Beginner, never fly fished

[Chet1185]

Hello everyone.

Just wanted to introduce myself as I'm new to fly fishing and this forum. My name is chet and I'm from central PA. I'm 30 years old and have been trout fishing all my life. Never once tried fly fishing. I have just recently found a new place to fish. It is a class a trophy trout water. I've used a rapala the 2 times I have gone with great success.

The stream is Penn's creek which I'm sure all the fly fishermen know. Fly fishing is big there and that's why I want to learn. I just purchased a 8'6 5wt cabelas prestige combo. I'm on another fly fishing forum and meet a guy that ties flies. He pulled the hatch chart for Penn's and made me 100 flies.

I'm very excited to get out on the water but I need to learn and practice casting first. I'm watching every video I can and reading everything I can.

Hope to hear from everyone.

 

[huntfish]

Hey Chet, welcome to the forum. You have found the right place to ask questions because there are a ton of knowledgeable people on here that will be more than happy to help.

 

[Fishidiot]

Chet,
Welcome to fly fishing (FFing) and to our online community. Glad to have yuh.

Take some time, if you haven't already done so, and read through some of the threads here in the Beginner's Forum and feel free to ask questions about the sport. FFing has a large and esoteric language that sometime intimidates beginners. Specific questions about terminology or concepts are easier for us to answer than broad questions such as, "how do I catch trout."

Your 8' 5WT rod is perfect.

 

[SteveG]

Hi Chet, welcome to the forum, and flyfishing. Just starting out can be frustrating at times, but often the problems you're having are easily fixed. I would suggest joining your local Trout Unlimited chapter. While not specifically a fly fishing club, a majority of members fly fish, and will offer support.

If you are having casting issues, you can also search for a casting instructor through the Federation of Fly Fishers website.

 

[BrookieChaser]

If you fish Rapalas fishing streamers will be a natural progression for you. A streamer is a baitfish imitation.

If you fish live bait on a drift, nymphing (dead drifting early life stage aquatic insect imitations underwater) will come natural to you.

When you throw a lure with gear you're throwing the weight of the lure. With fly fishing you're casting the weight of the line. It's a back and forth motion with a hard stop and pause between direction changes. The length of the pause will vary with the amount of line you have out as the pause is what allows the line to straighten out and "load" the rod.

 

[pcray1231]

Getting an instructor is the best way to go for casting.

For most first timers I've seen, the strength of the back and forward stroke, and the length of the pause between them, seem to be linked. It shouldn't be. That's the first thing they have to teach their muscles to overcome. More power does not mean to shorten the pause.

You get over that one fairly quickly though, and there are more challenges to tackle. Someone said streamers are more natural for a lure fishermen, and nymphs for a bait guy. That's true for how to fish them once in the water. But as far as learning fly casting, dry flies are easier to cast. If there's weight on the other end, you may have a tendency to try to use it like you would on a spinning rod.

Your experience is a huge plus for reading water. But other than mechanics of actually fishing, understanding hatches and choosing time of day could be a big change. Mornings and evenings are best for fly or lure. But in late spring, especially on Penn's, you may find a much larger focus on evenings. Even past dark and coming out by flashlight! Guys that have spin fished all their lives see their first nightfall on a trout stream they know in May and all say they never knew anything like that goes on there.

I had a long history of workin minnies and drifting eggs before switching over. Took me 3 or 4 years of heavy fishing to get back to averaging the same success overall, but there were clearly times where one or the other seemed it'd be superior for that time and place. Still that way to some extent. But generally the ceiling is higher with fly gear. It just comes with a longer learning curve.

 

[huntfish]

pcray1231 wrote:
Guys that have spin fished all their lives see their first nightfall on a trout stream they know in May and all say they never knew anything like that goes on there.

Ain't that the truth! I remember my first spinner fall it was amazing.

 

[Chet1185]

Thank for the responses and all the great info.

As far as streamers, what should I get?

 

[sarce]

Welcome to the board!

Personally my favorite streamer is a conehead olive woolly bugger, size 8 or 10. That fly has caught fish every month of the year. When I started out, it was my go-to when I wasn't catching anything.

If you find yourself getting frustrated with trout, don't overlook panfish and smallmouth bass. They are more cooperative and just hooking into any kind of fish will teach you how to set the hook and manage line as you are fighting a fish. Trout streams with their fast currents can sometimes require you to learn too much at once to catch anything, which is incredibly frustrating.

 

[pcray1231]

Woolly buggers are always good. Personally, and especially on limestoners like Penns, I'm more a fan of sculpin patterns. Brown or olive for good conditions, and black for brown water.

The issue with sculpins is that they don't sink as easily, so you need more weight if there's much depth at all.

The conehead bugger sarce mentioned solves that dilemma somewhat with the big arse heavy conehead.

 

[JackM]

"Woolly buggers are always good. Personally, and especially on limestoners like Penns, I'm more a fan of sculpin patterns."

Or you can fish a wooly bugger like a sculpin.

 

[Fishidiot]

sarce wrote:
If you find yourself getting frustrated with trout, don't overlook panfish and smallmouth bass. They are more cooperative and just hooking into any kind of fish will teach you how to set the hook and manage line as you are fighting a fish.

I'll second this. ^
Beginner FFers often focus too much on trout. Warm water fish such as those mentioned above are fun to catch and (usually) easier for beginners.

 

[pcray1231]

Smallmouth bass, definitely. The below is aiming more at the panfish part of it.

The guy has never fly fished. I took his initial post to mean he is an avid fisherman, though. No offense to panfish, which can be a fun diversion, but that's what they are, a diversion. Good for practicing casting and hooksets, and I'm not saying not to do that. It's a step above yard casting (which I also recommend).

But it's hardly something that you get excited about and anticipate as the end goal. Rather, once committed to seeing it through, it's a way to practice. Like hitting a golf ball into a screen. Means to an end, and effective, but it's not going to sell anyone on committing themselves to take up golf.

Having made this conversion myself, while going through the struggles of the switch, I found it hard not to want to revert to what I knew worked. Motivation to see it through is important. Panfish ain't gonna provide that.

What did it for me was discovering spinner falls. And Penns is a great place to do it! You can fish there with spinning gear and pick up some fish, sure. But come nightfall and there's the visual aspect of fish rising all around you, and you frantically fail to catch any of them. It's frustrating, but kinda fun in a way, and you could see how it could be more fun. You can't take advantage of that situation with spinning gear, so the only thing to do is try to master the fly gear. Motivation. Then as you gain proficiency, you add in the subsurface tactics, till a few years down the road you realize that even absent rising fish, you're not at all outgunned by your old self armed with a spinning rod.

 

[John96]

I just made the switch last summer. Just remember, fishing is fishing. Also, don't worry too much about having a great cast. As long as you can get the fly to the fish, it doesn't have to be pretty.

This is a great video on nymphing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m0QbVTWhtw
and don't forget to use split shot to get the fly to the fish.

Best of luck!

 

[Chet1185]

I don't really fish for anything besides trout. I do not like bass or really any other fishing. I also fish Steelhead.

Maybe I should get practice on some stocked trout? Are they allot "dumber" than wild trout? Is there a certain fly that would be best for me to use first? Like a midge.

 

[Chet1185]

Lol. Was that video a joke or is he really teaching but being funny? I couldn't tell because I know nothing.

 

[huntfish]

Stocked trout are dumber at first but adapt relatively quickly. Stocked trout, when fished often can be very finicky due to high fishing pressure. When it comes to fishing wild fish on streams that are not pressured and the fish do not get fished that often, you may find that if your presentation is not perfect, they may still take. However, wild fish are more skittish so you have to be quiet and wade slowly, don't smack the water with your line, etc. and usually those streams have more overhang to deal with like brush and branches which makes casting harder.

Stockers like big shiny things. Egg patters seem to work well this time of year.

 

[John96]

Chet1185 wrote:
Lol. Was that video a joke or is he really teaching but being funny? I couldn't tell because I know nothing.

While I wouldn't recommend literally tossing a pile of line into the riffle, the basic tips he mentions are a great start.

Basic steps to nymphing:

1/ Set yourself up with a strike indicator, appropriate amount of split shot, and a good nymph pattern

2/ Chuck that whole sha-bang out into the run and give it a mend*.

3/ Wait

4/ Strike indicator twitched? SET THE HOOK!
Strike indicator stopped moving? SET THE HOOK!
Your fly hit a rock? SET THE HOOK!

* A mend is when you create slack in the line at a strategic point to ensure that your fly is moving at the same speed at the water.

 

[Chet1185]

How do I go about determining the location of the indicator? Which indicators are recommended?

 

[John96]

First off, not everyone is a fan of a strike indicator. I am and personally recommend trying it to start off and seeing if you like it.

The indicator should be placed 1-2 times the depth of the water above the fly. There are numerous different kinds including yarn, stick on, foam, thingamabobbers being the most popular. I like the hard foam indicators that you thread onto your line and jam in place with a tooth pick the best.

Google image of what I am talking about:
http://charteredwaters.com/catalog/images/ligstrteardrop.jpg

They float, stay in place, and don't kink your leader, all while being sensitive.

I hope this helps!