Fishing Forum

Hey all, I'm new to this forum (but I've participated in other fishing forums on the internet.) I've been spin reel fishing all my life. Just bought my first fly rod combo on Friday. I'll be attempting fly fishing for a while. I tried it once and loved it but I didn't know what I was doing. Sounds like I'm hitting a river tomorrow despite the weather.

So to cut to the chase, I was wondering if any of you would be so kind as to recommend certain flies for a beginner fly fisherman. Like I said, I have 5-6 to start me off that were given to me by the fly shop I purchased my rod at. I'm not asking for your secret flies that catch fish like crazy. Just some basic nymphs, dries etc to get me started. I plan on doing both river and lake fishing. Even some characteristics of good flies for certain conditions would be extremely helpful so I can start purchasing for myself. At fly shops I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at and if they are good flies or not. I have a 9 ft 5 wt fast action rod.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Where are you going to be fishing? Some good all-around flies are

nymphing:

pheasant tails, wd-40, zebra midge , in size 18-22

Dries:

BWO, midges size 20-22
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I'm not sure where I'm going tomorrow. I think the Weber. I intend to fish both rivers and lakes as I get better.
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Pick up some caddis size 12-14 for coming trips. They're already beginning to show up some in several places. Get some ants size 12-14, prince nymphs size 10-12 and streamers size 6-10 ( they all seem to work to me, get a few light and a few dark colored ones). Along with the smaller flies already mentioned that should be a good start for the next month or so.
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I always keep a few standard flies with me:

Nymps:

Hares Ear Bead head and Non Bead head
Pheasant Tail
Prince Nymph " :"
Copper John - silver, red & gold
Shell back Scud Grey & brown
Plain old sow - Grey & Black
San Juan Worm - Pink & brown


Dries:

Elk Hair Caddis
Hemmingway Caddis
Parachute Adams
Renegade
Griffiths Knat

Streamers:

Wooleybugger
Crystalbugger
Wooley worm

Or you can always try to match the hatch here's a old Hatch chart that has suggested flies.

http://www.utahonthefly.com/entomology/charts/index.htm
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My "go to" flies are...

Dries -
Adams
Elk Hair Caddis
BWO
Fat Albert (this one is only in the hot summer months when hoppers are plentiful)

Nymphs -
Copper Johns (copper, black and red)
Prince
Pheasant Tail
Hairs Ear
(all of these can be bead head or not depending on deep you want to go. I lean toward the bead head side with a split shot to get straight to the bottom of the river)

Try various sizes of all of the above too. Sometimes the fish want to smallest thing you've got. Other times I'm surprized by how the fish will attack a huge meaty fly.

Good Luck!
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