Fly Fishing BS thread

When changing flies, what is preferred method?

 

nail clipper and re-tie….?

add new tippet if needed…?

 

Clinch knot or improved clinch knot??

 

Maybe either or neither. Depends if fluorocarbon, mono or copolymer

 

Just your typical fly fishing photo.

 

Working on some various PMDs - 18’s & 20’s.

 

After using my first fly rod for about a week and a half almost everyday, I have only been successful in catching bluegill and a ton of them. Although not the bass I was hoping for, I think most of them have moved in deeper cooler water here in Ohio.

I spoke with a ranger from Cuyahoga Valley National Park and he gave me some good locations to try along the Cuyahoga River. I’m told they stock a few locations quite often with trout. I scoped some out this weekend, one of which I talked to a couple kids fishing the river and they had caught some rainbow earlier that day. Need to get me some waders.

Look forward to trying some River and stream fishing near me in CVNP.

 

Waders are over rated unless the temp calls for it but they call me crazy ill wet wade into October most years. Neoprene socks and some good wading boots all the way

 

On another note another week spent camping and fishing in the mountains.

 

Had myself a crash course in bank River fishing last night at the Cuyahoga River. Had a few snags and lost a couple flies. Did hook this little one though. Was tons of fun. Can’t wait to go back.

 

Do you have space there to backcast or are you trying to perform a roll cast? Either scenario is certainly a bit trickier than having nice open space all around

 

Where this particular photo was, I had room to backcast. Couple other locations I was practicing and attempting to roll cast with vegetation around me. Thats when I got hung up a couple of times.

 

Hope everyones doing well this evening! I found this thread earlier today anf wanted to drop in and ask for some advice. Although im a very accomplished bass fisherman and saltwater angler, here lately my heart has been set on learning the art of fly fishing ... but i have no clue where to start.

Trout fishing in the appalachias is where i want to tackle this endeavor. With that in mind what kind of advice can you give an absolute beginner who doesnt even own a Fly rod yet?

Ill honestly read up on anything you think is worth while.

 

Grab some books from the library and there are endless youtube videos to watch. I started out fly fishing for bass then moved on to stripers in the surf before i ever went trout fishing. Find a local fly fishing shop and look at their starter rod and reel combos. You don't have to spend thousands though you can, you just don't want to buy crap. They'll listen to what you'll be going after and where and should be able to set you up just fine. I still have the rods and reels I bought back in the 70s and still use them now and then. Fly fishing can be very simple or as complicated as you desire, either way it's a blast.

 

I'm unfamiliar with trout uo there but you will likely be looking into a 4 or 5wt rod as generally your not pushing overly large flies. And a 5wt is more than enough rod for 90% of trout you will encounter. Now if this is one of those small trout areas dropping to a 3 may make sense but again not my neck of the woods.
When shopping look at it this way in terms of item importance. Line, rod, reel. Once you dial in the best rod wt for your area and which rod feels good in your hand line taper and quality can quickly make or break that rods feel. So consulting a knowledgeable fly shop can help iron out those details. I generally recommend a more moderate rod to beginners as it offers more feel, making it easier to time your cast and let that rod do more of the work for you as opposed to a fast super low swing weight rod that has very little feel and will bite you if your timing is nor on point. A reel on a trout rod is generally not much more than a line holder so they aren't worth worrying about anything of crazy quality or high drag numbers. An option is to consider click pawl reels, light cheap not much on them to break and really fun when somthing big does eat as palming the reel is your only source of drag.
I'm sure the don't dry cast crowd will be here shortly on this one. But learning to cast off the water and just in a dry field is the best way to learn. There are reasons casting lessons are taught in fields and not on ponds in simplifies everything and help build a foundation of technique before throwing in all the elements of being on the water.

That's some quick notes for a beginner as it was stated earlier fly can be made as complicated or simple as you want it to be. You can get a cheap combo and random flies and go but the experience generally isn't as good.

 

I too am new and if you read back a couple of pages you can see some of my questions and the responses that came from others. I've watched many many videos and read tons of article to help. I dry casted in my yard for a few days before hitting the water and I am so glad I did. Not sure about yourself, but I live close to lakes and started there before hitting my first river last week. The lake was good for me because there weren't many trees around and I could focus on getting a good technique that I was comfortable with Might suggest doing the same.

 

lookin good! I'm a fan of clouser minnows for bass. I'll be up in Maine and doing a lot of kayak fishing with fly and traditional rods. The bass up there eat up a clouser. They also like poppers like it looks like you ordered. I just have some cheap poppers from Amazon.

If you have an Orvis nearby, do one of their Fly Fishing 101 classes. I was a big fan and really got a good idea of how to cast. They provide everything you need. When I did it they also gave coupons on gear once you finished, I'd assume they still do that. Like 4 or 5 years later and I'm still fly fishing, not as much as I did originally but I still know how to cast haha.

Also you could honestly start on a walmart rod. I picked one up while I was up in Maine during COVID without any of my rods and it did the trick, plus if you want to practice on land you don't feel bad since the whole setup is cheaper than fly line from a name brand. That rod lives behind the backseat now and I let people use it if they want to try it out haha.

Last thing, check LL Bean for their clearance section, they occasionally have some good stuff. I got a super cheap fly tying kit from there a while back and now I'll occasionally tie my own flies.

 

Veet you really need to get over it already. Envious of your scenic fishing local. Just because you are there doesn't mean you are the authority on fly fishing.

 

And neither are you. This is the internet I'm here to argue a point to death aimlessly just because.