08-24-2009, 04:41 AM
First off, don't get overwhelmed with all the tackle, gear, techniques, and flies out there! There is a lot of crap in fly fishing, most of it not needed to catch fish. Stick to the basics, and you'll be successfull. Then once you get the nack for it, you can grow and mature in it.
Basic Rod: (don't go out and buy a $1000 rod to begin with!) Try a reddington, pflueger, or okuma rod. 4-5 wt 8ft for streams, 6-7 wt 9ft for lakes.
Basic Reel: (don't go out and buy a $300 reel to beging with!) You can match the rod with the reel if you like (same company), or not, doesn't matter. Get the right wt reel to match the wt of the rod. Disc drag system, and you are good.
Basic Line: Sinking for lakes when stripping buggers (Type I slow sinking, Type II intermediate, Type III fast), and floating for streams.
Basic leader/tippet: Get a leader 3X-4X tapered (mono or fluro) and a variety of tippets sizes (2X-6X). Just remember, the bigger the fish you are after, water clarity, application, and fly will determine the size of leader and tippet you will use. The smaller the number before the X, the larger the line (lb).
Basic flies: Stream fishing, use a bead head hares ear, bead head pheasant tail, or a bead head prince nymph sizes #16-#20. Lake fishing, use a bead head black woolybugger, bead head brown wooly bugger, or a bead head hares ear sizes #8-#10. Always fish two flies in tandem style.
Basic set-up: Stream nymph fishing, two flies (tandem) split shot up 6 inches from FIRST fly (size determined by water depth/flow), and a strike indicator generally 5-6 feet above (depending on water depth). Lake fishing, nothing more than two flies (tandem) and sinking line. Strip back, changing stripping patterns till you find what is working.
Basic Gear: A fly vest, forceps, clippers, fly weights, floatant, strike indicators (thingamabobber, my favorite), net, boxes, and flies. You are in business. Don't forget your camera for those Hawgs!
Basic Cast: 1) Get line out 2) lift rod up and towards you 3) quickly flip rod back out and down towards location of desired cast. Whala! The roll cast! Easy as can be!
You can now go anywhere you want and catch fish fly fishing. Surely there are millions of other things that we could go over, but those are the basics. They will catch you fish! GOOD LUCK!!!
-Rich
[signature]
Basic Rod: (don't go out and buy a $1000 rod to begin with!) Try a reddington, pflueger, or okuma rod. 4-5 wt 8ft for streams, 6-7 wt 9ft for lakes.
Basic Reel: (don't go out and buy a $300 reel to beging with!) You can match the rod with the reel if you like (same company), or not, doesn't matter. Get the right wt reel to match the wt of the rod. Disc drag system, and you are good.
Basic Line: Sinking for lakes when stripping buggers (Type I slow sinking, Type II intermediate, Type III fast), and floating for streams.
Basic leader/tippet: Get a leader 3X-4X tapered (mono or fluro) and a variety of tippets sizes (2X-6X). Just remember, the bigger the fish you are after, water clarity, application, and fly will determine the size of leader and tippet you will use. The smaller the number before the X, the larger the line (lb).
Basic flies: Stream fishing, use a bead head hares ear, bead head pheasant tail, or a bead head prince nymph sizes #16-#20. Lake fishing, use a bead head black woolybugger, bead head brown wooly bugger, or a bead head hares ear sizes #8-#10. Always fish two flies in tandem style.
Basic set-up: Stream nymph fishing, two flies (tandem) split shot up 6 inches from FIRST fly (size determined by water depth/flow), and a strike indicator generally 5-6 feet above (depending on water depth). Lake fishing, nothing more than two flies (tandem) and sinking line. Strip back, changing stripping patterns till you find what is working.
Basic Gear: A fly vest, forceps, clippers, fly weights, floatant, strike indicators (thingamabobber, my favorite), net, boxes, and flies. You are in business. Don't forget your camera for those Hawgs!
Basic Cast: 1) Get line out 2) lift rod up and towards you 3) quickly flip rod back out and down towards location of desired cast. Whala! The roll cast! Easy as can be!
You can now go anywhere you want and catch fish fly fishing. Surely there are millions of other things that we could go over, but those are the basics. They will catch you fish! GOOD LUCK!!!
-Rich
[signature]