Fly fishing basics

[billy bennett]

This is a post I was asked to do for another site, as I am doing my best to get a few interested parties to give Fluff Chucking a go, then it occurred to me some on here might find it useful so here it is----

It is often said that sometimes reading Fly fishing reports is confusing due to some of the terminology and tactics used, I will try to explain in simple terms what you need to know.

First and foremost comes casting, this can't be explained in words, it needs hands on practice as at first it looks easy until you give it a go, then wonder why the line keeps landing in a heap at your feet, so will bypass this with the exception of explaining the 3 main types of line used.
Firstly each rod is rated with a weight similar to sea gear that has a 6 oz casting weight.
On fly rods this is shown as a number eg. #7 0r #8. This needs to be matched to your line so an 8# rod needs an 8# line in order to correctly load the rod so it casts its maximum distance.
Next comes the line type.

FLOATING
95% of my fly fishing is done with a floating line as in the summer months most of the fish are near the surface within the top 10 or so feet, all reachable with a long tippet ( a Tippet is the length of mono/fluro that has the fly on one end and the fly line on the other)(Equivalent to your hook length sea fishing) the strength of the Tippet usually ranges from 5lb to 10lb. I tend to use heavier line when fishing LURES and lighter line when fishing dries or Buzzers (will go into this later).
When fishing LURES the fly is constantly on the move as it is imitating small fish or tadpoles and the like, so stealth is not so important and you might as well use line that is not going to snap when hit by a large fish.
Dries and Buzzers are mainly fished static so using thinner tippet makes the line harder to see, (Again I will go into this later)

SINKING
I tend to not use sinking line a lot unless I have no other option and I am fishing a VERY deep water or all the fish are on or near the bottom then with no other choice you need to get down quickly to them.
The main problem with sinking line is its far more difficult for a beginner to cast because unlike a floating line that can be cast from the water surface sinking line sinks making it impossible to snatch off the surface to recast so it needs to be all dragged in and the cast needs to start again from scratch, Also in shallow water you end up dragging your fly across the bottom catching weed and sunken bits of branches not to mention snags ( similar to dragging a 6oz weight across a rocky beach)

INTERMEDIATE
Intermediate line is sort of a half way between floating and sinking. The idea of it is it sinks slowly down to the depth required but stops sinking and travels in a parallel track as soon as you start your retrieve so for example if the fish are all at around 10/15 feet deep you cast over them and count till your line sinks to that depth and then pull your fly back so it passes right through the middle of them, again it can be a pain to cast.

Next is quite important
MONO vs FLURO
In recent years Fluro has come on in leaps and bounds, When I first started fly fishing everyone used mono but it has a major draw back as it is highly visible when underwater. You quite often see fish dash to your fly simply to veer away at the last second because they spot the line.
Fluro on the other hand has the same density as water making it a lot harder to see hence more fish in the net, but unfortunately it has 2 main drawbacks 1/ its expensive, I have paid £17 for 100 yds ( I now use a cheaper brand that's about £6 100yds you don't want to go any cheaper than this as they tend to be very brittle and can snap under the shock of striking a decent fish.
Drawback 2/ Fluro sinks this is not a problem unless you are using dry flies as it starts pulling the flies under the surface of the water, you combat this by using GINK or other floatant that waterproofs the fly so it won't absorb water and stays bobbing on the surface.

Fly Types

The first fly type I will go through are the DRY flies, they are made it imitate fly's that have ended up floating on the surface either by design or have been blown on by the wind, just under the surface are hungry fish just looking to gobble them up, this is one of the most exciting ways to fly fish, my heart still misses a beat when my fly is snatched by a fish, you never expect it and it gives you a start when it happens. some examples are -----






You will notice in the last picture an artificial fly and the real thing

Buzzers and Diawl Bachs

When you go to a fresh water lake in the summer months, You will notice clouds of insects swarming around the vegetation all of these were originally laid as eggs into the water and have lived happily as Nymphs on the bottom of the lake the they rise to the surface as Buzzers and a fly breaks out and flies away, It is estimated that 90% of a trout's diet is made up of buzzers so they are a major factor in you catching fish, you fish a team of 3 or 4 buzzers under a strike indicator (small float) and retrieve VERY slowly and at times they are killers, I have had my rod snatched from my hand by a fish hitting buzzers.

Red cheek Buzzer


Some times like recently Buzzers are outfished by Diawl Bach's


Fished in a similar way to Buzzers and finally in this category NYMPHS that imitate the larval stage of the insect living on the bottom of the lake


I can go on forever listing flies but I don't want to bore you but I can't leave the subject without mentioning LURES
They mainly imitate small fish fry or Tadpoles that the trout feed on when the insect life is quiet, They are fished in small jerky movements or quickly to imitate a small creature making a dash for it, It can trigger a savage take,



They usually contain Marabou Turkey feathers that when wet compact into a flapping tail that makes the Trout attack without thinking about it (Just for the record the fly featured catch BASS as well)

Finally I want to explain the different retrieves used, the slowest being what is called a figure of 8 where you simply wrap the line around your fingers in a fig 8 pattern then letting it drop to the ground, this can be done very slowly or can be speeded up for variety tempting the fish to swallow your fly before it gets away
Next the short jerk ,this imparts a small jerk in the fly making your Lure seem to swim by flapping its tail, works well with any fly containing a marabou tail.
Finally the fast strip, Basically dragging the line through the eyes of your rod as quickly as possible that makes your fly dart past waiting fish hopefully triggering a savage take.

I think I have covered most of what you need to know to get you started, The rest you learn as you go along, Hope you find this helpful

can you sticky it for a while, so it doesn't vanish into cyber space

[grandadruss]

Great post Billy
No good to me though because I know it all
I wish!!!!!
First mistake I made was to go out first and second time on my own.
When I went out with John,aka Granvillen I learned so much.
Any one thinking of taking up fluff chucking needs to be accompanied first outing to stop bad habits developing.
Better to get it right first time than try and correct it second time.

[Blanko]

Smashing post Billy That covers in a nutshell the basics and strips away the layers of confusion that to an outsider make getting into fly fishing seem a lot of hassle !

Now if I'd not just p**ed a fortune on an Illex lure rod ................... Seriously though Ill come along this year and have a bash,up to my ears in non fishing stuff at the moment - and take you up on your earlier offer on the loan of tackle

[billy bennett]

I know what you mean Russ, its like learning to drive, once the bad habits get in its hard to get them out again, the biggest mistake people make is when casting 1/ bending your wrist to cast and 2/ moving your arm too far back and forward both result in your line at your feet or stuck in the grass behind you. You don't notice when you are on your own but a second person can see the errors and put you right. the same goes for timing, casting forward before the line has straightened out behind you causing a whip effect and again landing at your feet. I hope the post encourages a few to give it a go, as soon as you hook your first fish you can't wait to do it again, There is nothing like it.

[Rushy]

Another excellent guide Billy, stickied

This fellas gives as good an explanation on the basics of casting as I've seen....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxVvVoqFbIU[/youtube]



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxVvVoqFbIU

[billy bennett]

:gp: Smashing post Billy That covers in a nutshell the basics and strips away the layers of confusion that to an outsider make getting into fly fishing seem a lot of hassle !

Now if I'd not just p**ed a fortune on an Illex lure rod ................... Seriously though Ill come along this year and have a bash,up to my ears in non fishing stuff at the moment - and take you up on your earlier offer on the loan of tackle

That's not a problem, I can kit out another 3 lads easily, and it gives me the opportunity to get out myself lol

[billy bennett]

:gp: Smashing post Billy That covers in a nutshell the basics and strips away the layers of confusion that to an outsider make getting into fly fishing seem a lot of hassle !

Now if I'd not just p**ed a fortune on an Illex lure rod ................... Seriously though Ill come along this year and have a bash,up to my ears in non fishing stuff at the moment - and take you up on your earlier offer on the loan of tackle

That's not a problem, I can kit out another 3 lads easily, and it gives me the opportunity to get out myself lol

I don't know what happened here, I corrected a spelling mistake and ended up with a new post !!!

[sharpey]

Great article Billy. Very explanatory. I sense a fluff chucking meet coming on..!!!

[billy bennett]

As it happens you are not the first one to mention that, it seems that some disillusioned beach lads are wanting to give it a go, and it has been suggested that we have a casting sesh for beginners followed by a fishing sesh. If I hear any more I will let you all know.

[sharpey]

Cheers BB.