26 Ultimate Fly Fishing Tips For Beginners [Must Read]

Fly fishing might seem like an overwhelming activity if you are a total beginner. It might be difficult for several people to get started with fly fishing. However, fly fishing isn’t too difficult as many people might be thinking. It is actually an activity full of adventure that provides you an opportunity to learn about different things in nature. With those facts keeping in mind, we are enlisting 26 fly fishing tips for beginners which will help you to craft this art with perfect whether you are a beginner or a pro.

Even though it could be difficult to catch fish while fly fishing, you will eventually go on to become an experienced fly fisher when you keep going for fly fishing regularly. You may not be able to catch your first fish in the first day, maybe not even in the first week, but during the same moment, you will be learning many new fly fishing skills as well as different things related to nature.

If you are interested in fly fishing and want to make it an easier activity, we have presented this article where we will be providing you the essential fly fishing tips which might turn out to be beneficial for you.

26 Fly Fishing Tips for Beginners

Some people consider fly fishing as an overwhelming sport, which is actually true in many cases. Fly fishing isn’t just limited to a single activity of catching fish by casting flies with fly fishing equipment. It involves several aspects that you need to know before getting started.

You need to know about the suitable fly fishing equipment based on different weather conditions, fish, water column, fly size, outfit as well as some tips from experienced fly fishers. To help you in learning about every fly fishing aspect effectively, we will be providing you the fly fishing tips by dividing our article into 8 different parts which denote the 8 different aspects you need to know about before getting started.

The following are the different aspects we’ll be talking about in our complete list of tips for fly fishing:

• Location and Weather
• Outfit
• Fly Rods and Fly Reels
• Fly Line
• Artificial Flies
• Fly Fishing Knots
• Casting
• External Knowledge

Location and Weather

• If you are thinking about going for fly fishing in hot weather, it is better to go to a deep river with moving water using a comfortable fishing kayak either at the early morning or at the evening since water temperature stays at the lowest range in the morning and later get cooled during the evening.
• It might be difficult for you to catch trout in a place with a warm climatic condition, which is why it is recommended for you to look for carp, perch, rudd, etc. with dry flies or nymphs.
• In case of a cold weather, you might want to go to shallow water column with still water at any time of the day. It is better to go for trout fishing in this sort of overcast and mild weather.

Outfit

• It is always the best idea to wear a grey/green/brown or dark-colored clothes in most fly fishing cases, especially for the fish which can be spooked easily such as trout. The only thing you need to do is to avoid bright colored outfit.
• Wearing clothes with breathable fabrics such as silk along with an insulation middle layer, waterproof boots, polarized sunglasses, insulated gloves and a hat featuring a brim needs to be your top priority while going for fly fishing.

Fly Rods and Fly Reels

• If you are expecting to recover the right amount of fly line while turning the reel handle, it is better to go for a large-arbor fly reel. However, you might have to lose some backing capacity with this sort of fly reel.
• A mid-arbor reel can be the best choice for most fly fishing cases since it features an optimum retrieval rate and backing capacity. It is better not to go for small-arbor reels despite they are able to hold enough amount of fly line.
• While looking for the best fly rod action, you can expect to have a decreasing rate of accuracy and lifespan from the fast action rods to slow action rods. However, slow action rods can flex the highest fly rod length while fly fishing among the medium and fast action rods.
• If you want the most effective fly fishing experience at any fly fishing distances with the best control of fly line, it is always the best idea to go for a 9-foot fly rod which is recognized as a standard fly rod length among most fly fishers. If you are planning to go for fly fishing in smaller water column such as small streams, it is better to go for a shorter fly rod of around 6 to 8 feet to prevent any sort of issues while casting.

Fly Line

• If you have a fly rod of the weight 7, it is highly recommended for you to look for a fly line of the same weight for best fly fishing performance. You always need to look for the most suitable fly line weight which is always equal to your fly rod weight.
• It is good to buy a new fly line every time you finish fly fishing for a period of around 2-3 months. Doing this will help you improve your fly fishing skills, and eventually result in a vast improvement in casting techniques.
• You might want to clean your fly line every time you are ready to go for fly fishing. If you are going for fly fishing in a still water or a moving water containing several organic materials, cleaning your fly line is a must-do activity. You can clean your fly line easily with the help of mild soap and water.
• It is better to remove the memory coils out of your fly line and attach the end of the line with a fixed solid object securely before getting started with fly fishing.

Artificial Flies

• While choosing the perfect fly size, it is the best idea to multiply your leader size by 3. The value that you obtain can be the most suitable fly size to attach on your tippet.
• If you are thinking about catching fish like smallmouth and largemouth bass, trout, panfish, freshwater fish, etc., choosing dry flies, wet flies, nymphs or streamers as your artificial flies would certainly be the best choice.
• In case of fish like striped bass, tarpon, bonefish, billfish, saltwater fish, etc., it is good to use minnows, poppers, divers, and deceivers as your artificial flies.

Fly Fishing Knots

• The only fly knots you need to know about for fly fishing as a beginner are the nail knot, surgeon’s knot and double surgeon’s knot, arbor knot, albright knot, clinch knot and in some cases, the loop-to-loop connection, uni-knot, and perfection loop.
• You need to secure your fly fishing equipment properly with the suitable knots before getting started with fly fishing. Using a different knot might result in the damage of your fly fishing equipment.

Casting

• Before casting your fly rod, it is the best idea to look at the water column for natural food organisms, whether terrestrial or aquatic and attach similar flies on your tippet since your target fish is most likely to fall for such flies.
• If you are thinking about going for steelhead fishing, it is always the best idea to look for a slow-flowing or still water in cold weather conditions since the steelhead fish is likely to stay on the water surface looking for food.
• If you are thinking about fly fishing on large water column or still water, it is good to look for a shorter distance and make a shorter cast. Doing this will help you catch the fish effectively.
• While performing an overhead cast, you need to keep your wrist straight and use your shoulder to create the cast without offering any unnecessary motion to the cast with your wrist. Keeping your elbow close to your body can help you while performing such type of cast.
• When you are thinking about performing a roll cast, it is the best idea to slowly pull the fly line back without pulling it out of the water column. Doing this will allow your fly rod to load your fly line in a forward cast.
• You shouldn’t try completing the cast quickly. Instead, it is the best idea to finish a cast properly with your fly line straight before trying to perform another cast.

External Knowledge

• It is always the best idea to consult with an experienced fly fisher about several casting techniques and methods to properly set up your fly fishing equipment for fly fishing.
• If you are a total beginner, it is highly recommended to utilize the basic fly fishing equipment and only perform the overhead cast while you are in the learning phase.

Conclusion

Now that we have provided all the 26 fly fishing tips for beginners, it’s all upon you on how you will be implementing our tips in real-life while fly fishing. If you are able to implement them properly, you are likely to be able to perform other casting techniques while fly fishing as well.

If you aren’t able to catch any fish during your early fly fishing days, you don’t need to worry about it or think about ending your fly fishing career since it happens to everyone at the beginning. None is able to catch much fish at the beginning of his/her fly fishing days. With the passing of time and several days of practice, you will certainly be able to establish yourself as a good fly fisher.