A few weeks ago I exchanged emails with another fly fisherman. He lamented how his professional life had conspired against him: he had not spent enough time on the water in recent years, and his skill level and general knowledge of the sport were, in his words, “far behind.”
“This is disappointing,” he wrote.
He said he only recently started fishing for brook trout. He started during the pandemic when he bought a compact fortune in equipment – fly rods, reels, waders, boots, leaders, flies, etc. – but failed to capitalize on his investment. His lack of experience on the water (and general self-doubt, if I’m his psychoanalyst) sabotaged his desire to continue learning.
“I feel naked out there,” he said in a moment of candor about a recent trip to southeastern Minnesota. “I just don’t know enough. I don’t even know where to start.
I wish I had learned a few things before I got involved.
Never stop being a student
If you’re recent to this pastime – and especially if you’ve spent most of your life conventionally fishing – learning to fly can be daunting. And extremely frustrating. In many ways, it’s a completely different fishing language, not to mention skill set. That’s why I sympathize with his tough situation.
However, fly fishing is not an inaccessible high art. The basics – especially casting – are effortless and fun to learn. However, as you get more into fly fishing, you realize that you are never done being a student. Which still intrigues me and is something you have to accept if you sincerely want to learn.
In hindsight, I admit there are many things I wish I had known before I started. In fact, I pretended to be a fly fisherman for three years, waving my arms around in a state of fishless ignorance. It wasn’t pretty. And it was only the intervention of the Good Samaritan at the stream that changed my fate and lit a fire under me.
MORE FISHING REPORTS FROM OUTDOOR NEWS:
Fly fishing equipment also works well for balmy water species such as perch
Blue-winged olives attract trout to feed throughout the season in Michigan streams
Steve Griffin: Here’s why I care about Lake Superior brown trout
Golden rules
If you are just starting out or relatively recently started fly fishing, here are a few things I wish I had known before I started fishing. Perhaps they can aid you get started and avoid the pain and agony. As I told my email friend, there is no learning path that cannot be overcome.
• Ask for aid. If you’re lost, ask now. Don’t be too proud like me. I was trying to learn to fly fish before instructional videos (let alone hunks of useful content on the Internet) became ubiquitous educational tools in the fly fishing universe.
While undoubtedly helpful, learning from a real person – a teacher, a sage, a mentor, a Zen master – is preferred.
In general, fly shops are centers of information and human interaction. I have yet to meet a store owner or employee who wasn’t willing to aid. It’s also a shrewd idea to join a fly fishing organization.
Generally speaking, fly fishermen are extremely generous with their time and willingness to aid those in need.
• Attend a fly fishing school. If you care about learning, go for it. It’s an investment – time and money. But you’ll be shocked by how much you’ll learn and how quickly. Your self-confidence will escalate, as will your desire to fish.
I once spent 10 days fishing the lower Missouri River near Craig, Mont. I remember wondering why I hadn’t done this sooner.
Immersion learning – assuming you have thoughtful teachers, which I did – works. I learned to wade in huge water. I learned how to fish before, during and after the amazing mayflies and caddisflies hatched. I learned to read the water and cast for emerging, insect-eating browns and rainbows.
I became adept at tying knots and even tying my own leaders. This experience was a game-changing revelation.
• Choice of fly: Don’t overdo it. You don’t have to be an entomologist to catch brown trout (or any other species), and you don’t need hundreds of flies (in separate boxes) hidden in a fly vest.
I was caught up in a numbers game and the only thing that confused me was disorientation. Keep it basic.
There are three types of flies: droughty flies (which float on the surface of the water), nymphs (which are fished below the surface of the water), and streamers (which are essentially bait fish that can be fished like jigs). Buy several pieces in different sizes from each category and go fishing.
In the Midwest, droughty flies like Parachute Adams and black Caddis are catching fish in most streams. The same goes for nymphs such as Pheasant Tail and Prince Cockatiel, as well as streamers including Woolly Bugger and Clouser Minnow.
When in doubt, visit your local fly shop and ask for guidance.
• Fish for everything. I started fly fishing around “A river flows through it” shawl. I read this book before the movie came out in the early 90’s and was obsessed with the romance. For me, it was all about fishing for brown trout. I wish I knew then what I know now: that catching everything makes you a much better fly fisherman.
Muskie and pike. Bass and bluegills. Carp and freshwater drum. Limiting myself to trout actually stunted my development as an angler. This constrained my time on the water and prevented me from learning the ways and means of using my recent equipment. Fish for everything.
• Proper drift and repair line. When fishing streams or rivers, the fly must float naturally and at the same speed as the moving water. Without proper, drag-free drift, you won’t catch a fish because it won’t eat your fly. The key is to manipulate the line to create a natural drift.
A repair line is a technique for correcting the position of the line on the water surface after a cast. This is to prevent drag that causes the fly to move unnaturally.
To fix the line, lift it and twist it up or down, depending on the current, to create a natural drift after the cast. If this is confusing for you, please watch the demo video below.
• Learn to roll roller skates. The highlands of the Midwestern streams turn into a jungle, especially in summer. If you’re fishing a compact stream, some of the conventional forward casting won’t work; There is simply too much vegetation around the stream and your fly will eventually get caught. Which is incredibly frustrating.
So learn the roller throw, which allows you to throw forward without throwing backwards in the air. Fly rod in hand, hold your hand high, parallel to your ear. Look where you want to upload. Push the rod forward and snap your wrist, allowing the line to unwind, keeping the rod high.
Orvis has a great demo youtube.com which you can watch below. As with all casting, perfecting your throw takes practice and dedication. Remember, the more casts you learn, the more opportunities you will have to catch fish on the stream.
• Concentration. I know, I know: fishing is supposed to be fun. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with fishing for panfish on a float with your feet in the boat because there is an adult beverage nearby. Fishing like this is a great way to relax and have fun outdoors.
However, fly fishing is different. It requires intense casting. Requires intense wading. It’s all about reading the water and understanding what the fish are eating. It’s about catching fish by observation, sometimes in hidden mode. Fishing requires constant concentration, the more intense the better.
One evening, while fishing in a stream in western Wisconsin, one of my mentors pointed out my lack of concentration. He was right. I never forgot his advice and neither should you.
