with deep runs and pools.

The real advantages of wet fly fishing are to be realized at those times preceding a surface hatch or when all surface activity has ceased. There will also be specific times of the season when surface activity will be minimal but when the fish are feeding hectically on or near the bottom of the river.

If you’re fishing in still water you can use the same sort of techniques as for rivers, but you’ll need to work the fly more to take account of the lack of current to make it move. When you’re after rainbow trout rather than browns you’ll often need to replace the small, sparsely dressed flies with larger, often bolder patterns. But there will be occasions when small flies will win the day

It is sometimes said that the reel is the least important item in the fly fishermen’s tackle bag, the inference being that if it will hold line and revolve in both directions, it will be good enough.

Of course, it is possible to catch fish on a fly rod without using a reel at all, keeping the extra line and hacking on a spool in your pocket, and feeding it out and retrieving it by hand as required.

Indeed, it’s a common fallacy to think that you need a reel on your rod to make it balance properly, some anglers even claiming that a heavy reel is needed to balance a heavy rod. In fact, you get a better casting action if your rod is unencumbered by a reel at all, but it makes obvious sense to have a reel on a fly rod, and certainly on one for salmon. So although it may often be regarded as one of the less important items of tackle, it pays to use the best you can affbrd.

Instead of the old-fashioned, solid-construction reels of heavy brass, most reels are now made of lightweight materials which are cast with holes and slots to lighten them and give good ventilation to the backing line. Some are made from light metal alloys, while there are a few ultralight carbon fibre (graphite) models.

It’s important to have a good check mechanism, and for the checkwork to be adjustable so that you can use your reel for either left or right hand wind, according to your preference. When set properly, the checkwork should offer more resistance to the line when it’s going out than when it’s being wound in. Some reels have an adjustable check so that varying degrees of resistance to a running fish may be selected or varied at will.

Typical of the more popular makes of fly reel are the Hardy Marquis series, the Bruce and Walker Expert, and the System Two reels made by Leeda tackle in England for the 3M company. The latter have a superb adjustable drag mechanism and the added bonus of being more resistant to salt water than most other reels. Perhaps the ultimate in fly reels are made in America by the Bogdan Reel Co.

Many manufacturers offer reels in differing retrieve ratios. The normal reel, which is excellent for general use, is the direct wind type where there is no gearing to alter the retrieve rate. Alternatively, you might prefer a geared multiplying reel. These are fine when retrieving line at the end of your cast, but they do tend to make it harder work to wind in a fish in play, so you may have to use pump-and-wind tactics as you would do when using fixed spool or multiplying spinning reels.

Their one great advantage is for the still water angler, who is accustomed to fish taking his fly as he strips in line during the retrieve. Some anglers, of course, never bother to get the line hack onto the reel to cope with a fish in play, but if you want to do it, and quickly, then the multiplying fly reel does a better job than the standard.

A multiplying reel is also very useful for those situations when a fish runs hard and straight, then turns quickly and comes charging back at you. It’s then important to be able to keep contact with your fish, and the multiplier enables you to do it more effectively than with a reel with a standard rate of retrieve.

Ideally, the size and type of reel you choose should he determine by the type of fish you’re after and the length of your rod. A 15 foot salmon rod, for instance, may well need a 4-inch diameter reel so that it can accommodate a number 11 line and the 20 or 25 pound backing needed to cope with salmon of up to 30 pounds.

An 8-foot single handed trout rod, on the other hand, may need a reel of only 3 inches diameter (or less) to adequately hold a number 6 line and the appropriate 10 pound hacking. Only rarely will a trout of less than 2 pounds get you down to the backing. But on those still waters where trout of double figures may be found, you’ll need a medium-sized reel and something like a number 8 line and 12 pound backing.

The Mitchell 710 is an automatic reel. There is no handle, as the line is retrieved by a clockwork mechanism which turns the spool when the lever is operated. The mechanism is wound up as line is stripped from the reel, or by turning the ribbed black cover on the left hand face of the reel.

The Leeda System is a direct wind reel with a disc-brake drag system. Turning the drag control knob adjusts a pair of brake pads which act on a stainless steel disc on the spool.

The Ryobi 355MG is an ultra light (3 ounce) direct wind reel made of die cast magnesium. This metal is light and strong, but must he used only for freshwater fishing — salt or brackish water would quickly corrode it.

The Shakespeare Beaulite 2873 is also direct wind, with a wide 31/2-inch spool and exposed rims, and is intended for use with single handed rods.

Some manufacturers, such as Mitchell of France, make automatic reels which find favor with some anglers. The reels have a clockwork retrieve mechanism, which is actuated by a lever and can be overridden when a fish wants to run and take line.

In theory, when you’re playing a fish you can just stand there with the lever pressed and let the line come in and out as the fish plays. In practice, some form of pumping is often needed, and if you’re bringing a fish in from a long distance you may have to rewind the clockwork in order to complete the job.

The retrieve rate of automatic reels is typically 10 to 12 feet per second. Enthusiasts of automatic reels claim that they allow greater control over hooked fish than conventional models do.

As with any type of fly reel, when you’re choosing an automatic model check that its spool will accommodate the sizes of line you expect to use, plus the required hacking line. Another feature worth having is an interchangeable spool, which will save you having to change the whole reel when you want to switch to a different line.

Steelhead is a fish that have their roots in the Atlantic and Pacific together with Salmons.  Fly fishing is an angling method used to catch specific type of fish like trout and salmon but today used on many type of fish.

Steelhead fish history

They are the natives of west Coast and the great peninsula of Russia, they are equally found in the great lakes tributaries where their history dates to about 1800’s and by 1940’s they had colonized the great lakes watersheds. They are elusive, frustrating but ultimately rewarding in their line peeling runs not to mention their spectacular acrobatics. Before they were considered Trouts of sea-run rainbow but later got their own category and ever since they own the title of the hottest freshwater fish one can catch on a fly rod.

Catching style

Steelhead fly fishing remains the best way to get them, most of the fly-fishing-styles have been adapted from the historical ones that were used on Atlantic salmon in the British Isles and later came to be practiced in the North America. In this type of fishing flies are usually swung downstream at an angle while on floating or sinking line, sometimes a violent take occurs towards the very end of the swing. However outdated this may sound; even the modern steelheading equally includes these nymphing styles similar to those used by ancient trout anglers.

Steelheaders who do this in winter are not only experienced but are termed hard cores of all fly fishers since they even endure many hours of repetitive casting in freezing conditions wishing for that one tug that may occur when a fisherman least expects it. This makes Steelhead fly fishing a practice for the veterans.

Tips:

For those who are new and feel this game of Steelhead fly fishing is worth giving a trial, here are few tips:

Steelhead are not always in the river system thus timing is of great importance; they move up and down the river system in groups depending with the season, thus its worth having up-to-date information about all this.

Weather is a contributing factor because winter can transform an easily fishable river to a dark brown torrent unexpectedly. Steelhead fly fishing is a probability based game hence as a fisherman you should be patient while keeping expectations in line of-course waiting for the very best and finally be well equipped because not all winter steelheading is carried out in foul weather, but you would be better prepared for it.

Traditionally the best attractor flies for Steelhead fly fishing are patterns derived from the Atlantic salmon marching part, although they may vary, there are basic fly patterns do catch fish regardless of the water.

Fly fishing is an angling method used to catch specific types of fish mostly trout, though undesired species of fish could also be caught. Dummy flies on fly lines are cast into the waters, and since flies are prey to fish, the fish gets attracted and gets caught in trying to get away with the dummies. The equipment used for this is what is called fly fishing tackle, of which are slight differentiations to suit different fly anglers. In the present day, more and more anglers who are taking fly fishing as a refreshing pastime.

The fly fishing tackle is an assortment of tools which have been specially developed for this sport cum pastime activity. In casting the fly lines into the water, the angler would be controlling it with the fishing rod. The fishing rod is the tough physical link that the angler would be holding, made so to withstand the strain from the force being applied by a big fish that would be trying to get away on noticing that it has been caught. It comes in different lengths and weights depending with an angler’s taste.

Fly lines are stored on the Fly reel, which is rolled out to determine how much fly line is out there in the water. Mostly, fly reels are made of heavy material to be more efficient at stopping the fish that has been caught when picking up the artificial flies. Artificial flies attached to the fishing line make up the fly line. The fly line need to be made of a strong material to withstand the force of fighting and landing the often fast moving fish which makes fly fishing tackle a challenge. Some fly anglers would have fly boxes to stores excess of the fly line that does not fir on the fly reel. Bigger fish present a more daunting task because of their momentum and ability to apply pressure.

To actually present the artificial flies to the fish, the terminal tackle is the link from the fly line. The tackle needs to be strong as well so the caught fish doesn’t snatch the fly and glide away. It also increases the area that the fly line can be cast to cover. Being perceived more as a fun activity, several other gadgets that have been developed apart from the fishing rod, the fly reel, the fly line, the terminal tackle and the artificial flies to make fly fish tackle more enjoyable and easier.

Saltwater fly fishing is practicing fly fishing in the saltwater sources such as the coastal areas. The actual phenomenal growth in this fishing type occurred during the 70s and 80s, when some popular fishermen personalities made it a personal crusade after bringing a new frontier to the attention of the angler. This is the main reason that this type of fly fishing is considered as recent phenomenon by most fishermen.

Heavier tackle is used for saltwater fly fishing which uses wet flies that look like baitfish. Much larger “poppers” which are used for bass fishing in fresh water, can be used to catch saltwater fish. The offshore species are mostly attracted to the boat by teasing or chumming the fish with small baitfish.

Bone fish, tuna, marlin, striped bass, dorado (mahi-mahi), tarpon, salmon, and sailfish are some of the verities of saltwater species which are caught with the help of fly tackle. Generally, in saltwater fishing, a large hook (less lure) is used to tempt the fish towards the boat. Mostly, bill fish is caught by this method.

In saltwater fishing, big, strong and fast species cannot be trapped easily only by palming the reel. A saltwater reel, with powerful drag system, can be useful in catching these species. The cost of a high–quality saltwater reel is nearly 50,000 USD. In each and every type of saltwater fly fishing, corrosion-resistant equipment is the main instrument.

With this instrument, one can target all types of big and powerful species.
With the help of a stripped bass or by wading a bone fish, saltwater fly fishing can be done from shores. Boats of different sizes are used for off shore fishing to catch the bigger species. Fishermen, who generally go for this type of fishing, have to learn new skills to get their catch on a fly rod.

It is very hard to catch the fish in an ocean. The fish in the oceans are much larger and faster than the fish on the shore.
It is important that the hooks used for saltwater flies are extremely corrosion resistant and durable. Most of these hooks are made using stainless steel. However, the stronger ones (although lesser corrosion resistant ones) are made of high-carbon steel. These hooks typically vary from an #8 size to #10 size for smaller near-shore species like the bonefish, and from size #3/0 to #5/0 for larger offshore fish.

The fly fishing sport is getting increasingly popular all across the globe with more number of people aspiring to learn fly fishing. The reasons for this growing popularity clearly indicate how relaxing, rewarding, and enjoyable fly fishing can be. It is often conducted in some of the most striking areas of the US and other countries.
However, beginners might find it a bit difficult to learn fly fishing. This is the main reason why we have discussed below some tips that offer you training in such a way, that the next time you go for fishing, you might probably land up catching a fish on a fly!
In order to learn fly fishing, you need to consider a huge array of intertwined factors such as using the proper fly fishing flies, having the right fly fishing gear, and the ability to cast appropriately.
One of the basic fly fishing factors includes knowing more about the different kinds of trout that you are planning to fly fish. This may involve collecting more information on such species of trout as the rainbow trout, the brook trout, the golden trout, the brown trout, the cutthroat trout, and several others. This is greatly required to improve your catch.
The best way to get started with fly fishing is to first get acquainted with wet fly fishing. This is because unlike dry fishing or nymph fishing, with wet fly fishing, you can use wet flies for catching trout, even by doing a basic cast. This technique involves casting the fly line downstream across the river. This technique is the best for you if you have just started to learn fly fishing.

Keep the tip of the fly rod pointed at the wet fly and tag along the fly downstream with your rod. The current of river will make a belly kind of shape in the fly line, causing the fly to swing across the river. You can also twitch either the fly line or the rod for managing some more action on the fly.

Lift the rod tip a bit, once you see the fly hanging directly downstream. This results in the fly raising out from the depths of the river, just like an emerging insect. You can also jerk your fly rod to offer little more extra action to the fly, which is going to provoke the strike.

For a short while, you can also leave the fly out there, moving your rod, in between, up and down, thus, getting the fly moving up and down in depth. This provides more time to the nearby trout to look at your offering.