De-Mystifying Fly Fishing
by: Cameron Larsen
I remember the first time I saw someone fly fishing. I
think I was five years old. My father, my sister and I
had back packed to a remote alpine lake. My trusty Zebco
with the closed face push button casting reel, cork
bobber and jar of Puatzke’s, among my gear I couldn’t
live without. Positioned on a log vigilantly eyeing my
bobber for movement, a one-man raft paddled past, and in
no time the occupant was making wild movements with the
longest fishing pole ever. Mesmerized, I watched his
graceful movements like he was a black belt martial arts
expert. When my father came to check on me, I asked
about him, my dad said he was fly fishing, a couple of
other fishermen gathered to discuss this exotic art. All
agreed it was a superior art form requiring more time
than any one of us had to learn, let alone master. I
tried to study my bobber with earnest after that, but it
never seemed to hold the same pull it once had.
Fly fishing indeed is
beautiful to watch. After all these years I still enjoy
watching a caster that is genuinely skilled. I also
enjoy watching fly fishers with unorthodox techniques.
Some people haven’t read all the books or taken lessons,
but instead have learned their skills on the water, and
some people have truly unique, yet effective habits.
Anyway this article is to de-mystify fly fishing for
those of you that want to learn, this is a starting
point from which your new passion will take off. (OK I
am hoping)
Two Basic Types of Fly
Fishing
I remember a fly fishing
friend said to me “Looks like good dry water, right
downstream,” as we were floating down the Deschutes
River. A fly fishing novice looking downstream said
questioning. “Dry water?”
My fly fishing friend
was referring to dry fly fishing. There are two basic
fly fishing techniques. Dry fly and wet fly. Dry fly
refers to fishing your fly on top of the water,
traditionally used for trout fly fishing, now most
species are being fished with a dry fly of some kind.
Dry flies usually imitate adult insects that return to
the surface to lay their eggs back into the water. It is
at this time they are very vulnerable to being eaten by
fish. After mating and depositing their eggs, the
insects then die. Commonly called ‘spinner falls’ fish
tend to lay and gorge themselves during these times. Dry
flies are also used during hatches. When the flies are
emerging from the water. ‘Match the Hatch’ refers to
fishing an imitation of the predominantly hatching
insect of the moment. Dry flies can also be insects that
get blown into the water such as grasshoppers or ants.
Many bass flies or bass bugs actually imitate drowned
rodents or frogs.
Dry fly fishing is what
most people think of, when they think of fly fishing.
Some fly fishers use many false casts to dry their
offerings or to place their offerings directly over a
rising fish. It is this technique that I observed all
those years ago, also made famous by the movie ‘A River
Runs Through It.’
Fishing sub-surface
involves using heavier flies, that will sink. Often
times sinkers are added to the line above the fly to
sink your offering quicker. Sub-surface fly fishing
involves using nymphs, wet flies, and streamers. Food
that is available to fish below the surface. Flies
imitate every bug or nymph available under water. They
also imitate worms, leeches, eggs, crabs, virtually
everything available to fish to eat.
While dry fly fishing
gets all the attention, truth be told, fish consume up
to 90% of their diet under the water. So you are apt to
catch more fish using ‘wet flies’, then you are dry fly
fishing. Especially if you are just beginning, fishing
sub-surface is going to result in more fish being
caught. While fish are feeding on the surface they are
very skittish, and very selective. Almost any fault in
technique, rigging, or fly selection will result in
scaring off the fish you are trying to catch.
Equipment
There are some basic
pieces of equipment that you must have or borrow to
first try fly fishing. The first is a fly rod, (never a
pole). The instrument you use to fly fish with is a rod.
We have written a whole article on ‘Choosing a Fly Rod’,
that will give you enough basic information to at least
be able to ask educated questions when shopping. The
second is a fly reel, we also have an article called
‘Choosing a Fly Reel’. If it were me, and budget is of
concern, (and when you see the prices of fly rods, it
probably will become one), scrimp on the reel and not
the rod. Casting a quality fly rod is a thing of joy,
sometimes I can become so lost in the rhythm of fly
casting I actually forget about the fish. I fished for
years using a Pflueger Medalist. If you were to poll fly
fishers over 40 and I bet over half have owned one of
these.
The next thing you will
need is the fly line. If you are to purchase just one,
get a floating line, you can always add weight to the
leader and sink the fly. But it is virtually impossible
to float a sinking tip line. Fly line is very thick and
it is what you actually cast. Unlike other forms of
fishing where the bait and weight are casted. After the
fly line come the leader and tippet and finally the fly.
Waders and wading boots
are also mandatory, if one is planning on wading. With
perhaps the exception of summer, when wet wading can be
a relief from the heat. Anymore decent Neoprene waders
can be had for around $60, and felt soled wading shoes
for about the same. Although these aren’t top of the
line, and comfort and performance suffer somewhat, they
will be more than adequate.
The idea behind fly
fishing is to show the fish what they actually feed on
as naturally as possible. The first time I fly fished, I
was amazed at how much more I actually fished. You don’t
need to reel in and cast out again, just lift up and
cast again. More time with your fly in the water equals
more opportunity to catch fish. The actual motion of
simple fly casting is easy enough to pick up, it is much
like the motion of hammering. Accelerating on the down
stroke. In an afternoon of practice you could easily
master the motion well enough to have a reasonable
chance of catching a fish.
There you have it. While
fly fishing can become unnecessarily complicated. In
it’s essence I believe it is the simplest form of
fishing there is. So basic is its form, and so exact is
the role of its instruments, you could call it perfect.
And there are times when one can get caught up in the
act of exercising this perfection, that the entire world
fades away, until it is just you and the
