Fly fishing

[Yvon]

Who's into it?
I've been fishing for a while, but lately I've been thinking about trying fly fishing.
We went to the store today tried some fishing rods.
I will buy one this winter and try it next spring.
But is there anything I can read to know a bit more about fly fishing?
Web site?
Book?

What about the hardware?
Fishing rods, boots etc...
What should I buy?

Any tips will be apreciated.

Thank you

[bassbully]

One of my love's If there is one thing to know about fly fishing v.s. say casting etc is for what it is fly fishing is so expensive. Example- a decent freshwater reel and rod will cost anywhere form $75.00-100.00 U.S. so will a decent (starter) flyrod and reel. The diff is the spinning or casting rod or reel has moving parts and you cast the line (mono) using forward motion and the reel and lure or baits weight does the rest. With fly fishing you are casting the line. The reel unless you are using expensive steelhead or saltwater drag reels are just there to hold the line and can cost hundreds of dollars but do nothing you strip smaller fish in using the line.

I have done all kinds of fishing and owned 10's of thousands in gear but simple fly fishing is the pureist form of fishing except for tying a piece of string to a stick or catching a fish bare handed. I also suggest you learn to tie your own flys which makes fly fishing even more fun and saves a ton of money. You can take classes or learn by video or internet. A small trout fly size 24 midge can cost $2.00 U.S. and is nothing more then a couple turns of thread and a scrap of feather on a hook. What kind of fishing will you be doing...maybe i can help there.

[Xorese]

NEWFOUNDLAND.

this message has been brought to you by a drunk Xorese.

[Yvon]

thanks a lot for the help, it is really appreciated.

We won't be fishing in a boat for sure. We don't like it. So we will fish on the side or even now in the water.

We will be fishing mostly for bass, trout and this one, I don't know the english name (after looking on the net the name might be walleye)

http://www.hydroquebec.com/cardc/env...son_dore02.jpg

The guy at the store today helped us a lot. He even took 30 minutes to show us how to cast.
Very cool.
Also he said that we would need a 9' fish rod, easier to start with.
And for the "wire" he said we should use 5 or 6 for the fish we are looking for.
We want to do our own fly that's for sure. It would be easier if someone could show us own to do it. At the store we went today they give free lesson on own to make them. But it is the thursday night and we are not available .

That's about it for now...

Like I said we are new to this and we are looking for all the info we can find.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by Yvon

thanks a lot for the help, it is really appreciated.

We won't be fishing in a boat for sure. We don't like it. So we will fish on the side or even now in the water.

We will be fishing mostly for bass, trout and this one, I don't know the english name (after looking on the net the name might be walleye)

http://www.hydroquebec.com/cardc/env...son_dore02.jpg

The guy at the store today helped us a lot. He even took 30 minutes to show us how to cast.
Very cool.
Also he said that we would need a 9' fish rod, easier to start with.
And for the "wire" he said we should use 5 or 6 for the fish we are looking for.
We want to do our own fly that's for sure. It would be easier if someone could show us own to do it. At the store we went today they give free lesson on own to make them. But it is the thursday night and we are not available .

That's about it for now...

Like I said we are new to this and we are looking for all the info we can find.

Ok i see now. What weight rod did you buy? Standard is a 5-6 weight. By "wire" i think you were saying line which is what weight the rod is matched to....thus what you are casting. I fish a 2 weight for trout and small stream fish and a 5-6 for bass and larger fish. Large game the rods go up in weight to 9-10 etc....longer heavyer etc. You will also need a leader which is the mono line that the fly is tied too. They come in diffrent lengths and are subjective to what you might like. Average is 7-9 ft and they can taper from the butt (heavy stiff mono) to the light tippet where you tie the fly.

Bass fishing on the fly is alot of streamers and poppers ,hairbugs.For Trout it depends on the place..stream or lake and the type, brooks ,rainbows ,browns etc. Lots of stuff to learn there. On walleye...i doubt you will be able to catch many on the fly since they are a deep water fish and dont surface or shallow water feed offen...maybe stream when spawning? There is tons of great info on the net...learn to tie those flies you will be glad you did trust me.

[gold_member_321]

My father always tries to get me to go with him but I never have.

[someguy0105]

Try heading over to fishingclub.com (north american fishing club site) A lot of good info in the forums there. Nice bunch of guys in the fly fishing section. I suggest trying some panfish to start with. Fun to catch, easy, and help show how different the basic ideals on fishing are different on a fly rod. I started tying before I had my first rod, and the best advice I can give is that when you are putting something together, you can never put too many half-hitch knots between steps (unless you plan on cutting the pattern off to save the hook) and that less is more when you are putting material on.

If you have any more questions or want some more info shoot me a PM.

[edmidlifecrisis]

Take a basic class, so you can have an instructor do a hands-on for casting basics. There are a million flyfishing web sites and instructional videos out there, too. There are also some relatively new brands of flyrods that are very reasonably priced.

Flyfishing equipment tends to be extremely overpriced for some reason, maybe it's the demographic of the customers or something. There is lots of high end snobbery. However, it's not necessary to spend enough to buy a Rolex on a flyrod and reel (unless you're going for big saltwater species), they're basically simple things and there are some good brands that don't cost an arm and a leg. The lower end rods from LL Bean and Orvis, Temple Fork, Elkhorn, are just a few examples. Tying flies is fun, I am still a beginner at it, but have had some success. I haven't done it in a while due to laziness. I only tie streamers, bass flies, and saltwater stuff when I do tie, as trout flies are way too small for these old eyes!! It's hard enough just to tie them on the leader....And they're not very economically productive, whereas the larger ones are. I've caught fish locally with my own flies, it's a real kick.

Casting from shore works well as long as you have enough room to make your back cast. Using alternatives such as a roll cast gets old after a while....

What's nice is that you can target fish other than the standard trout with most basic setups. I'm in Florida where it's many miles to the nearest trout water, but I can still catch lots of stuff on fly, bass, tilapia, sunfish, peacock bass, and many saltwater species, for instance. I can catch some of these fish in my local neighborhood canals on fly.....One rig will NOT cover all the above, though!! I haven't gone much lately, but have been thinking a lot about starting up again now that the weather is cooling off.

[jucas]

I've fly fished for trout for years, and just recently starting to look at salmon and whatnot bcause I'm too far from the good trout areas right now. No idea about bass, but sounds like a few people around here do.

I might get some disagreement from more experienced people, but I'm a fan of cabela's little rod and reel packages. I think they even have a store in quebec somewhere so you could maybe check it out even. I've always had great service from them online too... I just bought one of their rods to learn to salmon fish on, and a friend grabbed this one for trout. I think for the price it compares pretty decent;y with my "better" trout rod.

Those ones come with a line, so maybe grab a sinking line, a pair of waders if you're going to be in the water, and see what the store says about flies. (I just used aqua socks for a while instead of spending more on wader boots...)

Thats about the cheapest I'd go to get into it, and there's pleny of stuff to upgrade from there if you're having fun.

[the ombudsman]

My native town is Le Royaume du Saumon!

Now if you need a good guide, my father and one of my bros are both among the best (pardon the shameless plug).

Personnally, I know nothing about that, though.

[MJ5150]

I don't know a dang thing about fly fishing, or fishing at all. When I was in Colorado recently, I stopped by a couple fly fishing shops and bought some fly's for a buddy who is really into it.

I paid like $1 each for a couple of them, and another one I got was $3. I was fully expecting them to be really expensive, and was surprised how cheap they were. On one of them, the guy made it for me while I stood there. It seems easier to just buy them than buy all the equipment to make your own. How many does a guy normally go through in a day of fishing? If you go through a lot, then I can see maybe making them yourself.

-Mike

[James Hart]

I've got an unbranded 11 foot bamboo pole with a mid 80s Pflueger reel... generally with weight forward floating line. A buddy of mine and I use to go lake (bass & perch) and stream fishing (brook, brown & rainbow trout) all the time. Tied our own flies mostly too.

I haven't cast one in 15 years now though... I don't eat fish much any more so the need / want to catch them has greatly diminished.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I don't know a dang thing about fly fishing, or fishing at all. When I was in Colorado recently, I stopped by a couple fly fishing shops and bought some fly's for a buddy who is really into it.

I paid like $1 each for a couple of them, and another one I got was $3. I was fully expecting them to be really expensive, and was surprised how cheap they were. On one of them, the guy made it for me while I stood there. It seems easier to just buy them than buy all the equipment to make your own. How many does a guy normally go through in a day of fishing? If you go through a lot, then I can see maybe making them yourself.

-Mike

Well in fly fishing mecca like Colorado flies are cheaper since they are everywhere. But where i am from they are expensive average for good flies are $1.50-$1.75 each and up to $3.00 or more. They are simple to tie unless you get into crazy epoxy patterns etc. For $50.00 you can buy a vise and enough materials to ties hundreds of flies .The only expense after is hooks. A spool or two of thread goes a long way feathers forever as well as floss and furs.
A simple pattern like say the Wolly bugger a great fly goes for around $2.00 if its standard. If i sit down i can tie 10-15 in an hour no problem and mine are top quaility. i have lost as many as 10-15 flies in an average trip and more due to brush ,rocks and fish break offs. Flies are not weedless and the hooks offen dull quickly on sharp rocks. Trust me anyone who fly fishes need to tie or you will spend a load of dough on flies. Plus i enjoyed tying and catching fish on something you made makes it all the better.

[Yvon]

Originally Posted by the ombudsman

My native town is Le Royaume du Saumon!

Now if you need a good guide, my father and one of my bros are both among the best (pardon the shameless plug).

Personnally, I know nothing about that, though.

Hi Dave, good to see you here.

Causapscal that's in gaspésie?
That's far if I want lessons!!

But if it's not too far from here, I would be happy to meet them if they are available. I would love to learn a bit about fly fishing.

[Yvon]

thanks again about the links.
I would look into them

I plan to do my flies that's for sure. Just for the fun of doing them, and also to catch some fish with my own flyes. That must be cool!

[StyleOverShow]

Fly fishing is very cool. You're in the right part of the world for it.

I would suggest you buy a 9 foot 4 weight for small stream fishing and a 6 weight 9 foot for rivers.

Flies: www.hillsdiscountflies.com in Washington. Good flies, great prices.

You'll need waders, boots, and a vest. Get 'em cheap and figure out if you like the sport.

Try www.sierratradingpost.com and look for closeouts.

Started fly fishing about 10 years ago and love it. I don't tie my flies, I buy them.
I fish on the surface with dry flies and love that moment when they rise, a flash of silver and a splash of water, turn sharply downward and oh-oh.

Learning where the fish are 'holding', generally referred to as reading the river, is the part that takes some time. You learn to think like a fish. Where can I, the fish, spend the least amount of energy using the current to glide along, and watch what's coming downstream. That's why you cast upstream and let the fly float over them looking natural (the drift).

I catch and release only. Haven't taken a fish in years. I sometimes talk to them as I release the hook admonishing them that there is 'no free lunch'. Good luck and enjoy it.

[FL Knifemaker]

I once knew a girl that "fly fished". It didn't make her a bad person.

[FL Knifemaker]

The Florida Salmon run was excellent this year

[Anthbass]

Fly fishing in an excellent way to decompress from various life stresses. I only fish casually, as my schedule allows, but I am convinced it will help me live longer. I use a 2-piece Sage rod, #4 with an Orvis reel. I fish with a few friends, mostly for brook trout, browns, and rainbows. We use barbless hooks and catch-and-release nearly everything. I rarely float or wade; I prefer to troll from the shore. I learned to cast in a heavily wooded area, so my action probably looks odd, being on an upward angle of 35 degrees or so. Enjoy the foray into a most enjoyable activity.

[the ombudsman]

Originally Posted by Yvon

Hi Dave, good to see you here.

Causapscal that's in gaspésie?
That's far if I want lessons!!

But if it's not too far from here, I would be happy to meet them if they are available. I would love to learn a bit about fly fishing.

Pardon me Yvon, I missed your reply. Yes, Causapscal is in Gaspésie. If you want more details, PM me and I'll be glad to help you.