Fly fishing

[dawallace45]

I recently watched " A River Somewhere " one too many times and ended up in a moment of weakness ordering a Fly rod , any one got any suggestions on books or DVD on how to cast this bloody thing and suggestions for a basic selection of flies for fresh water and light salt

David

 

[jdupre']

Be careful , David, this sport can become as addicting as any out there? No books or DVDs to recommend, but this site is a great place to start. Kind of quirky and irreverent, but a lot of great information and videos.

http://www.sexyloops.com/flycasting/contents.shtml

Don't know about your area, but most fish respond well to a light colored or black leech type fly in fresh water or a Clauser Minnow (white and chartreuse) in salt water.

Joey

 

[Wannabe]

David,
Hide your wallet fron yourself. You could build you and your neighbor a whole fleet of S&G boats for what you can spend on just a rod and reel. When I was 20 years old I bought a cheap rig (I was in the Army), read some very simple instructions and started trying to do it. Caught a bunch of Brem with it so I guess that is good enough. I still haven't been around any one to show me the proper way to cast. Maby Joey can bring his to Pipers and show me. You being there in person to watch would be pretty neat. Bring the other guys with you when you when you come. Please do not bring any Mori's with you(I hear that they drink too much) :mrgreen:
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

<SNIP> ended up in a moment of weakness ordering a Fly rod , any one got any suggestions on books or DVD on how to cast this bloody thing <SNIP>

David, I'm not sure about yours, but after a few trips of trying, I cast mine by grasping it just aft of its balance point, and heaving it butt first into some handy, nearby bushes. I never looked back. That's why God invented cane poles.

 

[oldsparkey]

This covers the basic way of using a fly rod. http://www.trails.com/how_161_use-fly-fishing-rod.html

The thing to remember is that you are casting the line and not the bait ( fly ) unlike casting or spinning where you cast the bait and not the line.
It takes a little while to get the hang of it but when you do it is a ton of fun and has always produced fish for me when bait casting or spinning has failed.
Around here a small spider ( for pan fish ) or bumblebee popper ( for Bass ) works good on freshwater and any of the streamers ( flys that sink ) work good in salt water. With the streamers if you can match the bait fish the fish are feeding on really helps. Which leads to another aspect of fly fishing , tying your own flys. It's a good way to spend a rainy afternoon but my wife doesn't like the the mess the little pieces of feathers that drop to the floor make. I can't help it the dinning room table makes a good work bench. :roll:

It's a shame you are not over here , after the last trip Mac wants me to show him how to use a fly rod.

Chuck......

 

[oldyaker]

Years ago when the bug hit me, I did the best thing and took about a 5 or 6 hour flycasting clinic with a local FF organization. I guess it depends on the instructor but it was a great class as I was making casts I never thought I could make. One instructor was so good to prove a point your casting the line and not the weight(bait), he made good casts just holdind the line with no rod! Once you have a good understanding of the basics it just gets better if you keep at it. Trout are very smart so you have to be good at it. I enjoy catching other types of fish more than trout because they are not as finicky if your not a great fly rod caster. Good luck and have fun!

 

[dawallace45]

Guys been away , thanks for the responses haven't had a chance to read them yet , probably won't get a chance until sunday , will probably have more questions after I get to read the posts

David

 

[dawallace45]

Just been reading up on the links you guy s sent , thanks guys , I appreciate it ,

Was Talking to a mate up the road yesterday afternoon and he reckoned that he was a fly fisherman for many years until he grew brains and he reckons he will show me the basics ,

About 20 years ago I made the acquaintance of a feller by the name of Rod Harrison , he was a fishing writer who lived on Bribe Island just 10 minutes from my place , he's probably the most well known fishing writer and fishing film maker in Australia and I went to see him to find out where I could order some of his books and videos from , well we got talking and he asked my if I'd ever tried fly fishing and I said no and it did look interesting to me but I was having enough trouble just learning about soft plastics and hard body lures , he said if I ever wanted to learn to use a fly rod then he'd teach me , I never took him up on it but often thought about it , he lives about a half hour up the road from me now and runs guided Barramundi fishing tours out of the Awoonga Dam , I run into him from time to time but I doubt he ever remembers offering to teach me to use a fly rod ,

A few years back I was watching a dvd by a feller by the name of Lefty Kreh who is supposed to be well known in fly fishing circles , on the DVD some one asked him who the best person he'd seen with a fly rod was and he said a guy from Australia by the name of Rod Harrison , Lefty Kreh has been to Australia to fish with Rod a number of times and he appears in a number of Rods Videos , really wish I'd taken him up on it all those years ago

One thing that does worry me about it all is the simple fact that I don't have hobbies , I have obsessions and fly fishing has these little fly thingies that people can learn to tie them selves and that is some thing I could end up being very obsessive about

It's a worry

David

 

[Wannabe]

David.
To help releive you of your worries, it helps to understand the reason for them. If I may, here is a post I made quite a while back.

I have been on this forum for about 2 years. Been reading The JEM forum for about as long. I have thourghly enjoyed both. Right off I saw something that was strange and different. I guess I first noticed it in Mick. Later I noticed that Chuck had probally been afflicted long before Mick. Didn't think a lot about it, just thought it was courious. As time marched on, I begain to notice it spreading (or I was becoming more aware of it) to other members. At first I thought it was just a boat thing. Later I realized it had nothing to do with boats. Boats were just a manifestation of this phenomenon. Boats, bow building, knife making, cooking, camping, guns, photography, beer (Scotch is not as nearly widespread), growing a garden, ect.. The list is endless. I checked with the CCD in Atlanta about this. They said that they were aware of this and were tracking it but it was not a potential hazard to the general public. CCD said that this only affects an indivudial, his family, and a small circle of friends ( guess they never measured how far the sound of bagpipes carry). CCD did mention that if an indivudial had several diferent manifestations of this at the same time, it could cause severe stress trying to decide what to do next. Being pulled in so many directions at the same time is not healthy they said. CCD did think it strange that so many with this afliction have gathered togather in these two forums and that so many were on both forums. Talking to Ron on the phone, I lightly mentioned this to him a couple of times, but I didn't have the full picture yet. Ron, I now know what afflicts most of us. CCD told me there is an official name for this desease, condition, or afliction.
HOGS (Hyper Obsessive Gene Syndrome)

Bob

 

[dawallace45]

Yep! tru dat !

David

 

[BEARS BUDDY]

I don't got no HOG syndrome. I just got lotsa backup gear. Spare bows, packs, tents, firearms, fishing gear.
Help! I'm a gear junkie :shock: :shock:

 

[oldsparkey]

My wife likes to tell me that I don't just have some camping , fishing and hunting stuff that I have a complete sporting goods shop. Just yesterday she was talking about some remolding around here and the 1st thing she mentioned was a room , about the side of our back porch , with shelves all the way around it so I would have a central location for all my stuff.

Not being the brightest light bulb in the pack , I just smiled and replied it is more fun having it all over the house and out in the shop so it is like a scavenger hunt trying to locate a particular object. :roll: At lease I did not tell her about the new fly rod , reel and line that is suppose to arrive here Wednesday.
She did catch me checking out the 15-4 Gheenoes on the web. Heck they are made 20 miles from here and I had one many years ago. A good fishing boat for salt water since they are almost imposable to tip over or sink and no one can have to many boats.

 

[oldsparkey]

At lease I did not tell her about the new fly rod , reel and line that is suppose to arrive here Wednesday.

The Fly Rod , Reel and line arrived today and it is one Sweet Rod and outfit , Really looking forward to trying it our. Even have been thinking of some new flys I can tie to make it better and a nightmare for the fish. Heck a new outfit and tying some new flys for it is like bread an butter , they both go together.

 

[dawallace45]

My new fly rod and reel arrived yesterday too , still have to learn to cast it

David

 

[oldsparkey]

David.......

I have mine set up for fishing , now I have to wait till the weather is a little nicer to take it out and try it. One thing I did was to attach a leader at 8 feet..... This way the bug lands a good distance from the fly line or if using a streamer ( sinking fly) it has plenty of distance to sink when retrieved. The speed of the retrieval and the weight of the fly determines the depth the fly will be at.

The other thing I always do is to remove the barb from the hook. It makes it a lot easier getting the fish off the hook and if I am in a windy area and the fly hits me , it is simple to remove , no Doctor needed.

With a long leader the wind can move the fly around as you cast it. Which lets it hit your hat , shirt , ear or some other body part if you are not really careful about the wind direction or how you are casting it. No matter how you do it , at sometime that fly will hit you when you least expect it , especially if you get careless. With any luck it would be the backside of it and not the side with the hook sticking out. :roll: :roll:

 

[dawallace45]

Johno

Thanks I wouldn't mind having a look at that Video ,
My Address is

David Wallace
PO Box 140
Miriam Vale
Qld , 4677


Chuck

A mate down in Bundaberg gave ma a few flies last week and some of that braded loop material , spent a few hours yesterday working out how to use it , mine is now also set up for fishing

I've been trying to practice my casting but every time I pick it up the wind comes up , not sure that a 15 to 20 knot wind is conducive to the learning process

My outfit is just a cheap Pflueger kit , got it for $53 AUD landed here , same setup sells for $120 to $140 here , it will do for me to learn on and to see if I like it ,

It's a 8' , 3 piece #5/6 with a 6 wt floating line

David

 

[oldsparkey]

Mine is also one that was on sale from Cabelas.....There brand. A 8-6 rod , graphite and 4 section , line is a 5 weight forward taper with 65 yards of 20 lb backing on the reel. It was on sale a while back and when I went to get one they were out , not that way this time , I have it. Back on sale at $59.99 again so I grabbed one.

It's a good light weight rod for the Bream and Bass that we have around here. Could be used in salt water for trout and reds which would really give it a tryout.

Can't beat Pflueger , I have several of them from when I was a kid and even the ones Dad had back then.... They Last.

Chuck.....

 

[dawallace45]

Johno

Thanks got the video yesterday , will try and get a chance to watch it tonight

Chuck
Sounds good and I like the price

Was talking to a mate down south last night and I told him that I'd bought a fly rod and what sort is is , he reckons that will be fine for me to learn on and if I find I like it then I should work on getting one like his later on but there is no way I'm going to spend over $2000 on a rod and reel even if I was in the financial situation to do it , mate is rather well off and a enthusiast , he thinks nothing of spending that sort of money on fly rods , just about makes me cry to see that sort of money tied up in that sort of gear , he has over a dozen rods all similar value , crazy

David

 

[Kayak Jack]

At those prices, he's not buying fish - he's buying fun. (If you count trying to catch a foul, fishy-tasting animal as fun. :wink: )

 

[Wannabe]

Johno

Thanks got the video yesterday , will try and get a chance to watch it tonight

Chuck
Sounds good and I like the price

Was talking to a mate down south last night and I told him that I'd bought a fly rod and what sort is is , he reckons that will be fine for me to learn on and if I find I like it then I should work on getting one like his later on but there is no way I'm going to spend over $2000 on a rod and reel even if I was in the financial situation to do it , mate is rather well off and a enthusiast , he thinks nothing of spending that sort of money on fly rods , just about makes me cry to see that sort of money tied up in that sort of gear , he has over a dozen rods all similar value , crazy

David

Tole ya David. $$$$$ , can be done for cents (just discovered that there is no cent key on my keyboard, go figure).
Bob