How hard is it to learn to fly fish?

[ocean]

I have been interested in learning how to fly fish for years and it looks very difficult for someone who has never done it before. Would it be hard to learn on your own?
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[garbageman]

I taught my self. Like anything, you get out of it what your willing to put in to it. Good luck!
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[DKSRenegade]

With this new board we will have you catching fish with a fly rod in no time.
You will want to start with the right equipment. That will take some research time and a lot of opinions from everyone here.
A good starter combo will run about $100.00 to $200.00.
I suggest a 9' 5 weight rod. There are a lot of brands but stay with one that has a good warrenty like Temple Fork.
Go out to a community pond or someplace that is close to home to start. If you can take someone with you who already fly fishes, you will learn a lot faster than by your self.
Don't try to learn it all too fast. Start with the casting and then move on to fly selection, knots, etc.
Go to a good fly shop and ask if you can try the rods that you are interested in. These folks should give you some very good pointers and explain the differences in the rods.
Good luck and remember, Christmas is just around the corner. A new fly rod makes a great present!
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[HFT]

I had a frustrating time trying to learn on my own( it can be done ). So if it is possible to learn from another, it makes the learning curve a lot easier. But don't be afraid to try on your own because learning is part of the fun.
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[Kraizee_Skot]

[font "Impact"][#ff4040][size 3]I just started to learn this year. It's fun and frustrating all at the same time. I am lucky that my uncle is a pretty avid fly guy so I have been learning from him. Sometimes I just go out to the ponds and just try to do it myself too. All I know is it takes lots and lots of practice.[/size][/#ff4040][/font]
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[Red-head]

Just back up and forget the thought! Don't ever tell anyone you've had that desire. DANG HARD! Not worth the effort! Even with help you'll be wasting your time! No matter what anyone else tells you, the view sucks (can I say that?)! You'll have more fun dunking powerbait from a canoe in the GSL![sly]

Ok so maybe it is a little fun. BUT only a little. Like James said, you can learn it on your own. I did. But just because you can doesn't mean its the best way. You can get to the "catching" a whole lot faster by taking a class.
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[Bowcutt]

I was taught to fly fish by the Pres. of the Washington Fly Fishing Assn. I have never met the man. My brother worked with him and asked if he would teach us and his reply was "sure". Buy a rod and line that are balanced, that is the tapered line matches the "weight" of the rod. The first line should be a fast sinking line (type 2). Go to the river, tie on a streamer pattern, like a bucktail royal coachman, cast across the stream or quartering downstream. Let the current swin the fly across the river and when it gets below you cast across again. After six hr of this you will know hpw to cast and you will catch fish on the first time out. After an afternoon on the river I felt I could cast without thinking about it too much. When that is working then get a floating line.

He was right. My Brother and I went out to the Snoqualimie River, caught several fish each and had a great time, we have been flyfishing ever since.

The sinking line was perfect because it automatically "loaded" the rod when fished the way he suggested and gave a good feel for what "loading" is and how it works, before I even knew the term or what it was supposed to do. I could then feel it better, the loading, when I went to the floating line. It is best to have both lines anyway and I would suggest everyone starting out flyfishing start with a sinking line and streamers until they get the feel. Even if you have a bad cast the river will take your line out and get you ready for the next cast.

I bought an Eagle Claw 7 weight (hoping to use it for steelhead) for $9 and a Scientific Anglers Fast sinking line for $9.60 (this was the late 1960's) and a Pfleuger reel for $14.95. He said the line was most important followed by the reel and last was the rod. That was a few rods ago.
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[Dr.Flinn]

[black][font "Comic Sans MS"]I'm new to BFT but have been fishing for long as I can remember. When I read the post by garbageman I wanted to put my 2cents in. I agree with him 100% on getting out of it what you put into. When I started Fly Fishing I started with some Fly Tying classes with my boys and it mushroomed from there, kind of like a nuclear mushroom cloud. I got carried away with all the equipment and supplies for fly tying and then I got into the fishing part of it, in the end I spent a lot of money and then got frustrated with trying to learn to use everything I spent my hard earned bucks on…. My advice, keep it simple, learn to Fly Fish first, it takes patients and practice, then have fun with the rest of the fan-fair. It’s addicting & I love it.[/font] [/black]

[ocean]

Welcome to the board and thanks for the advice.Thats what i am gonna do is start with cheapie fly rod and learn how to use it.Then i will upgrade as i get more experience.
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[HFT]

Be careful how cheapie you go on the rod.Because you do not want to fight the equipment when you are already struggling to learn to cast. Do not get a fiberglass/ghaphite composite. do get an all graphite rod. And 9', because shorter will make it harder to cast.
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[Fishhound]

Hey ocean,

Cool ! You might just learn to love fly fishing !

I agree with HFT on the rod selection - go with 100% graphite as the rod to learn with.

Cheap is relative. But you can get a serviceable rod for around $100-150(maybe even cheaper) - A 5 weight 9 foot is a good starting place. Reels only hold your line so don't spend too much there - $20-30 will get you an adaquate one. Fly line however, is not the place to scrimp money. To learn casting more easily, you should go with a Weight Forward line(I would suggest a floating line) that balances to your rod.

The most effective way to learn casting, would be a class by a professional. A good friend can help, but a teacher can diagnose and explain what you are doing much more effectively and speed up the process alot. Then plan on spending a good deal of time practicing before you hit the water to actually fish(practice in the park or on a lawn or if possible in the water). You can save your self some frustration by practiceing without a hook on you line and by aiming at a target you've set up. At first, watch your line on your back casts to get a feel for the loop that is formed. Also, make sure you give your arms a rest while doing it - if your arm gets tired, stop for a few minutes - sloppy casting techniques can be etched in your muscle memory and have to be un-learned the next time out.

To learn the knots, get a pamphlet or book on fishing knots and sit in you living room with a spool of line and practice a hundred times or two - that's all it takes. BTW - you may already know some serviceable knots - like the improved clinch, surgeons or perfection.

For fly selection - any successful fly fisher that has experience on the water you want to fish will work and they will most likely be willing to help you out, but experience will be your best teacher in this area.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wear sunglasses or eye glasses of some kind for eye protection.


Good luck and enjoy !
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[cat_man]

Make that polarized sunglasses to reduce glare from the water and enable you to see into the water better. This often lets you see fish you didn't even know were there.

Also, about the fly reel: DON'T EVER get a South Bend brand reel. Yes they are just to hold line, but those are usually the cheapest on the market, but I've had 2 and BOTH had a tiny metal ring inside break which caused the line to be in perpetual "free spool". This means that you don't hear that clicking noise when line goes in or out. Why is that a problem you ask? Well, when standing in the current with your line by your side in the water, the current will pull line off your reel while you're not watching, and after 30 seconds to a minute all your line is pulled off and has drifted 75 yards downstream into some bushes. Very annoying to work with. Get an inexpensive reel, just NOT a south bend. NEVER NVER NEVER!!!
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[Fishhound]

Hey cat_man,

Funny you should mention that South bend reel ... I was fishing with a friend that had one of those - he got the cheapest brand he could find - I think the same part broke on his too. While he was fishing upstream of me and was busily casting to a hole and stripping and/or mending his line. Apparently, he wasn't paying particular attention to anything but the hole his was fishing. Well, as I was doing my own fishing to another hole down stream a ways, I looked down at my feet and saw a flyline wrapped around my leg, and, it not being my line, I then looked upstream to see my buddie trying to land a small brown and there was a fly line that extended from him all the way down to me. As he stripped in line, the weight of the line drew the rest of his line off the reel and sent it down to me a good 20-30 yards away. He did land the fish, but, all of his line and backing was in the water and it took him about 15 minutes to recover all of it from under the rocks and in some submerged branches. LOL !

Well, anyway back to the reels. I have a cheapo Pflueger, Shakespear, and a couple of Okumas that were on the cheapo side that have worked quite well. I also have an Orvis and a Ross that were kind of spendy - however, my cheapos hold line just as well and I don't have to worry too much about dropping them in the mud, sand, rocks, or water. I also use the cheapos while on my float tube or pontoon and so I don't have to worry about them going overboard and being lost completely as much as I would with my nice ones. Another good thing with the cheapos, is that the extra spools(when you can get them) are also very cheap.

Oh yeah thanx, polarized sun glasses are should be the rule.
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[cat_man]

Ya South Bend is a real winner let me tell ya. I've bought bobbers from them (wal-mart loves to carry south bend since it's a discount store) that cracked the first time using them. I've bought south bend swivels that broke when I set the hook on a fish (they were weaker than my 10 lb. test line). Bottom line, don't bother with south bend ANYTHING. You'll regret it later.

I still have and use that south bend reel, but I loaded my sinking line onto it, since I only use that from my float tube on stillwaters, where it doesn't cause as much of a nuisance.

I have a Martin brand reel that costs about the same as south bend that I use for my floating line and it works great.

Kevin
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[L.E.Tist]

My advise is not to go cheap. If you really wnat to lar the sport, save a little cash and go to a FLY SHOP, not a discount department store, and spend some time with the sales person and listen to there reccomendations. Cultivate a relationship with the shop sales person., not saying you need to buy him dinner and pick out curtians together, but show some loyalty to the shop, and it will pay BIG dividends. you will get good advice, instrucion, tips on where what and how.

You dont have to break the bank, but most of the real names in qualityequipment have very functional entry level products, The SageFLi, Winston Ibis, St Croix Legend come to mind. If you buy a rod like this, fishing will be more pleasant and you wont feel you need to ditch the cheap stuff and upgrade once you get the hang of it. you can fish these rods for a lifetime. Get a decent, but not expensive reel, get a quality line. Get functional, comfrable waders and boots.

If you go cheap, you're likely to get frustrated and give it up.
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[L.E.Tist]

One more thing, if you go to walmart and snag a $79.99 real/rod/line/fly (probably a grey hackle yellow, size 10) "Comboo meal", you'll approach the sport in the same fasiuon, that is, cheaply.

On the otherhand, if you *really* want to learn, a budget of about $400 - 450 is more reasonable. That, and after you experience a little bloodletting of this sourt, your commiment is a bit more solidified.
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[fishalot13]

I think it funny that people are responding to threds 15 yrs old.  This is not he only htred this is happening.

[Joe_Dizzy]

I think it funny that people are responding to threds 15 yrs old.  This is not he only htred this is happening.

Hah, that is funny.

I wonder what Ocean's interest in fly-fishign these days?