New to Fly Fishing

[RocketRob16]

Recently I stumbled into fly fishing as the title states. So far I’ve watched a bunch of YouTube intro videos, practiced some casting in the yard, spent some time on the river (managed to land a few fish), talked to a few more experienced guys, and listened to the Orvis podcast. So far I’m really enjoying it.

My question is what do you experienced guys think the best way is to shorten the learning curve. Side question, are there any must have books for a beginner? For reference, I’m in an area with few fly fishermen and possibly one guide service in the area so there are limitations there.

Pic for attention: Got a wild hair the other day and wanted to see if I could catch a white bass during the spawning run. Got this one and lost a better fish.

 

[huntcookwrite]

I’d say book a guide for a day and tell him you’re brand new and looking to learn. Fish the day working with him and then fish the next day in the same-ish spot on your own and try and incorporate whatever you picked up. Rinse and repeat as needed.

 

[Ferrulewax]

Book a guide. Casting a fly rod is like shooting a bow. It’s much easier to learn from someone than to teach yourself. And you’ll prevent all the bad habits you are likely to pick up.

Where are you located?

 

[RocketRob16]

SW Arkansas @Ferrulewax

 

[Ferrulewax]

Other advice is to film yourself cast. You would be surprised how you actually look vs what you think you are doing.

 

[RocketRob16]

Other advice is to film yourself cast. You would be surprised how you actually look vs what you think you are doing.

Oh I’m sure it’s pretty atrocious as a beginner. I’ll give filming myself a try!

 

[chemist]

It depends on what part of the learning curve you are trying to shorten.

I am a half-assed fly fisherman but do catch a fair number of fish when I use a fly, including more than some people I fly fish with that fly fish a lot more than me. The reason is because I have spent a lot of time fishing with other gear and understand how to read a river and have an intuitive feel for where fish will be and how my line will react once it is in the current.

You said you are new to fly fishing, but didn't say how new you were to fishing in general. What I am about to say is blasphemy in certain communities but fishing a river with spinning gear is the fastest way to speed up the learning where fish hold outside of hiring a guide if you are new to fishing in general.

If you are trying to perfect your cast I am the wrong person. I am proficient enough at that to catch fish but I am far from an expert.

 

[RocketRob16]

It depends on what part of the learning curve you are trying to shorten.

I am a half-assed fly fisherman but do catch a fair number of fish when I use a fly, including more than some people I fly fish with that fly fish a lot more than me. The reason is because I have spent a lot of time fishing with other gear and understand how to read a river and have an intuitive feel for where fish will be and how my line will react once it is in the current.

You said you are new to fly fishing, but didn't say how new you were to fishing in general. What I am about to say is blasphemy in certain communities but fishing a river with spinning gear is the fastest way to speed up the learning where fish hold outside of hiring a guide if you are new to fishing in general.

If you are trying to perfect your cast I am the wrong person. I am proficient enough at that to catch fish but I am far from an expert.

Very familiar with fishing in general, been fishing most of my life. Reading rivers hasn’t been a primary focus but hasn’t been neglected too bad either. Enjoying fly fishing as a new challenge.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Some favorites of mine. Most of these are trout and Rocky Mountain themed but there might be something useful for you.

 

[RocketRob16]

Some favorites of mine. Most of these are trout and Rocky Mountain themed but there might be something useful for you. View attachment 840149

Awesome, thanks for the book recommendations!

 

[TaperPin]

Sounds like you’re off to a good start. It can be confusing making sense out of which information applies to you and which is more applicable somewhere else - the majority of it is better to ignore, but part of the learning process is sorting it out.

I’m torn on guides - you will learn the little segment of fishing they are doing, and it might or might not transfer to the fishing you prefer. Nothing wrong with it and it can solve a lot of basic problems or teach you specialized techniques that would take a long time to learn. It can also be an afternoon on a private stretch of water you won’t ever finish on again, with a guy trying to force your cast to match his, and it might be fun, but not help as much as it could.

Some fly shops have casting clinics on a nearby lawn that are very helpful troubleshooting basic casting technique.

There’s no substitute for spending time on the water experimenting, learning little tidbits here and there from others, implementing some, etc. It’s learning to crawl, then walk, then run. You’ll find guys you meet on the river will be helpful once you mention you’re learning.

Go slow - fish closer, give yourself a lot room to cast, cast in calm conditions or downwind if it’s impossible to escape. Most guys try to cast too far at first. Dry flies are the most exciting, but more fish can be caught sub surface down where they don’t need to expend too much effort.

I learned from a guy who is super hyper and has a very active style of searching for fish - no long slow drifts for him, but cast quickly to the exact holding spot, with weighted flies to get down quicker. He seems to catch more fish per hour than anyone I’ve known and was the poster child for casting accuracy. He was also always swapping flies to match the hatch, or depth, or trying out small streamers. When everyone was skunked on a section he’d pull in a few more. I still have a short quick cast and enjoy an active way of searching with quick strips and lots of casting. He taught me to always have a wooly booger and to this day that’s the first thing I’ll throw around big rocks. lol

In the end I tend to think of every fishing situation as specialized. The more tools in your tool kit the easier it will be to figure out what is triggering strikes and adapt.

Have fun - get ready for a collection of new rods as you get into different techniques!

 

[RocketRob16]

Sounds like you’re off to a good start. It can be confusing making sense out of which information applies to you and which is more applicable somewhere else - the majority of it is better to ignore, but part of the learning process is sorting it out.

I’m torn on guides - you will learn the little segment of fishing they are doing, and it might or might not transfer to the fishing you prefer. Nothing wrong with it and it can solve a lot of basic problems or teach you specialized techniques that would take a long time to learn. It can also be an afternoon on a private stretch of water you won’t ever finish on again, with a guy trying to force your cast to match his, and it might be fun, but not help as much as it could.

Some fly shops have casting clinics on a nearby lawn that are very helpful troubleshooting basic casting technique.

There’s no substitute for spending time on the water experimenting, learning little tidbits here and there from others, implementing some, etc. It’s learning to crawl, then walk, then run. You’ll find guys you meet on the river will be helpful once you mention you’re learning.

Go slow - fish closer, give yourself a lot room to cast, cast in calm conditions or downwind if it’s impossible to escape. Most guys try to cast too far at first. Dry flies are the most exciting, but more fish can be caught sub surface down where they don’t need to expend too much effort.

I learned from a guy who is super hyper and has a very active style of searching for fish - no long slow drifts for him, but cast quickly to the exact holding spot, with weighted flies to get down quicker. He seems to catch more fish per hour than anyone I’ve known and was the poster child for casting accuracy. He was also always swapping flies to match the hatch, or depth, or trying out small streamers. When everyone was skunked on a section he’d pull in a few more. I still have a short quick cast and enjoy an active way of searching with quick strips and lots of casting. He taught me to always have a wooly booger and to this day that’s the first thing I’ll throw around big rocks. lol

In the end I tend to think of every fishing situation as specialized. The more tools in your tool kit the easier it will be to figure out what is triggering strikes and adapt.

Have fun - get ready for a collection of new rods as you get into different techniques!

Thanks for the advice! Our March Brown hatch is right around the corner so I’m excited for that to start. It will be hard for me not to throw a dry if I even think it might work. My first largemouth bass that hit a rainbow trout colored Heddon Tiny Torpedo when I was a kid ruined me on surface fishing. I have since then watched myself happily cast a top water bait at bass for a tenth of the strikes while a buddy beside me threw a soft plastic and caught a mess of fish. I might carry this bad habit over to fly fishing even though I know subsurface can be more effective. It’s a sickness.

 

[TaperPin]

Thanks for the advice! Our March Brown hatch is right around the corner so I’m excited for that to start. It will be hard for me not to throw a dry if I even think it might work. My first largemouth bass that hit a rainbow trout colored Heddon Tiny Torpedo when I was a kid ruined me on surface fishing. I have since then watched myself happily cast a top water bait at bass for a tenth of the strikes while a buddy beside me threw a soft plastic and caught a mess of fish. I might carry this bad habit over to fly fishing even though I know subsurface can be more effective. It’s a sickness.

That’s the spirit!

 

[Austink47]

Bluegill, as many of them as possible. That is my recommendation for shortening the learning curve.

 

[BowBaboon]

Fishing that white bass run in the Ozarks is a heck of a good time. I grew up down there and it's one of the few things I miss about living there.

I was pretty basic with it, but I would run a small chartreuse/white clouser minnow under an indicator and let it drift through areas I figured would hold fish. If you're feeling real crazy you might strip it occasionally to make the fly jig. When you get into a pod of fish it'll get downright silly.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

It’s a great hobby to get into, so some research and go talk to guys in shops, figure out what flies work in your area and what types of fish you have and just get after it.

As for casting practice, I don’t know, I started doing it like 35 years ago now, back then all we did was dry fly stuff. Now all I do is streamer stuff and a bit of saltwater when I can.

 

[Dos XX]

SW Arkansas @Ferrulewax

How far south? I am in the Ozarks and it has been way too cold for the whites up here. It is going to be single digits and below zero next week.

I have caught a bunch of those on the fly. As the run progresses, depending on where you are fishing, walleye, hybrids, and stripers can come up river as the run progresses. Fun.

 

[desertdwellerdyl]

not trying to hijack but if anyone fly fishes in AZ and is kind enough to let me tag along to learn let me know!

 

[RocketRob16]

Bluegill, as many of them as possible. That is my recommendation for shortening the learning curve.

That’s what my cousin, who gifted me the setup, has been doing with his. Says it’s a blast on a fly rod. They will definitely on the short list here soon.

 

[RocketRob16]

Fishing that white bass run in the Ozarks is a heck of a good time. I grew up down there and it's one of the few things I miss about living there.

I was pretty basic with it, but I would run a small chartreuse/white clouser minnow under an indicator and let it drift through areas I figured would hold fish. If you're feeling real crazy you might strip it occasionally to make the fly jig. When you get into a pod of fish it'll get downright silly.

If you look at the picture in my first post that’s exactly what I caught them on. I didn’t try it with an indicator, I was mostly stripping it back but both strikes were during drifts.