Fly Fishing for Beginners || 5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started!

I started fly fishing when I was about 10. With an old fiberglass rod, a monkey ward reel and level line (and wondering why I couldn't cast worth a darn) A janitor in high school taught me how to tie flies and gave me my first stand (which I still use today). Start fishing for fish that are plentiful in your area , such as bluegill. A popper tied about 12 inches above a nymph makes a deadly combination as well as giving you a strike indicator. I agree, keep it simple and you will have more fun!

I have been fly fishing since I was around 5, I'm 48 now. A life long obsession. I have guided and taught many. I will say, the most common issues I run into are people not fishing the fly like what it is. If you are throwing an ant fly, it moves very slow. If you are using a crayfish, make sure it acts like one. Same goes for all flies. Beyond that, fish every cast, even bad casts. Do not recast for the extra 5ft. Just work the fly back and recast. You will scare less fish and even pick up a few extras.

thank you

Good day i myself are a new to fly fishing i went to trout farms when i was a kid and again a few month ago it was the only time i ever got a fish on the fly but i love bass fishing but fly is so deferent so peaceful but i dont seem to be able to catch anything els on the fly but trout. sorry for my bad wording and spelling English's is not my 1st langue's

Is it springtime in this video? Seems really low water if so

Presentation of the fly is everything. Do everything you can to make sure your fly has a natural drift. Mend your line upstream and avoid split shot and strike indicators if you can. Only use split shot if your nymph isnt getting down deep enough and only use indicators in really fast or cloudly water.

Not a rule, but, for the new fly anglers, DONT. GET. FRUSTRATED. You will lose flies, you will snag on everything. Your line will end up a bowl of spaghetti 5 ft in front you. We've all been there. Stay patient. Now, 2 rules. 1, take a casting lesson...and take notes. I had 3 pages of notes when i was done with mine. Best hour i spent at the fly shop. You save yourself a lot of time, energy and money. 2, take pictures of your flies. Trust me. My 1st day fishing, i had a dozen flies from my fly shop specific to my area. I ended with 4. Lost 3 just by opening the box in the water. Lost 1 by catching the same tree twice on consecutive casts. And others just from snapping them off from improper casts. I took pictures so i knew what i had and went back to the fly shop and got more. Oh, lastly, ask around...friends, family, neighbors co-workers etc...see if they or anyone they know fly fishes. I got 700 dollars worth of fly gear, for free, from a friend who didnt fish anymore. Same for flies. I have an entire box of wooly buggers, a buddy i fish with gave to me. He ties his own, so i just ask if i want something specific and he gives them to me. Have fun with it. Its my disconnect from the world. No phone, no internet. Just me and the outdoors.

You're gonna snag. You're gonna break gear. Take advantage of warranties and pay attention to them.

You touched on this a little bit, but get used to getting snagged and losing flies when you first start, this will happen less and less as you progress but it’s a part of the learning process

A warning to all-- I started tying flies at the age of 13; even down to size 20. making flies for my Dad brother and myself. It made my vision to be nearsighted. Before I could read the numbers on planes flying over me. I didn't realize how bad my vision was until I happened to find a pair of glasses on a river bank- the mighty Shenandoah - and tried them. I also got early onset of cataracts

Where i live a lot of things you said wouldn't be the best train of thought if you're wanting to get into big fish. Here you pretty well have to have the right fly and in the right spot with a good tippet or you wont get into big fish consistently. For what you're doing and what you're fishing for that might work great though

I fished lures growing up too, until a neighbor got me into fly fishing. The only thing I wish I’d known is: take a weekend casting lesson. Until I really learned the technique you can pick up in a few hours with a teacher, I was just flailing and missing 95% of the fun.

If there’s one thing I’d convey to a beginning fisher though, it would be to fish the close water first. I’ve seen so many people lured to a beautiful deep cut or seam on the far shore stomp right through great fishy water to get there. I’ve made casts from 15 feet back from the first water I approached on the day and taken fish 2 feet from shore. It’s just a bonus before you get out into the water.

Hello from Utah,I really want to thank you for such a great video buddy 😊.

Everything...hahaha

What kind of line do you use? Also are you familiar with the mono rig?

Thank you for the knowledge

Wow dude! You literally quoted swiss fishing regulations on how to treat fishes in a thoughtful way!
We are very strict about ethical fishing back here. I appreciate your contribution!

The rule I wish I knew at the beginning and still eludes many experienced anglers—embrace the slow days. Without the slow days, you will never appreciate the awesome days when you can do no wrong. Drink in your surroundings—the beauty of the outdoors is there no matter how many fish you have landed that day. If you want to simply pack a cooler with meat or have nonstop action, go to a pay pond or a hatchery. You know you are on the road to becoming a true angler when you can have as much joy from catching a 5 inch native brook trout as you do landing a 100 pound tarpon or a 300 pound blue marlin on fly. It seems illogical but believe me there is a beauty in fishing for all three species that is different in many respects but at its core lies the true joy of fly fishing. Tight loops and tight lines to everyone

I grew up in high country Colorado. My grandfather gave me an old split bamboo fly rod that I used well into my 20s. He taught me to make streamers out of almost any material in the cabin. I caught more fish on blue Jean streamers than anything I've purchased outright.

"Once I switched to fly fishing, I never really went back." I recently moved to the coast and tried surf fishing with my fly rod and the neighbor I go with said you should just get yourself a traditional rod and reel for the surf. So I did, went out three times, sold it all on eBay. So I took a shot at going back, but that'll probly be the last time I'll have anything other than a fly rod in my hand

Thanks for the video. As a 63 year beginner fisherman AND beginner fly fisherman this was encouraging!! Helps with some of the overwhelmed feeling as I begin to learn.

I find it absolutely amazing that one specific fly is ALWAYS overlooked by soooooooo many people, both novice and advanced fly fisherman alike... the mosquito... if I got my choice of one fly to use the rest of my life no matter where I was fishing, it would hands down be the mosquito. It's an insect that's found all over the planet except Iceland and Antarctica so you can always "match the hatch" with it, it catches fish above and below the water surface, and it just flat out catches fish of all sizes, in all waters, at all times of the day.

Glad to know it’s not the flies just the fisherman, feeling humbled

My two cents: Go fly fishing, not fly casting. Too many folks spend too much time with their fly out of the water. Might as well stay home casting in your back yard.

I just bought my first rod and some flies and I'm stoked to get to the water! I was completely overwhelmed looking at all the different flies and wondering how I would ever pick the right one for the right spot. Thanks for imparting your knowledge, it is greatly appreciated!

Glad you mentioned wet hands. There's so many vids on fishing out there that never talk about this. I've seen fish with the imprint of a hand effectively burned into their bodies because of poor handling. This is a great vid for beginners and also more experienced fishers who may have become a bit lazy. Hello from Scotland.

What do you do about line twist on a spinning reel?

Fishing is not a sport 🙄

Thanks!

I found when using a strike indicator the fish preferred to hit it. To resolve this problem I started tying big bright ugly dry flys. I would drop a bead head pheasant tail and below that a smaller nymph. Now I get fish coming up to check out the ugly indicator and hitting one of my nymphs on the way down.

One thing I wish I knew when starting out fly fishing is how addicting it can be 🎣

I like this guy, You DONT need an expensive reel. I use Medalists, old etc most all the time. I have Gunisson and all sorts of reels. For salt water you need a decent reel. For fresh water, you use it only to spool the line. Line is a great item to spend decent money on. Take care of em and they last a long time. Tippet is good for small fish, stream, and precise presentation. Mostly enjoy yourself, and forget the expensive but unnecessary things. There are a lot of thing which catch a lot of Fisherman. Al Brewster's quote.

I am just getting into fly fishing and this video has given me good orientation to start in. Thank you.

Ive never fished and wanted to learn so I started watching a variety of random videos, you are the first I've seen to talk about how to make sure the fish survive after you release them. Not sure if thats unique to this type of fish but I thought that was nice.

A heck of a lot of that fish handling stuff he talked about is a myth. It just is. I’m just happy fish aren’t as feeble as he has described.

A lot of my buddies are accomplished drift boaters or always chasing big trout and as a newbie it can be stressful (especially when you are tangled up floating over prime water). Going after brooks on small streams where you can sit and observe a hole has its merits. Same as hitting the panfish pond to practice casting with usually open back cast areas. A pile of small fish is still a good day!

You are correct about the reel. I have used the same reel for 33 years and it's still going strong. I did break down recently and bought a new one.

Add the Elk Hair Caddis out west and you're golden

Great video! I really enjoy all your videos. I was wondering if you could do a video showing us what gear you use. Thanks and keep up the great work. Tight lines!

Most important thing to know: None of the five things I wish I knew are true more than 50 percent of the time.

I haven't fly fished in my life but interested getting into it. I bought a random fly rod with reel. Just not sure where to begin. And I have no one to fish with. Any tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

What size rod are you using for a small creek like that? That looks like a lot of fun, and I never thought of scouting for creeks too. I have a 9’ 5 weight Clearwater.

Keep ur line tight boys

Excellent video and advice - thank you!

HiIi was wondering if you could help me with this, I'm new to fly fishing and whenever I try to cast far my line just doesn't go far it just stops. Is there anyway I can fix that?

Hire a guide. Get good nippers. Throw someone’s #8 with a mouse to get the feel of the rod loading. Fish for bluegill whenever you want to practice and have fun.

1. Go to bass pro or some local shop and talk to the attendant there. At bass pro you could get somebody who doesn’t know anything but at my local bass pro is a guy who used to work for Orvis.
2. It is not as expensive as you would think, don’t get sold into buying a 400 reel and 600 rod. Bighorn and dogwood are surprisingly great and especially for the price of 79.99 atm.
3. Sunglasses that are polarized for the water you want to fish is where I would put my money. Seeing the fish rise up to hit your fly and being able to see between rocks is fantastic. I bought smiths but I am sure there are budget options as mine were 230.

Great job and I would never have guessed that you could fish there. One thing though, you said not to lift fish then promptly lifted three and bashed them on rocks and stones!

Practice with just your line and leader before you try the rivers to get used to how your rod throws and set out a cup or piece of paper to help you see where you want to land your line.

If you get snagged in a tree or bush no big deal, if you’re wading just go get it don’t worry about scaring the fish off, they’ll come back.

Just remember to have fun and enjoy nature and the peace and quiet