Dear newbie:
Your thread will rapidly grow into a mutliheaded dragon, and it will be filled with lots of people desperate to help you. Its very nice of them, and they mean well and they know lots and lots of things but all its really going to do in teh end is confuse the hell out of you because none of it matters, you just want to catch a fish on this stupid thing, right?
So, allow me to get on the ground floor before it becomes chaos. Everyone's "goto flies" don't matter. None of it does. Especially since you just want to learn. So do this:
Goto your local sprotting goods store and buy:
A couple of 9' 5x leaders.
A spool of 5x tippet.
Lots of size 14 pheasant tail nymphs.
A handful of size 14 Adamases.
A little tin of those itty bitty "fly fishing" split shot.
Some foam indicators, or whatever.
Then go fishing. Learn to "cast" about 15' of fly line, plus that leader. Congrats, that's good enough.
Tie the pheasant tail on.
If the water is swift and deep, use one of those stupid splitshot 8" above it. If not, don't. Or do. -shrug- The mysteries of life.
Think, "this water is maybe a 18 inches deep." Put indicator on 3' up from fly. I'll allow this rule, "1.5x the depth of water." Its good enough for now.
Go cast it up from you, and watch it come back down. When the foamy thing goes under, pull line. Catch fish. Delight in your accomplishments.
What? They're on top? Cut off heavy crap and remove foamy thing, tie on Adams. Throw in front of them. Expect nothing, delight in every win. Keep pace with the current, if it drags you've failed. That's the only rule you need to learn, and even that's a lie, sometimes.
Like cake. Always a lie.
When you cut back 2' of the 9x leader, tie 2' of the tippet on.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Expect to waste tippet. Its "cheap." Expect to go through leaders. Expect to lose flies, good thing you only bought two different kinds, right?
There. Enjoy your first year.