Why learn how to go fly fishing, and is fly fishing in saltwater the best way to catch fish in the first place? Because fishing becomes an art, and yes, at times (though certainly not always) it will be incredibly effective. And while those of us using spinning or conventional gear might feel as graceful as a ballerina while casting, fly fishermen cast, and cast, and cast far more than the rest of us.
You may have watched someone fly fishing from a distance, and thought “wow, that’s cool. Art-like, even.” And you might have wondered how tough it would be, how long it would take, to master the art of fly fishing. The bad news: it will take a while. Like, years. The good news: the whole time you’re practicing, you’ll be fishing.
What is Fly Fishing?
The biggest difference between fly fishing and other forms of fishing is that you’ll be casting the weight of the line, as opposed to the weight of the lure. Repeated casts can be used to send the line out farther and farther, until you “shoot” the lure to the target zone. The upsides to this form of angling are that you can cast a lure that’s essentially weightless, like a dry fly; you don’t have to reel up every foot of line and re-cock in order to re-cast but can instead quickly get the offering right back to the hot zone after a presentation; you can present an offering very delicately and slowly; and in many cases you can better match the hatch, especially if fish are feeding on tiny critters like insects or scuds.
The biggest downside to fly fishing is that it takes longer to master. Much longer. Most people will be able to get the basics in a matter of days or weeks, but honing fly casting skills to the point that you can weave a popper through those branches and hit that saucer will take decades for most people. Another downside is that the deeper the fish are, the tougher it will be to reach them. Sinking lines can help, but casting these is especially difficult and getting down past 20’ or so will still be tough.
Fly Fishing Gear Basics
Like other types of fishing, fly fishing depends on a rod, reel, and line. We’ll deal with the reel first, because this is an easy one—traditionally most fly reels were “single action,” meaning they didn’t have a drag and were used merely for storing the line between bouts of casting. Today more fly reels have drag systems, but most fly anglers still fight the fish retrieving the line by hand, applying more or less tension with their fingers to act as the drag. The Bottom Line for Beginners: Generally speaking beginners don’t need to worry about getting expensive reels with drags unless and until they plan to target very large fish that make long, powerful runs.
Rods are a bit more complex; they vary by length, weight, and construction material. The length should be determined by the areas you’ll be fishing. Long rods allow for longer casts but if there are a bunch of trees or overhead power lines around, they become slightly problematic. Most of us will want a six- to eight-foot rod for fishing streams or ponds with cramped shorelines; an eight to 10’ rod for fishing open areas in lakes, rivers, and bays; and a 10’ or longer rod for casting in large bodies of water where longer casts may be necessary. The Bottom Line for Beginners: An eight-footer is a good all-around starting point for most beginners.
A fly rod’s weight rating tells you its overall strength and size and what size line it’s intended to match up with. A weight of one to three is for small panfish or micro-trout. A four- to six-weight rod puts you into gamefish territory for species like largemouth bass, bigger trout, and pickerel. Going to a seven weight or heavier moves into saltwater capability and gives you a shot at fish like stripers and redfish. The Bottom Line for Beginners: In the Mid-Atlantic area a six weight is a good starting point for freshwater, but if you hope to go after fish on the Bay you should probably up the ante to a seven weight.
Fly line can get shockingly complex. It’s also rated by weight, and as we said, is generally meant to match the rod’s weight rating. But there are also different kinds of lines including floating, sinking, and sink-tip. Sinking lines have different sinking rates, and sink-tip lines have a section at the end 10’ or 15’ long which sinks but the rest of the line floats. Then there’s taper, which includes weight-forward, double-taper, level, and shooting lines. Weight-forward lines are heaviest near the front and are usually easier to cast farther and help fight the wind. Double-tapers are better for more delicate, accurate presentations. Level line has the same diameter and weight from end to end, and is considered by most to be one of the hardest to cast. Shooting lines are very heavily weighted at the end and are also tough to cast, but in the hands of a master can produce the longest casts possible. The Bottom Line for Beginners: Match up the line weight with the rod’s weight, and get a floating line with a weight-forward taper. It will have some limitations but will also be the easiest to learn how to cast with and allows you to try a variety of different fisheries.
Getting Started Fly Casting
Okay, you’ve got your gear and you’re rarin’ to go fishing, right? Hold on a sec, partner—head for the lake without practicing first and you’ll likely be disappointed. The best thing you can do for yourself at this point is to go into an open yard or field and begin practice-casting.
We’re not going to describe the motions of practice-casting because you’ll get a much better idea of the mechanics by watching a YouTube video or two, and you’ve probably seen someone fly casting before anyway. However, we do have some tips that will help you abbreviate the learning process.
- Fly casting is about timing, not power. Swinging the rod harder will have less effect than improving the timing of your stops and transitions at 10 o’clock and two o’clock.
- Start short with just 20’ or so of line, and once you have it traveling back and forth as intended increase the length.
- Never take your eyes off the target. To hit it you need to learn to use peripheral vision to gauge the line. Try to eyeball the line itself as it’s flying and you’ll never hit the target.
- Don’t make squishy stops at the end of each forward/back motion—make hard stops. Think of it like trying to flick paint off a paintbrush. If you bring the brush to a slow stop that paint will do more dripping than flying. But if you bring it to a hard stop plenty of paint will go airborne. Your line is that paint.
If you’ve never cast a fly rod before, we’d recommend practice-casting for a half hour or so at a clip, three or four times, before you give it a shot for real. And once you do, it’s a good idea to pick an easy target, like bluegills and small bass in a pond (try tiny poppers) or white perch in a creek (try a small Clouser minnow), so you can enjoy some success. Taking a class or otherwise engaging some help from a professional will help a lot. Then work your way up to bigger challenges as you get the knack of things. It’s sort of like doing ballet—start with the plie, before you try the pirouettes. Before you know it, you’ll be performing art.