At leat there weren't many people around to see

[ditchbanker]

As I've posted before, I've had a huge desire to get into fly fishing and have been using flies and bobbers on my spinning gear since late last summer since I didn't have a rod.

Well, we did Christmas today because of bad work schedules and my wife got me an awesome fly rod. I did a little practice in the back yard then headed for the local pond to give things a whirl. I expected to be able to come home and post "Now a real fly fisherman". I now think that'd be a bit premature.

I was able to get some loops that were fairly decent. I managed to smack leader/fly on the walking path behind me. I managed some spectacular tangles, but my most constant trait was shooting a long old stretch of line then dropping it all in a pile 2 feet in front of me whenever I'd try an overhand cast. I actually quite putting flies on the end after I broke off my second. That's not entirely fair. I was over a bluegill pond and the first fly was a small popper. I didn't break it off, just broke it into submission, shattering the foam body and bending the hook into an unrecognizable mess of wire. Still, I don't think that a lack of a fly made much of a difference in the amount of fish I caught. I got the roll cast to where it almost looked decent. Not quite, but almost.

Gonna keep working at it, but as some point you just have to laugh at yourself. When pretty good chunks of ice started forming on my rod I finally let myself go home for the day.

Have an ice fishing trip planned next month. I think it's more in line with my current casting ability [blush]
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[cpierce]

Good for you! Sounds like a good first attempt. I remember my first experiences casting. In fact I still cast pretty "strange" some times. [blush][blush]

Don't try to get it out there a long ways at first. Cast soft and try for a smooth flow on the line. If you work at just keeping the line in the air a bit and not whipping it out, the power and timing will develop.

Mostly I just try not to hit myself or anyone else!![shocked][blush]
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[flygoddess]

I agree, right on! Do not get discouraged though. Fly Fishing does take a little more, but so worth it. Specially when you dry fly to top feeders. I almost wet my pants every time I see a fish come out of the water and attack my dry from on top...LOL

Roll casting is my choice, specially at public ponds. Makes casting big poppers or indicators much easier and less tangles. But you can only truly practice roll casting with water.

As far as over head false casting, try holding the rod with your index finger on top. It will prevent you from breaking your wrist.
You want a motion of painting the underside of a shelf, not a windshield wiper.

Stay with us on this, please.
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[macfly55]

Confession time ... :-)

As I have posted before the first fish I caught on a fly was a decent sized LMB followed the next day by a very good sized crappie... both were caught on poppers...

.. now here is the rest of the story....

after my brother in law handed me a cigar box with probably two dozen poppers and said have fun I proceeded to do exactly as you have said.. wind nots all up and down the leader.. lost flies.. I beat up bushes and tree branches.. a few times I hit the stone retaining wall ten feet behind me and ground level.. at times I was "casting" a bare hook...

a lot of my casts.. okay.. the majority of my first casts ended up line in front of me floating in a big mess..

by the time I got done that afternoon I handed back a small handfull of bare or near bare hooks.. a rod and reel with a leader that needed changing (I had started tying flies on it so it was at least a foot shorter than when I started).. and another small handfull of poppers that were all but bare hook...

but I have to tell you honestly.. I would not trade all that work and all that "damage" and frustration and cussing and ducking for anything in the world..

the experience of seeing that bass come after my fly and the sensation of feeling it hooked solidly as I reeled it in is one I will never forget... nor will I ever tire of telling that story over and over to anyone who wants to listen...

dont give up.. it all gets easier with practice.. and I guarantee you that when you hook into that first fish and bring it to hand you will not experience another feeling like it in you life.. []

when that happens.. I do hope that you will post it here with pictures if you can so that we can all share in your fly fishing experience.. []

MacFly [cool]
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[ditchbanker]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have NO thoughts of giving up, but I couldn't help but see the humor of the situation. I'd spent hours reading articles about casting, more than a couple youtube videos, I thought I had this thing figured out. I had to laugh when reality set in.

A coworker gave me some advice that I think will help me out. I described the whip crack I sometimes got. Obviously (to him, apparently not to me), even though I was coming to a distinct stop, I wasn't letting the line straighten adequately. He told me I was probably breaking my wrist too. I told him that wasn't an issue. I spend lot of time working over a heavy bag, I know how to keep my wrist straight. He showed me the way to bend my wrist forward and make a more or less straight plain of my hand and the top of my forearm. Hurt like hell if you tried to punch something like that, but I can see it as a little more constant for this skill, and I think it'll keep my rod tip from going so far behind me. Ahhh, "breaking" your wrist has very different meanings with boxing and casting (also when crashing a motorcycle but that's all healed).

I work pretty much dark to dark 'til Sunday but can't wait to try it some more, if only in the back yard.

Thanks again for the encouragement.
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[Gmony]

Great post. I always spend a lot of my time on the water untangling, un-snagging, un-hooking, and looking around to see who saw my last best bone-head maneuver. Dooohhhh ! I suppose I’ll always be the kind of guy who casts first, and looks around for trouble a little too late, but that is half the fun!
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[macfly55]

I think we all have stories like this.. most from when we first started... but also some from present experiences of the day... [sly]

MacFly [cool]
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[flygoddess]

Merry Christmas to you G good to see you posting. When we gonna go tangle some leaders?
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[Gmony]

lol. Merry Christmas you FG & everyone else on here. I still lurk occasionally - more in the winter time.

It's Ski season now, but in the Spring, you will have to show me some still water stuff ! It baffles me.
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[Dryrod]

[center][font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000]I like to equate fly casting to the golf swing. Everytime I try to over power my swing, the results are not very pretty. Same goes for casting a fly. A nice smooth easy cast will avoid your line from piling up in a big mess. Good luck to you in the new year.[/#008000][/font]
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