Fly Fishing

[everman]

I'm going to be spending a week in the Sierras and plan on doing an unhealthy amount of fishing. This time around I thought that I might want to try out fly fishing as I have never done it before. Consequently, I don't have any gear, nor do I know much about it. I'm enlisting the fly fishermen of ATOT to help me.

I'll mainly be around a lake stocked with trout, however there are also streams around there I may try out as well. This is in the Huntington Lake area.

So far I understand that I should look at a medium action rod with line weighted appropriately for trout. And I also understand that "wooly buggers" are good flys to keep around. Beyond that I'm pretty clueless. I just want a relatively low priced setup that I can learn on. Any good advice is appreciated. Of course I'm googling around, but beyond that I don't know anyone who really fly fishes so hopefully some of you do.

Thanks :beer:

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

fork out the money for a guide that specializes in newbies.... do it at the beginning of your trip and you'll benefit the whole week.

Cheers!

ps. don't forget to get a license regardless of cost.

 

[James3shin]

check out stripersonline.com, they have a great fly fishing community.

Link

 

[roguerower]

YESSS!!! Another convert. I fly-fish most of the time now since the fights on fly rods are way better than spinning gear. The best thing for you to do would be to find a guide or take a class so that you know the basics. Unfortunately freshwater fish such as trout or salmon can be very picky and hard to catch fish, however if you can find a guide who knows what they're doing you should have a great time. If you're looking for a relatively cheap setup, I would suggest looking at the Orvis Clearwater selection if you're looking at heavier fish (salmon, bass) or the Streamline selection if you're looking for smaller fish (trout, panfish). Even though it's the cheapest that they have, Orvis is one of the best fly-fishing gear suppliers in the world. I have 2 rods, a 8wt that I use for saltwater fishing, and a 5wt that I use for freshwater. The 8wt is all orvis and the 5wt reel is an orvis. Here's the site:

Orvis Fly-Fishing

EDIT: Just got back from a vacation in florida where I caught a snook and a barracuda on my 8wt rod

 

[AlienCraft]

Either line up a guide now, or go to a fly fishing shop and let them outfit you.
Don't go overboard, because you may not like it. Sign up for some casting lessons and practice, practice, practice. Casting on streams can be tricky and you'll likely hang up the line on shrubbery. This is why a guide would be good to have there advising you on site.

If you're just wanting to fish, get an ultralight spinning outfit. Anyone can throw that line. Fly casting looks cool, but requires a good deal of dedication to achieve results.

 

[roguerower]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
Either line up a guide now, or go to a fly fishing shop and let them outfit you.
Don't go overboard, because you may not like it. Sign up for some casting lessons and practice, practice, practice. Casting on streams can be tricky and you'll likely hang up the line on shrubbery. This is why a guide would be good to have there advising you on site.

If you're just wanting to fish, get an ultralight spinning outfit. Anyone can throw that line. Fly casting looks cool, but requires a good deal of dedication to achieve results.

Careful on letting a fly-fishing shop outfit you. Just like anywhere else they'll tell you that you NEED something in order to catch a fish, but you could do the same with something that costs a lot less. Fly-fishing looks good and the feeling when you catch a nice fish on the fly is great but if you're not careful you'll spend a lot of time sorting out your line.

 

[Marinski]

Goto gander mountain or cabelas and get one of there brand fly rods and a Pflueger Medalist Reel, the best fly reel for a beginner and it will last a lifetime. Orvis is overated and over priced in my opinion. I always laugh at those guys with their fancy expensive orvis gear that don't know what the hell they're doing.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: roguerower

Careful on letting a fly-fishing shop outfit you. Just like anywhere else they'll tell you that you NEED something in order to catch a fish, but you could do the same with something that costs a lot less. Fly-fishing looks good and the feeling when you catch a nice fish on the fly is great but if you're not careful you'll spend a lot of time sorting out your line.

I agree in part with the basic thought about " buyer beware", however, since he admits to knowing practically nothing, the same could be said for buying from a catalog, in that he might buy something totally inappropriate for a trout lake / stream.
This is why I said find a guide so he could use his gear, get into it (or not) and then decide if he wants to invest in gear. If the OP just wants to fish on his vacation, instead of clear snarls, snags and spools, I would say the ultralight spinning is more to the point.


edit: This bogus code for multiple quotes sure looks stupid on a forum inhabited by tech geeks.

 

[fishmonger12]

The sierras will be a great place for you to start! I personally started in the Appalachian mountains, where you spend most of your effort trying to keep your line out of the trees. Out west the trout habitat is broad rivers and there is less vegetation to hang up in, making things more enjoyable.

You have two options: get a guide, or learn before you go. A guide costs money but will take you to the fish, and you'll probably have a more productive day. The guide will probably have gear for you to use. If you don't take to fly fishing, you don't lose money on a bunch of gear (think waders, vest, rod, some flies) which could end up being ~250$ on the conservative side.
If you learn before you go you'll have to to spend enough time fishing to get the hang of it before you head out there, and you still won't be familiar with the habitat. I would suggest going out and fishing in some nearby creeks or ponds whether you get a guide or not, because you want to spend your week catching fish, not trying to figure out how to cast.

 

[everman]

Thanks for the info. I'm not a total fishing noob, just a fly fishing noob. I have lots of freshwater spinning gear, as does everyone else I'm going with, so that's the main purpose of the trip. A guide would be great but that's not something I'll be able to do this time around, I am however familiar with the area and the lake. I'll go with a relatively cheap setup, I have a couple days to try to learn casting at home, and I'll just have fun at the lake. I have plenty of spinning reel gear if the fly fishing doesn't work out

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: everman
Thanks for the info. I'm not a total fishing noob, just a fly fishing noob. I have lots of freshwater spinning gear, as does everyone else I'm going with, so that's the main purpose of the trip. A guide would be great but that's not something I'll be able to do this time around, I am however familiar with the area and the lake. I'll go with a relatively cheap setup, I have a couple days to try to learn casting at home, and I'll just have fun at the lake. I have plenty of spinning reel gear if the fly fishing doesn't work out

OK then, here's the best piece of advice I ever got about fly fishing.... You're casting the line and not the lure / fly . If it snaps / pops (like a whip) you're not doing it right.

The back and forth motion is to feed more and more line out until you've reached the target zone.
Gently is the keyword when it comes to fly fishing.
Get yourself to a football field (or similar large grassy field) to practice the casting.


Good luck wit dat.

The worst day fishing is always better than the best day working.

 

[Savarak]

advice... be like the fly... and the fish will come...

 

[roguerower]

Originally posted by: Marinski
Goto gander mountain or cabelas and get one of there brand fly rods and a Pflueger Medalist Reel, the best fly reel for a beginner and it will last a lifetime. Orvis is overated and over priced in my opinion. I always laugh at those guys with their fancy expensive orvis gear that don't know what the hell they're doing.

I've never had any problems with any of the orvis gear that I've got and most it is heads above the quality of other manufacturers. I also laugh at those guys who don't spend enough money on their fishing gear and it = shit.

 

[kthroyer]

Don't be overly concerned with long casts. Try to get good at short-medium casts. Your line should end up with the fly dropping onto the water softly, with the line fully extended (for a typical cast). Practice backcasting in your yard first, so that the line pulls at the rod as it extends behind you, this force pulling against your rod is what will transfer the energy to the line to shoot forward when you push the rod forward. Stop your backcast at 2:00 and your forward cast at 10:00.

Good Luck