Learning Fly Fishing Basics Before Buying Equipment

Some of the best anglers on the planet have been using spin casting and bait casting equipment for years and even tournament winners may find fishing with flies an intimidating prospect. Regardless of your fishing experience, before heading to the store and spending a lot of money on equipment, you should understand a few of the fly fishing basics that will influence your purchasing decision. Remember that when fly fishing, you will casting the line instead of the lure so there is a difference in the casting technique than you may be used to.

Fly rods are available in three basic lengths and with three basic types of flexibility. Most learning the fly fishing basics will be better served with a rod of medium length, between eight and 10 feet and with medium flexibility, meaning it will bend in the middle of the rod as well as at the tip. There are also differences in the diameter of the fly line, thicker lines will hold heavier fish, cast further and offer more resistance during the fight.

If you are not positive you will enjoy this sport, you might want to look for some used equipment due to its cost and use it to learn the fly fishing basics such as casting and choosing the right flies for the right season in the right area of the country. You will also want to learn how to read the water to find pools and deeper pools in which the fish like to hide.

Learning The Basics Of Fly Selection

There are two types of flies most anglers use including dry flies and wet flies. Their names are self-explanatory with dry flies remaining on top of the water and wet flies will submerge to attract the fish looking for food on or near the bottom. Learning the fly fishing basics of hooking a fish will be better using surface flies as you can see the fish leaping at the fly and react accordingly.

You will want to read up on the life cycles of the insects that live in the water where you will be fishing so as to present a fly in the right stage of its life throughout the season. Of the fly fishing basics, learning when certain bugs are hatched and when they reach maturity can help you catch more fish. If you present an adult insect during the early stages of its life cycle, many fish may figure out it is not real and ignore it.

Different Artificial Flies

There is probably nothing more complicated in fly fishing equipment than the artificial flies. Flies are the ones used to attract the fish's attention and play a major role in catching a fish. Although its purpose may be straightforward, there is nothing straightforward in choosing the right fly for the right fish.

In the past, choosing a fly is easy enough because there are specific flies for a specific fish.

For example, a trout fly is to be used exclusively on trout and a salmon fly on salmon. But in the present, there are more specific flies that cater to the varying diets of a particular fish. So for example, a trout does not only have a singular trout fly, but also has flies that imitate frogs, worms, etc.

Another source of confusion, at least for beginners, is that categories of US fly types are named differently than their British counterparts. For example, what are called dry flies in the United States are simply called dries in the UK.

But despite the difference in taxonomy, they usually have the same set of sub-categories. Again using the dry flies as an example, the sub-category of mayflies can be found in both categories. Aside from its different types, flies also differ in sizes. Usually, a fly's size ranges from #2 to #22 with the former being the largest.

Not to worry though as the confusion can be resolved by a good advice from reputable and experienced fly fishing equipment vendors. It is always a good idea to ask them when in doubt of which type of fly to buy when one goes fly fishing.