Help me get into fly fishing

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spittinfire

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I've been thinking about fly fishing for a little while and I think it looks like fun and a challenge. I know little to nothing about what all is involved outside of some conversations I've had in the past. Anyone here willing to help out with a little advice or maybe some old gear you'd be willing to part with?
 
Check out Carolina Fly Fishing Club. I think they meet at Bass Pro in Concord now but lots of them live closer to you. Great group of folks.

I don't have any gear I'm looking to get rid of. But if you wanted to look at some and ask questions I'm on the west side of Hickory. If we could work out the details I probably have enough gear to haul you out to a creek.


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spittinfire said:
I've been thinking about fly fishing for a little while and I think it looks like fun and a challenge. I know little to nothing about what all is involved outside of some conversations I've had in the past. Anyone here willing to help out with a little advice or maybe some old gear you'd be willing to part with?
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I've got a rod and reel I'll hook you up with. I bought it last year used it once. I prefer a spinning reel over fly rod. It's a bass pro white river rod combo. Pm if interested maybe we can work something out.


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Going to follow this one. I bought a basic rod and reel about 1.5 years ago. Spent some time casting in the yard. Still need some work. This was supposed to be my year to get up in the mountains for some teout and the New for some smallies, but it hasn't worked out. Maybe this Fall or next Spring. Once I get my crap together I could host a small group forma weekend in West Jeff and branch out from there to fish.
 
Give me a hollar sometime. I go fairly often and have a lot of gear that you you see and use.
 
I not very good but, love it nonetheless.

Nothing better in this heat than wading a cool river.
 
I'd be happy to host you for a day. I have plenty of gear to outfit a couple folks. I'm near Asheville/Brevard and could get you out into some tucked away mountain streams. I strongly prefer the small waters where crowds are small and scenery is paramount.

Fair warning though...the last forum member that tagged along with me drove all the way from Raleigh with his son...and we caught nothing.

I'll extend that offer to any member that I "know" on here.
 
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I assume from the location shown under your name that you will be using it in fresh water and will probably want to catch bass and bream with the gear. I will make a suggestion that will cover about all your needs. Go to Feathercraft and order a TFO 8 weight BVK combo. It comes with the rod, reel, backing, and line. The BVK model, Lefty Kreh's initials, is an amazing rod for a very moderate price. The reel will probably be a lower end Ross and will outlast your grandchildren.

I have Sage, TFO, Scott, and a few other brands of rods but always seem to pick up the TFO.

I like an 8 weight with either weight forward floating line of bass taper line. I know 8 weight may seem a little heavy to some, but it comes in very handy when you want to throw large flies or when it is windy, and you never know when you might hook a nice bass.
 
Charlie said:
I assume from the location shown under your name that you will be using it in fresh water and will probably want to catch bass and bream with the gear. I will make a suggestion that will cover about all your needs. Go to Feathercraft and order a TFO 8 weight BVK combo. It comes with the rod, reel, backing, and line. The BVK model, Lefty Kreh's initials, is an amazing rod for a very moderate price. The reel will probably be a lower end Ross and will outlast your grandchildren.

I have Sage, TFO, Scott, and a few other brands of rods but always seem to pick up the TFO.

I like an 8 weight with either weight forward floating line of bass taper line. I know 8 weight may seem a little heavy to some, but it comes in very handy when you want to throw large flies or when it is windy, and you never know when you might hook a nice bass.
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TFO is an outstanding value.
 
Youtube has lots of instructional videos on how to cast. Look at several and notice that they do not all tell you the same thing. Joan Wolff teaches a different method than Lefty Kreh who teaches a different method than ... All the styles work. Look at some of the videos and develop your own style that works for you.

One of the hardest things about fly casting is remembering how easy it actually is. Like a golf swing or a shotgun swing, a cast can go bad very quickly if you try to force it.

Tim and several others have made very generous offers. Spending some time with someone who knows what they are doing can get you started down the right path.
 
Thank you all for the kind offers. I may very well take any or all of you up on those offers.

@Charlie Honestly I want to trout fish. I used to live in Asheville and when I was there I started to get into trout fishing but never did anything more then basically float bait with the current. I caught a few fish, nothing fantastic. Then we were forced to move and I'm just now getting to the place were I could make an occasional fishing trip.
 
If you want to target trout, a nice 6-weight should serve you well. I grew up in east Tennessee and did a lot of stream and river trout fishing with a 6-weight. The Little Tennessee was my favorite river but was made into a lake back in the 1970's. I caught some right sizable brown trout on the Little T with an old Fenwick 6-weight.

I did learn a lesson about rods for trout fishing in small streams. I bought a little 6' rod with the idea that it would be quite the ticket for tight quarters in tree-lined mountain streams. I found that I had a hard time with the short rod because back casting was often very limited. My old 9' split bamboo rod was more useful in the tight places since I could roll cast more easily or reach pockets of water by just dead sticking with that longer rod.
 
Charlie said:
If you want to target trout, a nice 6-weight should serve you well. I grew up in east Tennessee and did a lot of stream and river trout fishing with a 6-weight. The Little Tennessee was my favorite river but was made into a lake back in the 1970's. I caught some right sizable brown trout on the Little T with an old Fenwick 6-weight.

I did learn a lesson about rods for trout fishing in small streams. I bought a little 6' rod with the idea that it would be quite the ticket for tight quarters in tree-lined mountain streams. I found that I had a hard time with the short rod because back casting was often very limited. My old 9' split bamboo rod was more useful in the tight places since I could roll cast more easily or reach pockets of water by just dead sticking with that longer rod.
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I haven't used a back cast in years! The laurels would eat up every fly in my box if I did that.

Learning a good roll cast with my 8.5' 3wt made all the difference in the world.
 
My go to small stream rod is a 6'6" 2 wt. Man that is a fun rig. But I'm taking streams you can step across and sometimes not get wet in places. A roll cast and a bow and arrow cast are the go to's. You can forget that A River Runs Through It casting on most of the streams I fish. You would break the rod or loose all your flies.
 
I used to do it quite a bit as a youngster out west.
Tied as well. Really really enjoyed it.
While at college in AZ I was burgled and they stole my rod and all my tying equipment.

Only went once since then, almost 30 years!
Need to get back out there.
 
@spittinfire & @CZfool68 sounds like you've got some good offers for help. If none of them pan out, give me a shout. I've got plenty of gear, live pretty much half-way between the two of you in XX, and know of some places where you'd not hang every other back cast in a tree. I even have a spare set of hippers. Wet-wading would be a preferred option, this time of year, but you'd be smart to get a good pair of wading boots if'n you do. Them creek rocks is slick.

I'd politely disagree with any notions of putting a newbie in a skinny crick.
 
Pee-Ess-
I'm a trout snob, but I'll cling to your flats boat like a barnacle (with my 8wt T3) if I think you're headed out to stalk them tailing reds.
 
Charlie said:
If you want to target trout, a nice 6-weight should serve you well. I grew up in east Tennessee and did a lot of stream and river trout fishing with a 6-weight. The Little Tennessee was my favorite river but was made into a lake back in the 1970's. I caught some right sizable brown trout on the Little T with an old Fenwick 6-weight.

I did learn a lesson about rods for trout fishing in small streams. I bought a little 6' rod with the idea that it would be quite the ticket for tight quarters in tree-lined mountain streams. I found that I had a hard time with the short rod because back casting was often very limited. My old 9' split bamboo rod was more useful in the tight places since I could roll cast more easily or reach pockets of water by just dead sticking with that longer rod.
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I've found that a good 8 to 8'6" 4wt rod will suffice most of the water in NC and TN. I do fish some small water and use a 8 foot 3 wt Thomas &Thomas or an 8'3" 4 wt Winston. But I use and old 8'6" St Croix 2 pcs for a boat rod.
 
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ChiefJason is dead on. I have a little 6'9", 2 wt. Sage fiberglass that I adore (the kids don't even get to look at it). It will not handle the lunkers in the Watauga or the Houston, but for smaller stream, where the largest thing you will fish is a size 20, it is the bee's knees.

For a beginner Over Mountain Man and Hammer21b are dead on, 4-6 wt, 8 ft max. A slow rod will also help you learn the rhythm of casting easier than a fast rod, because you can feel it load on the back cast better. My 2 wt. goes something like back cast, eat a sandwich, drink a beer, forward cast.
 
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Charlie R said:
For a beginner Over Mountain Man and Hammer21b are dead on, 4-6 wt, 8 ft max. A slow rod will also help you learn the rhythm of casting easier than a fast rod, because you can feel it load on the back cast better. My 2 wt. goes something like back cast, eat a sandwich, drink a beer, forward cast.
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I like fishing some bamboo rods too. They are slow action rods and I really like the way you feel the rod load and the power it bring forward.
 
Hammer21b said:
I like fishing some bamboo rods too. They are slow action rods and I really like the way you feel the rod load and the power it bring forward.
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Bamboo is the side-by side of the fishing world. I would love to own a couple!!!! Alas, a wife, two children (one of whom shoots competitively) that I am way too old to have at their ages and that is not in the cards for another dozen years. Probably just in time to leave the rods to them.

But I do agree, slow is the way to go for trout. If you fishing inshore or the flats, then it is time to man up with a 10 ft, 8 wt. fast rod so that you can shoot the line into the backing on your cast. I don't think I have ever caught a trout that was more that 10 yards away from me, even out west, too hard to control the drift.
 
As usual I'll have to be the odd man out on this one. I lived in Colorado a few years and got so tired of catching nothing but trout that if I don't ever catch another one it will be fine by me. What I do enjoy doing with a fly rig is casting the bank edge of a pond or lake. Most of what I catch are Bream or a variant thereof or sometimes Bass. I have even caught Crappie and White Bass casting to the bank in the spring.
There are advantages, there's nothing behind me to take my bug!!! My rigs are simple, I have 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 weight rigs and they all have their place and time. 99% of the time I use my 6 weight with a level, floating line and only use a sponge spider that I tie myself, primarily because you can't find a decent one that lasts more than 2 or 3 fish.
Jan's Netcraft is an excellent place to find a bunch of things fly related and all of my supplies for the famous Sponge Spider come from there. Fly fishing is fun and frustrating, all wrapped up into one.
@spittinfire if you want to try my methods on Lake Norman holler and we'll go one day....
 
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Bailey Boat, I have not lived close enough to good naturally producing trout water to get my fill yet. I did spend a week fishing out of Pagosa Springs, CO near Durango and have to say, the place is lousy with very willing trout, but that was only one week. That said, I do occasionally "venture of the farm" and mix it up some. I went to H.S. with one of the best guides in N.C. He and I got busted for going over to a farm pond, on property that school had acquired for expansion, during lunch. The girl with the locker below Ollie's did not appreciate the bass in his locker leaking all over her books. This guy is committed, that is what I am saying. He has done it all.

His new thing is muskie and carp (Tennessee Tarpon) on a fly out of the Holston. It is slow fishing, but when you do hook up it is on. Definitely not a fight for less than a 6 wt.

That said, trout seem to require that you be smarter than the fish, and that continues to be an ongoing challenge for me. I have to elevate trout, that or face my own mental shortcomings!!!!!
 
Charlie R said:
His new thing is muskie and carp (Tennessee Tarpon) on a fly
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Never done Muskie but when the Cicadas are hatching around a lake or pond the Carp go NUTS eating the bugs that fall into the water. All one needs to do is hit the water around one of the bugs and it's game on!! I have caught 20+ pound Carp doing this but that's almost too big because it takes too long to bring them to hand. A good 5 pounder is ideal. And again, the trusty sponge spider gets the job done......
 
Bailey Boat said:
As usual I'll have to be the odd man out on this one. I lived in Colorado a few years and got so tired of catching nothing but trout that if I don't ever catch another one it will be fine by me. What I do enjoy doing with a fly rig is casting the bank edge of a pond or lake. Most of what I catch are Bream or a variant thereof or sometimes Bass. I have even caught Crappie and White Bass casting to the bank in the spring.
There are advantages, there's nothing behind me to take my bug!!! My rigs are simple, I have 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 weight rigs and they all have their place and time. 99% of the time I use my 6 weight with a level, floating line and only use a sponge spider that I tie myself, primarily because you can't find a decent one that lasts more than 2 or 3 fish.
Jan's Netcraft is an excellent place to find a bunch of things fly related and all of my supplies for the famous Sponge Spider come from there. Fly fishing is fun and frustrating, all wrapped up into one.
@spittinfire if you want to try my methods on Lake Norman holler and we'll go one day....
Click to expand...
I heartily endorse this offer for any aspiring fly-fisherman, especially for the reason emboldened, but also for the increased likelihood of actually catching fish.

But, attention new fly-fishermen, here's the most important thing to learn: stream etiquette. If I'm standing in the creek or river, please know that I've made considerable effort to get to where I want to fish. If I'm anywhere close to another fisherman, we're almost certainly going in opposite directions, streamwise. All the fish within 50 yards of me are MY fish, and you are an interloper. Even just spooking them is an egregious party foul. Before I put in a crick, I've carefully researched where to be the least intrusive, and almost always reject a spot or three before choosing.

Please never stop the Family Truckster close to me and unload an entire clan of Flintstone younguns.
 
Bailey Boat said:
And again, the trusty sponge spider gets the job done......
Click to expand...

Ollie used a thing that he called a Chernobyl Ant. the Stinking thing was at least 1" x ¼" on a 12 hook. Can't possibly look like anything in the food chain, but effective as all get out for territorial strikes.
 
OverMountainMan said:
But, attention new fly-fishermen, here's the most important thing to learn: stream etiquette. If I'm standing in the creek or river, please know that I've made considerable effort to get to where I want to fish.
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CORRECT!!! Newbies underestimate the stealth that is needed in shallow water to avoid "bottoming" the trout. And never forget how experienced fly fishermen can always spot a rookie...

They are the ones standing where they ought to be fishing.
 
OverMountainMan said:
I heartily endorse this offer for any aspiring fly-fisherman, especially for the reason emboldened, but also for the increased likelihood of actually catching fish.

But, attention new fly-fishermen, here's the most important thing to learn: stream etiquette. If I'm standing in the creek or river, please know that I've made considerable effort to get to where I want to fish. If I'm anywhere close to another fisherman, we're almost certainly going in opposite directions, streamwise. All the fish within 50 yards of me are MY fish, and you are an interloper. Even just spooking them is an egregious party foul. Before I put in a crick, I've carefully researched where to be the least intrusive, and almost always reject a spot or three before choosing.

Please never stop the Family Truckster close to me and unload an entire clan of Flintstone younguns.
Click to expand...
Nothing pisses me off quicker than to have fished up to the spot that I've watched and taken care to get in, then have some jackass come bouncing out of the woods and splash though my fishing site! If I was to ever murder someone, it's likely to be for that!
 
Charlie R said:
Ollie used a thing that he called a Chernobyl Ant. the Stinking thing was at least 1" x ¼" on a 12 hook. Can't possibly look like anything in the food chain, but effective as all get out for territorial strikes.
Click to expand...

My spiders are almost that big, about 3/8" long and as big around as a pencil with legs that are at least 1" on each side, but they work!!

OverMountainMan said:
I heartily endorse this offer for any aspiring fly-fisherman, especially for the reason emboldened, but also for the increased likelihood of actually catching fish.

But, attention new fly-fishermen, here's the most important thing to learn: stream etiquette. If I'm standing in the creek or river, please know that I've made considerable effort to get to where I want to fish. If I'm anywhere close to another fisherman, we're almost certainly going in opposite directions, streamwise. All the fish within 50 yards of me are MY fish, and you are an interloper. Even just spooking them is an egregious party foul. Before I put in a crick, I've carefully researched where to be the least intrusive, and almost always reject a spot or three before choosing.

Please never stop the Family Truckster close to me and unload an entire clan of Flintstone younguns.
Click to expand...

Another good thing about ponds and lakes, we're in a boat and I can see you as far as you can se me!! Common courtesy will keep us from banging together, or maybe we would like to shoot the breeze for a minute or share a cold one!! Yet another advantage to my style, cooler full of cold ones, unlike the lukewarm one you stuck in your Orvis vest 4 hours ago... Did I mention we have some nice music at a low volume coming from the Stereo??
 
Hammer21b said:
Nothing pisses me off quicker than to have fished up to the spot that I've watched and taken care to get in, then have some jackass come bouncing out of the woods and splash though my fishing site! If I was to ever murder someone, it's likely to be for that!
Click to expand...

And if the interloper is "bait chunker", the execution should be slow and painful.
 
Bailey Boat said:
As usual I'll have to be the odd man out on this one. I lived in Colorado a few years and got so tired of catching nothing but trout that if I don't ever catch another one it will be fine by me. What I do enjoy doing with a fly rig is casting the bank edge of a pond or lake. Most of what I catch are Bream or a variant thereof or sometimes Bass. I have even caught Crappie and White Bass casting to the bank in the spring.
There are advantages, there's nothing behind me to take my bug!!! My rigs are simple, I have 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 weight rigs and they all have their place and time. 99% of the time I use my 6 weight with a level, floating line and only use a sponge spider that I tie myself, primarily because you can't find a decent one that lasts more than 2 or 3 fish.
Jan's Netcraft is an excellent place to find a bunch of things fly related and all of my supplies for the famous Sponge Spider come from there. Fly fishing is fun and frustrating, all wrapped up into one.
@spittinfire if you want to try my methods on Lake Norman holler and we'll go one day....
Click to expand...

This post actually brings back some good memories. Fishing from a boat. Lots of ponds we used to fish in the seirra nevadas. Casting into the edge where all the lily pads grow for large mouth bass. BOOM they'll breach coming after deer hair frogs, poppers, etc. Bass big enough to feed on ducklings.

You're right, it was fun. Not a lot of walking/hiking and no foliage to catch flies. Clear casting lanes. No waders to lug around in.
 
I am honestly overwhelmed by the response to this. I’ve got a busy couple of weeks in front of me but I’ll be reaching out to a few of you. Thanks guys!
 
Any of you folks remember when line weight was designated by a letter rather than by a number? I do not remember when they gave up on the letters.

edit: 4 = F, 6 = D, 8 = B and so forth. I remember using quite a bit of floating level D. I eventually got some HDH for my new fiberglass rod. The HDH is the same as double taper 6.
 
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here's my take:
most Important is your fly line.
2nd is your rod. 3rd is lures.
 
turkeydance said:
here's my take:
most Important is your fly line.
2nd is your rod. 3rd is lures.
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Respectfully, sir, I don't think any of that's very important.

As a friend of mine always said on the golf course, regarding anyone's uncooperative golf-bat: "It ain't the arrow...It's the Indian."
 
Tim said:
Presentation
Drift
Tippet
Fly
Line
Rod
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This. Put I would include the fly fishers position and how you got there in with presentation. I might be fishing the hole directly in front of me, but I'm scouting and planning my route to the next 2-3 holes I can see. In NC, gear is not really important. NC trout are opportunistic feeders. Good fly, good cast, good drift and you have a good chance of getting bit.
 
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