10-11-2006, 09:23 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Obsessed with PVC? Hey, I resemble that remark. However, I have had to defer to buyng regular lines, since the 1/2" PVC lines don't cast very well. Just a bit stiff.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]To the excellent advice already dished out by our resident fly fishing dish, I will add a couple of thoughts. I have taught fly fishing classes and have experienced what most newbies are thinking and what they have to go through.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]1. Go to your closest REAL fly fishing shop, as FG has suggested. Hang around and try to meet some of the regulars. Look on the bulletin board, if they have one, to see if there are any kind of meetings, seminars or club get-togethers that won't throw rocks at you if you show up.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]2. Try to get one of the shop pros to rig up a couple of rods and to let you get the feel for them. Bear in mind that working a flyrod all day requires more energy than just chucking out a bait rig several times in a day of fishing. Explain the type of fishing you will probably be doing...species, waters, types of flies (dry, nymph, streamer, etc.)...and also let them know your budget. Of course, most shops will try to talk you into bigger ticket items. As a general rule, it will be better quality, but you do not have to take out a second mortgage to get started. If you truly can't afford it, don't buy cheap if you can wait until you can afford what you need and it can be budgeted.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]3. Go online and get your search engine smokin' on "fly fishing". You could never possibly read and digest everything available, but after while some of it will sink in, and you will start to realize what the most important aspects are, and to be able to reason out what will work best for you. There are also online links to videos on everything from knot tying to casting to tying flies. It's all good.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]4. Don't just buy rod, reel and line and go to the water to learn how to cast. Get help in putting together a balanced outfit, and (as FG suggests) don't buy cheap line. Once you have your system assembled, try to get some casting lessons, from someone qualified to watch you and help you through the prerequisite newbie spasms and blunders. There has never been anyone born who could pick up a rod and make beautiful long casts without instruction and practice.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]5. Again, echoing FG, practice THE RIGHT WAY. Study and learn the proper technique and then practice the RIGHT way until it becomes second nature. Don't start off trying to set distance records. Practice on the lawn, in a park or on a small pond with no trees to grab your backcasts. Begin with trying to place the fly accurately at modest distances. Get the feel of your rod, and how it behaves differently as you lengthen your casts. That is probably the biggest single thing a fly flinger has to learn...to wait for the rod to "load" on the backcast, and then to properly time the forward cast. Do it right and it becomes a thing of beauty. Mess it up and you will pop off your flies and/or "get wrapped up in your work" as the loop of line collapses around you.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Above all, don't be intimidated by all the hoopla created by overly serious fly fishermen. Yes, it does become addictive and very close to a religion. However, it is not the magical mystical challenge that the veterans sometimes seem to portray it. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, you can make it as simple or as complicated as you wish. Even the rankest amateurs often catch fish and have fun on their first fly fishing adventure. On the other hand, there are plenty of "pros" who can't hook a fish even when they are rising all around.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We have a good collection of knowledgeable fly fishermen on this board and we are all willing to help where we can. Just be aware that in most matters of fishing, every subject has a variety of perspectives and opinions. There is nothing that is 100 percent right for everyone...or all wrong for everybody. Fly fishing is highly subjective and very much a matter of personal tastes and opinions. So...listen to everything and read all you can...and then fit it to you and what you are all about.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]To the excellent advice already dished out by our resident fly fishing dish, I will add a couple of thoughts. I have taught fly fishing classes and have experienced what most newbies are thinking and what they have to go through.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]1. Go to your closest REAL fly fishing shop, as FG has suggested. Hang around and try to meet some of the regulars. Look on the bulletin board, if they have one, to see if there are any kind of meetings, seminars or club get-togethers that won't throw rocks at you if you show up.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]2. Try to get one of the shop pros to rig up a couple of rods and to let you get the feel for them. Bear in mind that working a flyrod all day requires more energy than just chucking out a bait rig several times in a day of fishing. Explain the type of fishing you will probably be doing...species, waters, types of flies (dry, nymph, streamer, etc.)...and also let them know your budget. Of course, most shops will try to talk you into bigger ticket items. As a general rule, it will be better quality, but you do not have to take out a second mortgage to get started. If you truly can't afford it, don't buy cheap if you can wait until you can afford what you need and it can be budgeted.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]3. Go online and get your search engine smokin' on "fly fishing". You could never possibly read and digest everything available, but after while some of it will sink in, and you will start to realize what the most important aspects are, and to be able to reason out what will work best for you. There are also online links to videos on everything from knot tying to casting to tying flies. It's all good.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]4. Don't just buy rod, reel and line and go to the water to learn how to cast. Get help in putting together a balanced outfit, and (as FG suggests) don't buy cheap line. Once you have your system assembled, try to get some casting lessons, from someone qualified to watch you and help you through the prerequisite newbie spasms and blunders. There has never been anyone born who could pick up a rod and make beautiful long casts without instruction and practice.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]5. Again, echoing FG, practice THE RIGHT WAY. Study and learn the proper technique and then practice the RIGHT way until it becomes second nature. Don't start off trying to set distance records. Practice on the lawn, in a park or on a small pond with no trees to grab your backcasts. Begin with trying to place the fly accurately at modest distances. Get the feel of your rod, and how it behaves differently as you lengthen your casts. That is probably the biggest single thing a fly flinger has to learn...to wait for the rod to "load" on the backcast, and then to properly time the forward cast. Do it right and it becomes a thing of beauty. Mess it up and you will pop off your flies and/or "get wrapped up in your work" as the loop of line collapses around you.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Above all, don't be intimidated by all the hoopla created by overly serious fly fishermen. Yes, it does become addictive and very close to a religion. However, it is not the magical mystical challenge that the veterans sometimes seem to portray it. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In short, you can make it as simple or as complicated as you wish. Even the rankest amateurs often catch fish and have fun on their first fly fishing adventure. On the other hand, there are plenty of "pros" who can't hook a fish even when they are rising all around.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We have a good collection of knowledgeable fly fishermen on this board and we are all willing to help where we can. Just be aware that in most matters of fishing, every subject has a variety of perspectives and opinions. There is nothing that is 100 percent right for everyone...or all wrong for everybody. Fly fishing is highly subjective and very much a matter of personal tastes and opinions. So...listen to everything and read all you can...and then fit it to you and what you are all about.[/#0000ff]
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