Quick-Start Fly Fishing

Patiently watching for proper technique

Fly Fishing – A Start

If you are anything like me, you would over-analyze every single purchase, checking every review, competitor, and enjoying the thrill of shopping. This article is written for everyone else; for those who wish to get started into flyfishing without spending untold hours online. Beware: this is not a deep dive. It is specifically not a deep dive. Rather, if you do as suggested here, you will be off to a solid start in fly-fishing. Onward!

Let us start at the beginning. You will need a rod, reel, and line. To shorten up this section, I highly recommend that you start with a beginner’s setup. You can get these from Reddington, Cabelas, Temple Fork Outfitters, Fenwick, Echo and many others. What you are looking for is a relatively stiff-for-weight rod, a large-arbor reel, and it should be spooled with floating line, preferably weight-forward. It really is that simple, at least in the beginning.

A Simple Start

Just to keep this simple, you cannot go wrong in your flyfishing beginning with the Echo Base kit that you can find at a number of retailers. At about $150 on the street, you get a large-arbor reel and a medium-fast rod. If you are a trout fisherman, I’d recommend the 5-weight. If you are a bass fisherman or just starting in on saltwater, you probably will want to opt for the heaviest offering in 8-weight.

A caveat when it comes to saltwater fishing is you will quickly find the limits of your equipment out there. Or so I’ve heard. This setup may require a replacement setup sooner than some of us inland newbies would require. A starting point for everyone is the good old 9-foot rod, usually in four sections, sometimes in two. Either is fine with today’s technology, so most folks opt for the four-piece.

…without your leader/tippet, begin casting in your back yard

Go ahead and compare fly rods and reels. On the upper end of beginner, I also like Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) rods, and Cabelas makes some pretty good machined aluminum reels. However, for entry level I’d suggest you try out a $150 kit first. It will be enough for a season or two at the minimum, and may be all you’ll ever need. As soon as you try your buddy’s $500 rod, it may get you in the mood for an upgrade, but let nature take its course. Start small, make sure you really love the sport, then invest as a knowledgeable fisherman in upgraded equipment that is specific to your needs and fills gaps you want to be filled.

What Now

Five paragraphs in, and now you have a rod, reel, and line with backing, because you bought a kit. Next on your list is tippet/leader. To start with, just go ahead and buy fluorocarbon monofilament tapered leaders. Get about six of these in appropriate weights and lengths. As a rule of thumb, for dry flies on calm water, I prefer a tapered leader that is 9 to 12 feet in length. Longer is harder to cast, but when presentation is key, it may offer the edge you need. For most folks, the 9-foot is a good compromise.

A little splurge on TFO BVK and 3-Tand Reel

For streamers, you may be better off with a shorter leader, as the big streamers are harder to cast and your leader length works against you. There is also not a premium on stealth with streamers. As you become a more accomplished fly caster, you will likely learn to tie your own leaders, especially for nymphing and streamer fishing.

There are a few sort of must-have doo-dads you need, once you have your fly rod fully set up and leader in place. A pair of forceps allows you to extract hooks without harming fish. A pair of fingernail clippers allows you to quickly cut monofilament precisely without nicking other parts of the line. A small leather leader tab will allow you to straighten your leader after it has been stored on the reel. This is particularly needed for dry fly fishermen.

A bottle of Xinc will help you to keep your leader below the surface of the water, and some kind of paste fly floatant is needed to keep your dry flies on the surface. A few micro split-shot sinkers will keep your nymphs and streamers at the right depth, and a strike-indicator helps detect wet-fly strikes in running water. I prefer the tiniest size of “Thingamabobbers”, which are available at most fly shops and sportsman shops.

Odds and Ends

The last real pieces of necessary equipment are a landing net and some means of storing your flies and doo-dads. A fine-mesh poly landing net works very well and is generally inexpensive. Consider the size of fish you are stalking and make sure the net mouth and belly are large enough. Don’t waste time with long handles, and just stick with something short you can pack with you.

As far as tackle storage, the classic fishing vest is still probably the most used means of keeping things at hand. Any vest will do when you are starting out, so don’t waste a lot of money here. All of them can work. Another option are the fly-fishing specific packs that either go around your waist or your shoulders. I really like the one that slings across your back and shoulders when not in use. It can be brought to your belly and snapped in place to provide a temporary working location. Simms makes them and Patagonia does as well. These are new to me, but I sure like the idea of keeping everything secured in a pack, and generally out of the way while I’m casting.

Flies

We are now in the home stretch of this short and to-the-point discussion. The above pieces of equipment are all you really need to get a good start, except flies. Since flies tend to be species-specific, I’m going to tread lightly here. Generally speaking, I prefer to have an assortment of the three basic classes, dries, nymphs, and streamers.

For trout flyfishing, you will find that a very few flies can produce a lot of fish. I would venture that 80 to 90 percent of new fly-fisherpersons think of dry flyfishing when they start into the sport. For that reason alone, I will start there.

Dries

Dry flies tend to vary in size and shape from ultra-tiny midges, to moderately small ants, mosquitoes, and mayfly patterns, to larger hoppers, crickets, and even dragonfly patterns. Overall, you will find that mayfly and mosquito patterns in sizes 16 to 12 will work in many circumstances, so I would never be caught without at least a handful of these patterns. In some locations ants can be the fare of choice, so I add a few of them into the mix in sizes from 14 to 10.

I always keep a few size 22 to 18 midges in my box for those times the big trout are sipping huge numbers of the little buggers from the surface. I’ve not personally had a lot of luck with hoppers, bees, and other big surface flies, but you really should have at least a couple. In some areas, these become by far the most productive flies.

Wets

I’ve found that nymphs tend to be overall the most consistently productive trout flies. Fished on or near the bottom of a moving stream or even pond or lake, they are exceptionally effective. The reason for this is pretty simple. Open the belly of any harvested trout and you are likely to see various caddis, stonefly, and other nymphs. I use pheasant tail and prince nymphs in both the bare and bead-head types in size 12 to 16 quite often, with consistently good results. I’d start with a dozen of these two patterns in mixed sizes. If I had to choose one, I’d take the bead head prince nymph as a starting fly. Try to choose between 12 and 18 nymphs in the size 10 to 16 range and in a few colors and head styles. This will form a solid backbone for trout fishing. Check out this quick article on trout nymphs.

Finally, no fly kit is complete without some streamers. Maribou leaches, Rickards Seal Buggers, Muddler Minnows, and good old Wooly Buggers should be part of the arsenal. Here you will have the biggest of flies, with even some articulated flies such as the “Barely Legal”. These flies impersonate big food like minnows, crayfish, leeches, and other unidentified-but-lethal fare. Streamers will often give you a lower hit rate on strikes and overall creel count at the end of the day, but they also tend to target the biggest fish…those fish that are turned on to cannibalism and taking in large amounts of calories in one big gulp.

For bass, panfish, and saltwater species, the fly selection will vary. Some of the gear will be heavier or lighter, depending on your target. We can’t hit it all right here, but you can do a LOT of damage with a #5 or #7 fly rod. Do a tiny bit more research on your targeted species and area to fine-tune the rod/line size selection and the selection of your first couple-dozen flies. Otherwise, everything here should apply to get you in the game.

Parting Thoughts

One last quick beginner tip. Study fly casting videos on YouTube, especially those from Orvis. Then, without your leader/tippet, begin casting in your back yard. Set a target like a hula-hoop or really about anything will do, and practice your technique without the fly. If a yard isn’t available or large enough, you can do this in the local park or other green space. Honestly, 20 to 30 minutes of casting effort followed by 10 minutes of video, repeated a dozen or so times should get you to a very serviceable casting level with a couple of different techniques at your disposal. So perhaps a total of six to ten hours of practice will do it. This will pay off “big time” when you go on your first fishing outing.

That’s it. This article should provide you a very quick start to one of the most beautiful sports known to humankind. A simple high-quality beginner’s kit, a few tools, some storage, a net, some flies and you are off to the races. Throw in a little pre-fish practice to cut back on the profanity and cussing on your first few outings. Fly casting can try anyone’s patience in the early stages of learning. Be patient, and you should be starting a wonderful love affair with this quiet and simple form of recreation!