Any fly fishers want to give some advice?

[danparker77]

I fish from time to time but with spinning tackle from the banks of farm ponds or public lakes. My dad always talks about how my granddad and uncles always fly fished dry poppers from a boat on a 'dead' river. Now that I am older, it is something I would like to have him pass down to me. He agrees and is excited about it. I got to looking around for some setups and have to admit some are quite pricey. I guess my real question is.....can you fly fish from a bank? I can rent a boat but don't really want to invest the money on gear if it is going to be a one time, or few times, thing. Any advice? Is this a somewhat common thing?

Thanks for any help. This place is my go to for just about any questions LOL!

 

[AllenG]

I've only ever fly fished. My dad thought me from the bank of the farm pond. The thing with fly fishing you need as much clear distance behind you as you are casting forward.

For your first fly rod I would recommend you get a five weight rod, that is about the best all around rod.
Start off with a cheap set up, whatever Bass Pro or whomever has on clearance. Spend the money after you fall in love with the sport. A cheap set up will work plenty well to keep you going for a long while.

The basic cast is not very difficult. Practicing in the yard is always a good idea. Buy any cheap light fly and cut the back of the hook off and cast at a target (a leaf, dog toy, bush, whatever) until you land a few inches of it, then pick another target and do it again.

Trout unlimited will have casting classes somewhere in your area. The fly fishing community is really friendly and helpful.

 

[Dusty1]

Your fine from the bank, just stay away from the trees. A boat is totally a luxury.

 

[mdove47]

When trout fishing always cast upstream. What kind of hook do you use to catch flys...has to be pretty small doesn't it, What do you do with them once you have caught them? Oops, never mind...wrong kind of fly fishing.

 

[danparker77]

Thanks guys!

 

[gmgaj]

Take a look at the Cabelas 3 forks setups. I picked up a 3 weight just to check it out, and it performed amazingly well. $70-80 will get you into rod, reel, backing and line. 5 weight it probably the one you want to start with.

 

[zygalski]

I've fly fished for trout in the UK since about 1980.
Get a couple of hour long casting lessons from a qualified instructor. This will be money very well spent!

 

[Mink]

To get more clearance behind you, use waders. Hip waders aren't expensive and you can use them for all of your fishing. You can learn on your own, or from friends, but you can shorten the learning curve by years by just taking a couple of weekend classes. One on casting, presentation, and reading water, and the other on nymphs will get your success rate up early on.

 

[Lesmore]

I've fly fished from a bank. I tried to make sure there weren't a lot of trees behind me....but for the most part that's not possible. I would cast underhand. I also didn't use dry flies much.

I was more of a wet fly fisherman. For Yellow Perch I would use little flies that looked like the Water Boatman and for Pike I would use saltwater flies...like the kind that were used for Barracuda, etc...

I used 4-6 inch flies that were red and white in colour...kind of like the fly equivalent of the Red Devil spoon. Pike seemed to go for them, but Pike aren't too picky...if it looks like a minnow...they'll go for it.

One of the important things in fly fishing is to remember you're trying to mimic the way an insect or a minnow move in water...so when you're retrieving your fly...remember how the form of life you're using as bait moves...and do the same with your retrieval.

 

[Keenum]

Remember that you cast the line, not the fly. Practice with the hook cut off the fly, then progress to a barbless hook. Always wear eye protection, for obvious reasons. When you are practicing at home, learn to T cast, an essential technique on tight banks. Finally, come on out to Montana and catch some fish. We have plenty.

 

[oldbluelight]

Don't get discouraged as you make the transition to fly tackle. Everything you do to make a good spin cast will be the wrong thing to do with a fly rod. Wrist action, speed of the casting cycle, everything is different and you'll have to make a conscious effort to overcome the differences. Keenum is right you are casting the line which has weight and mass. The fly is virtually weightless and that makes the dynamic very different so look for some instruction. Most good fly shops will be eager to assist you in learning the techniques. Farm ponds are always fun because they're full of panfish. There are a number of techniques for casting in areas where terrain and vegatation limit your ability to make an overhead cast. Roll casts, bow-and-arrow casts are very handy in tight places and fairly easy to master. One great thing about fly fishing is the library dealing with the sport. The second book to come off a printing press in England-the first one was the Bible-was about fly fishing. It was published in 1496 and written by a woman. Only one other human recreational activity has more literature devoted to it - think Kinsey, Masters and Johnson and, oh yeah, Larry Flint. Anyway, you'll find plenty of current print and video resources available to help you master the theory and technique. Have fun.

 

[_JP_]

Cortland produces a starter kit that retails for about $150. It includes all the tackle you need, which is the rod, reel, line, backing, and leader. Just add flies. You can also put together your own setup for about the same price, but the advantage to the kit is that everything is matched.

I learned fly casting first on pond banks. I used to teach fly fishing classes and casting on the bank of a pond. You can practice casting on a lawn.