Rookie In Need Of Some Advice !

[Jmo1685]

Hey Guys !

So this weekend a buddy of mine is selling me a fly fishing rod and reel that he has lying around in his garage. I won't be seeing it until Sunday, so I have no idea what make or model it is, or any details like that (But for 20$, who can say no?). My problem is, I have never fly fished in my life, and I have no clue how to approach it. i was wondering if you guys could give me some help with a few questions I have.... (I am going to Google most of this, but having a local advice helps too! )

1) Any line reccomendations? Are there different types of line for fly fishing ?

2) Ive been reading some posts here, and I notice alot of you guys tie your own flies. Is there places i can buy pre-made flies, and maybe a reccommendation on a few popular options ? Im not looking for the best, but just something to get me started with...

3) Any tips to casting? I plan on watching Youtube Videos, but maybe you guys have some pointers to help me out?

Thanks again guys for reading this, and any helpful advice you could give me would be wonderful! Again, im not looking for really in-depth answers, but just something to get me started on!

Tight Lines,

Jake

[ron4blues]

Hi Jake, and welcome to the wonderful world of fly angling. You ask good questions, but to be able to answer them, we'll need some details.

1) What length and weight is your rod (you'll find that on the rod itself).

2) What type and size is your reel (you'll also likely find that on the reel).

3) Where do you plan to fish and for what species?

There are many types of line to meet different situations and conditions, although I'd recommend a floatin doube-taper or weight-forward line for starters. As for types of flies, well lets just say that if a fish will eat it, there's a fly to imitate it, so once again, where and what you're fishing for will be the determining factor. And yes, most good tackle/fly shops will sell flies, but there is no bigger thrill than catching a fish on a fly of your own creation!

Youtube videos are good resources, but there is no substitute for some quality time with an experienced caster. One important thing to remember is that your first lessons should be on a lawn somewhere and not on the water: you can learn most casting techniques (except roll casts) without getting your line wet.

There is a wealth of experience here on NFN, so please don't hesitate to ask away.

[Jmo1685]

Hi Jake, and welcome to the wonderful world of fly angling. You ask good questions, but to be able to answer them, we'll need some details.

1) What length and weight is your rod (you'll find that on the rod itself).

2) What type and size is your reel (you'll also likely find that on the reel).

3) Where do you plan to fish and for what species?

There are many types of line to meet different situations and conditions, although I'd recommend a floatin doube-taper or weight-forward line for starters. As for types of flies, well lets just say that if a fish will eat it, there's a fly to imitate it, so once again, where and what you're fishing for will be the determining factor. And yes, most good tackle/fly shops will sell flies, but there is no bigger thrill than catching a fish on a fly of your own creation!

Youtube videos are good resources, but there is no substitute for some quality time with an experienced caster. One important thing to remember is that your first lessons should be on a lawn somewhere and not on the water: you can learn most casting techniques (except roll casts) without getting your line wet.

There is a wealth of experience here on NFN, so please don't hesitate to ask away.

I won't be able to answer any questions about the rod and reel until either my buddy looks after work today, or until Sunday afternoon when I finally have it in my hands ! As for the species of fish, i know ill be trying for trout in the spring and fall, but I also wanna use it in the summer for everything else thats available (Bass, Panfish, Pike, Carp). I also plan on fishiong in all sorts of waterbodies (ponds, rivers, streams). As for the casting on the lawn, I luckily have 3 acres of open lawn to cast away on (its funny to see people stare when they drive by, asking "what the hell is that kid doing?). I may try and tie my own flies, but my arts and craft ability is pretty much 0. When i figure out more on my gear ill make sure to post it here!

[jordanl]

Hey Guys !

So this weekend a buddy of mine is selling me a fly fishing rod and reel that he has lying around in his garage. I won't be seeing it until Sunday, so I have no idea what make or model it is, or any details like that (But for 20$, who can say no?). My problem is, I have never fly fished in my life, and I have no clue how to approach it. i was wondering if you guys could give me some help with a few questions I have.... (I am going to Google most of this, but having a local advice helps too! )

1) Any line reccomendations? Are there different types of line for fly fishing ?

2) Ive been reading some posts here, and I notice alot of you guys tie your own flies. Is there places i can buy pre-made flies, and maybe a reccommendation on a few popular options ? Im not looking for the best, but just something to get me started with...

3) Any tips to casting? I plan on watching Youtube Videos, but maybe you guys have some pointers to help me out?

Thanks again guys for reading this, and any helpful advice you could give me would be wonderful! Again, im not looking for really in-depth answers, but just something to get me started on!

Tight Lines,

Jake

hey, i too am a newb at fly fishing, i picked up a cheap outfit last year and just started using it recently. as of right now i target panfish and bass with dry flies, but later on this year il be targeting pink salmon, steelhead and chinooks. not lets get on to the questions,

1) i learnt to cast with floating line, and it seems that was the easiest for myself. im still not great at casting but with the line staying on the surface it makes things just a tad easier on me,

2) flys, i wish i could tie my own flies but right now i just dont have the time. so i cheap out and buy flies at my local tackle shop, i would start out with going to either a tackle shop of canadian tire and picking up a small variety of dry flies, and nymphs. thats what i started with and the dry fly was the best to learn with. you can see the fish take the fly and it just makes everything easier on yourself when learning

3) i watched hours of videos before i even picked up the rod, i watched what the guys did, where there rods were, where there other hand was, where the line was ect. i would re watch the good videos 10+ times to really learn every thing. once your confident you know how to start, then take it to your lawn, just use line and leader, no hook obviously and just start casting, dont expect to be able to bomb it 50 yards in 5 mins, youl mess up, its guaranteed, but keep trying and keep trying to learn why you messed up. just to help your casting try to do it on a dead day, no wind, wind will just complicate your cast, \

my answers were kind from the perspective of a non experienced fly fisher, coachman and the other fly fishers here will be able to assist you more than i can no doubt:)

[Dogman]

Biggest thing is to get comfortable. When I went for my casting lessons the instructor told me to go home and draw a line on a wall or door that was just above my shoulder. Holding your arm at your side bend up at the elbow. Your fist should be pretty much even with your shoulder. Extend your pointer finger up and mark the height. Take a level and make a line 18-24" long. I used tape so I could remove it and my wife wouldn't get pissed. Turn your body slightly into the wall and follow the line with the point of your finger. The motion should be like trying to accelerate into a solid object. Work on that for a few nights to build muscle memory and you'll be off to a good start. It takes some time to get used to casting a fly rod but with a little patience and practice it will come quick.

[jordanl]

heres a pretty good instructional video, the guy kind of annoyed me, but his tips were helpful

[Icehut]

You cast between eleven and one, keep the wrist stiff, elbow brushing your side. Wear sunglasses. Practice nail knots to connect tippet to fly line. The line will be badly curled if it's not been used for years; hook fly to tree, back away 30', give it a good long pull until it lies straight. If the line is cracked and won't float, chuck it. Cleaning the line with a damp cloth then hitting it with turtle wax will make casting much easier. If the rod is junk or the line doesn't match, you'll be banging your head against the wall. Learning the feel of when the rod is loaded for the forward cast is half the battle. Watch your backcast; you need to pause for a fraction of a second to let the line straighten behind you, but not long enuf for it to drop to the ground. Tying flies is easy, by an all-inclusive kit from any good fly shop, for $50-100. Don't worry about distance casting, 30' is all you need, practice accuracy. Don't worry about roll casting, it's next to useless, except to pick the line off the water before going into a backcast.

If you really want to make life easy, and get an awesome start in the hobby, and save yourself hours of frustration... take a lesson or hire a guide. Worth every penny.

[snakeman4]

You cast between eleven and one, keep the wrist stiff, elbow brushing your side. Wear sunglasses. Practice nail knots to connect tippet to fly line. The line will be badly curled if it's not been used for years; hook fly to tree, back away 30', give it a good long pull until it lies straight. If the line is cracked and won't float, chuck it. Cleaning the line with a damp cloth then hitting it with turtle wax will make casting much easier. If the rod is junk or the line doesn't match, you'll be banging your head against the wall. Learning the feel of when the rod is loaded for the forward cast is half the battle. Watch your backcast; you need to pause for a fraction of a second to let the line straighten behind you, but not long enuf for it to drop to the ground. Tying flies is easy, by an all-inclusive kit from any good fly shop, for $50-100. Don't worry about distance casting, 30' is all you need, practice accuracy. Don't worry about roll casting, it's next to useless, except to pick the line off the water before going into a backcast.

If you really want to make life easy, and get an awesome start in the hobby, and save yourself hours of frustration... take a lesson or hire a guide. Worth every penny.

i actually beg to differ, 90% of the fishing i do with a fly rod is roll casting. Lots of spots around here are not very well suited for a long back cast, so turning your shoulders slightly and aiming on an angle i can punch out a roll cast as far as most anglers can toss a lure. not to mention roll casts are the primary tool used in ALL OF SPEY CASTING, which is a very useful tool to learn. When most anglers on this board say they intend to fly fish the niagara, a well learned and honed roll cast goes a long way. So to say its next to useless is pretty false in my opinion, and some pretty bad advice. My advice, learn every thing u can about different types of casts, you never know what situation you will run into, and all require a difference set of skills and casts.

[ron4blues]

Roll casts are indeed the core of Spey casting, and I use roll casts almost exclusively. I learned fly fishing in Nova Scotia where many of the streams flow through heavy brush with no room for a back-cast. Roll casts are also a must on many Eastern salmon streams where the objective is to keep your fly in the water as much as possible.

[Icehut]

On a virtually unwadeable river like the Niagara, sure, if you feel the need to flyfish, you'll most likely need to roll cast.

Which will be an exercise in frustration; god help you if you have a weighted fly, are nymphing with a strike indicator, or want to keep a dry fly dry.

A spinning rod makes far more sense.

As for spey casting, it's the flavor of the month for some reason. Might have some place in BC or Oregon, but there's no need for it anywhere in Ontario. A competent caster can pitch a full line without wasting money on spey gear. Distance is highly over-rated, 99% of casting is 30' or less. I don't keep up with trendy stuff. Get a hundred feet of line out there, how you going to control your fly? How do you mend, keep a tight line, deal with rocks and branches? and don't you feel silly hooking anything under 20 pounds on a rod thirteen feet long? It's absurd. It's a bit like trolling with electronics and downriggers... you're spending all your time playing with the gear instead of actually fishing.

So I maintain that there's no need to waste time learning the roll cast, it's highly over-rated. Learn stealth, and how to wade, and how to cast accurately to 30'...

[iHasFish]

On a virtually unwadeable river like the Niagara, sure, if you feel the need to flyfish, you'll most likely need to roll cast.

Which will be an exercise in frustration; god help you if you have a weighted fly, are nymphing with a strike indicator, or want to keep a dry fly dry.

A spinning rod makes far more sense.

As for spey casting, it's the flavor of the month for some reason. Might have some place in BC or Oregon, but there's no need for it anywhere in Ontario. A competent caster can pitch a full line without wasting money on spey gear. Distance is highly over-rated, 99% of casting is 30' or less. I don't keep up with trendy stuff. Get a hundred feet of line out there, how you going to control your fly? How do you mend, keep a tight line, deal with rocks and branches? and don't you feel silly hooking anything under 20 pounds on a rod thirteen feet long? It's absurd. It's a bit like trolling with electronics and downriggers... you're spending all your time playing with the gear instead of actually fishing.

So I maintain that there's no need to waste time learning the roll cast, it's highly over-rated. Learn stealth, and how to wade, and how to cast accurately to 30'...

i agree with the first part about spey rods in southern Ontario as being overkill. The part about the roll cast is absolutely ridiculous though. Why would you completely ignore an almost integral skill of fly casting? It's like people that refuse to learn how to drive a stick shift because they're positive they'll never need it.

Learning to roll cast will not only make you an all around better caster but also put another trick in the bag in case you do need it.

[DaveC]

Im not very skilled at all....but i have watched guys using both spey and switch rods fish mostly the roll cast. And as a beginner myself i have found it to be the by choice cast of most steelheaders. Not disagreeing with the idea of being accurate and stealhty as just as important. But like mentioned a lot of times you dont have the room and the roll cast works well. Most guys i have seen swinging have been roll casting, except for the guys indicator fishing. I hope to learn all.approach myself but not limit myself and this being the reason for choosing a switch rod over full spey. You did make some good points though.

[snakeman4]

The niagara is a completely different river compared to most "traditional" styles of fly fishing. Its big deep, badass and full of big angry fish. so yes people have adapted "west coast" styles of fishing to meet the needs of anglers around the niagara who wish to swing a fly in front of some anadromous fish. but thats what fishing is all about, being as versatile and adaptive as possible. And sure, there is a learning curve, i do swing weighted flies on full sink lines out there 70-80 ft, it was very tough to learn, but when you get a tug on a tight line, as it swings around into the "strike zone" well its not usually a "tug" but more of a "SMASH". As for the rods being 13' foot long, i wish i had a picture of my 13 foot rod, just crippled over and throbbing from the head shakes. also with spey fishing, your actually having your line in the water more often then "traditional" fly fishing, because your wasting half your day false casting to get your line out.

But what it all comes down to, how much fun you had and if your a better angler today, then you were yesterday. i know personally, conquering a new technique on my favourite home water, to be such a great satisfaction. And to steer others away from achieving their personal goals by saying spey casting has no place in Ontario, well thats just ignorant. it definitely has its place on the lower niagara and many many more spots in ontario.

So in my opinion, learn the roll cast, learn false casting, learn spey casting, learn as much as you possibly can, then go out and try everything. You never know what your gonna fall in love with. I know i love fishing the Niagara, and now i have 1 more way to catch a fish.

[ron4blues]

Snakeman, that is a post worth 2 thumbs up. Spey techniques were created for use on rivers where there is little room for a back-cast. Along the way, it was discovered that substantial distances could be covered and of course, your fly is in the water longer than with standard casting techniques.

I fish Hamilton Harbour frequently. My favorite stretch has a number of man-made islands ranging from 10-15 yards off-shore. The water there is too deep to wade, so you need a longish cast to get to the cover provided by those islands. Problem is that there is a heavily used trail along the shoreline as well. The only solution is a roll cast.

[Icehut]

Spey casting aside, I'm surprised anybody is actually using the rollcast on a regular basis. I use it to pick up the line and then go into the back cast, otherwise, never.

In my experience, it drowns any dry fly you're using.

It throws spray, and raises havoc with the surface of the water, spooking anything in the vicinity.

It's not accurate.

It's useless with a weighted fly.

You have to use a perfectly balanced line system, with a tapered leader of the right length and a fly not too big, or it doesn't work. No streamers or level leaders.

Other than the above... yeah it's a great technique and totally indespensible!

I suspect that folks actually advocating the roll cast are also carrying nets and bamboo creels lol.

[Jmo1685]

Hey Guys,

So due to schedule conflicts I was not able to get my fly rod until the other week. Its an 8'6" Pflueger 5/6 wt, with a Shakespeare reel. It has some line on it.. but I'm going to replace that come Christmas time. So now that you guys know the specs, maybe you could make some suggestions on lines, and how you spool up a reel ? Also, can anyone give me an idea abut what would be some good flies to use and start my collection with? I tied a fly already, and will try to do it more this summer, but I want to have some decent flies to pick from when the spring comes ( my tying skills aren't good yet ). Thanks again for any help you guys can offer!

-Jake

[DaveC]

http://www.niagarafishing.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=26507#entry203397 Talk to Cliff Plummer the site owner...He will set you up with all the flies you need at great prices. Take your rod over when you go get the flies and he should be able to help you out with it all.

[jessek]

Get some good weight forward line 30 40 bucks five or six weight.

Flies I got some pm me ill put together a bunch I would never use but would catch bass and sunfish

Cast get basics from YouTube and practise on lawn with yarn at the end For now .once your fishing for trout in streams get a quick lesson on avoiding drag