Beginner

[Scott G.]

What are the basics one would need to start fly fishing?

[Zach]

i couldnt tell ya, but ive seen a lot of people out in minnesota who look like they know what they're doin. like the use of chest waders to get the flies out that much farther. ive thought about it and i figured all i really needed was some good flies because ive got the pole, the waders and everything...ill just use my huntin waders

[Scott G.]

Me too on the waders, may as well get some more use out of them!

[mendizzle]

A good rod and reel, a few basic flies, and some polarized glasses are all you need to get started. I just bought a 9wt fly rod this year so I plan on trying to catch some carp on it this year.

For Nebraska here are a few flies that I would recommend:

Wooly Bugger- Imitates a leech you can catch everything from bass to bluegill to catfish on these.

Black Gnat- Great for panfish and small bass.

Hopper Patterns- There are several grasshopper patterns that will work great for bass, bluegill, and carp.

Muddler Minnow- One of my favorite flies for crappie and bass, you work it just like a jig.

Poppers- There are plenty of poppers out there for bass the best way to see what works is trial and error.

For Northerns use large streamers, they seem to like red/ white combos the best.

[Crank Bait]

Me too on the waders, may as well get some more use out of them!

Buy seperate waders! Don't ruin a a set $250 waterfowl waders for fishing. The cheapy hodgeman brand will get the job done.

Just my $.02

[Zach]

have never really thought of using them until i saw someone in them up in MN. i guess that i just dont really understand waders much being a first-time fly-fisherman. i just figured i could save some money using my huntin waders and didnt realize much damage could come from fly-fishing. most of the guys ive seen using them are mostly stationary, whereas hunting is a ton more tredding through water.

[mark2olson]

What are the basics one would need to start fly fishing?

If you are getting started in fly fishing, my advice would be to keep it simple. A lot of the equipment beyond the standard tackle is nice, but it is not necessary.

A good rod to start with, in my opinion, would be a five weight, 8 ½ feet to nine feet long. A five weight rod can be rigged to fish for bluegills, crappie, small bass, small carp, and trout. If you want to fish for bass or bigger carp, you might want to look at a heavier rod, seven to eight weight; the heavier lines can cast the bigger bass bugs with ease. Anything, though, from a five to eight weight would be a good rod to start with.

You can choose from a wide variety of materials for the blank, graphite, graphite-glass, graphite-boron, boron, glass, and bamboo. I would stick with a graphite rod. The composites, such as graphite-boron and boron tend to be a little pricey. Fiberglass, ironically, tends to be a little pricey as well and to get a well made blank, you’ll have to shell out a lot of money (poorly made glass blanks tend to vibrate and recoil excessively at the tip which can cause frustrating casting problems). Bamboo is a completely different animal and can be tremendously expensive.

You can purchase good, inexpensive rods through any of the various outfitters. Cabela’s, for example, has inexpensive rods that cost well under a hundred dollars. The blanks on these rods are actually very good; they have kept the price down by using inexpensive hardware. Most of the outfitters also have packages that provide you with excellent value. Again, Cabela’s has a package that includes virtually everything that you need for around $150.00 (Cabela’s Genesis Outfits).

In addition to a fly rod, you’ll need a reel that matches up with your rod. Make sure that it will accommodate your fly line and some backing. Most reels boxes will indicate the amount of backing and fly line that it will accommodate. I would recommend a weight forward fly line to start with rigged to your reel with the appropriate amount of backing.

You’ll need some leaders; I’d go with a seven and a half to nine foot leader with a tip strength of 7 to 9 pounds (leaders are identified by the type (e.g. trout) and the tip thickness with an X. X is a factor that designates leader tippet diameter. It was used during the era when all leader was made from silk worm gut. X equals eleven. If you subtract the X factor from eleven you will arrive at the diameter of the leader in one-thousandths of an inch.

8X = .003 inch (11 - 8 = 3)
7X = .004 inch (11 - 7 = 4)
6X = .005 inch (11 - 6 = 5)
5X = .006 inch (11 - 5 = 6)
4X = .007 inch (11 - 4 = 7)
3X = .008 inch (11 - 3 = 8)
2X = .009 inch (11 - 2 = 9)
1X = .010 inch (11 - 1 = 10)
0X = .011 inch (11 - 0 = 11)

I’d pick up some leaders with a 2 to 3x tippet. 2x tippet is usually about 9 pound test, 3x usually about 7.5.

Leaders are available in a variety of materials, and that could be a discussion in and of itself. I would stick with nylon monofilament leaders to begin with.

As far as flies are concerned, you might look for a western trout fly selection, again from any of the outfitters. I’d stick with flies in size 12 to 14. You can use these for bluegill, crappie, carp, bass, and trout.

As far as extra gear, the only things that I consider essential are a set of nippers and a set of hemostats. The rest is nice to have, but not necessary.

Standard Disclaimer: I am not associated in any way with Cabela's. Shop around, get a good deal, and save some money.

[Crank Bait]

That's some great information! Thank you for posting all that mark2olson!

[crappie&eyes]

Great post Mark! I tried fly fishing once and just couldn't get the hang of casting. I went through about $20.00 worth of flies before I gave up on it. I must have been casting to hard cause my flies kept coming back to me as just a bare hook!

[jasper707]

I would have to agree with most everything that has been said so far. Out of my 5 yrs of fly fishing I have learned a few important things. The rod makes the combo in fly fishing. The better the rod the easier it is to cast and the more enjoyable and addicting it becomes (not to mention it drastically improves the learning curve). Temple Forks Outfitters out of Texas makes some amazing and relatively well priced rods for the begginer to even the more advanced fly fisherman/woman. I perfer them over G loomis. From there find a reel that balances out well and as Mark said fits all your line and backing. Large arbor reels have become popular but I find them a bit bulky on smaller weighted rods. I have a cheap little Okuma on my 4wt that works great with an adjustable drag and all. For line Scientific Angler is my default either floating or sinking depending on what conditions you are fishing. Mark covered the leader well so all I'll say is be careful with those quick connection ones cause you don't want to be fighting a trophy and have that heat shrink or little eyelet come loose on you. For flies keep it simple and just find something that is close to what is naturally being eaten by the fish you are after. Whoolybuggers(leaches), gnats, mosquitoes, minows, frogs, and even rat streamers are all good but you have to present the right thing to the fish at the right time so it is nice to have a few options both wet and dry. The one extra item I suggest is some dry fly dope because if they are feeding at the surface and your fly is not riding high then you are going without fish. After 2 years of fly fishing in the florida waters and 3 yrs catching salmon, trout, grayling, pike, and char in Alaska all I can say is I hope everyone can enjoy fly fishing as much as I have. Good luck and good fishing.

[goose133]

What are the standard knots used to fasten the backing to main and main to leader and leader to lure. My boys talked me into getting them a tent and now they want to go to long pine. No 5th wheel,A/C,TV,stove top, oven,bed, man it won't seem like camping

Anyway I figured I would set them up with a couple fly rods and we can learn together.

Goose

[mark2olson]

Backing to reel, arbor knot.

Backing to fly line, albright knot.

Fly line to leader, you can attach a length of heavy mono filament to the fly line using the nail knot and then tie a perfection loop or a surgeon's loop in the mono filament. Then, tie a perfection loop or surgeon's loop on your leader and use a loop to loop connection to attach your leader. Alternatively, you can form a loop in the tip of your fly line and secure it with a nail knot. When I do this, I secure the nail knot with some aqua-seal to form a smooth connection. Then, I use a loop to loop connection for all my leaders. You can also get some slip on leader loops for the tip of your fly line as well.

For information on fishing knots, grog's is pretty good as is orvis,
Grog's Fishing Knots Index
Orvis_Knots

[goose133]

Thanks Mark,
Iwent out to Cabelas and lookedat some fly outfits. Pretty expensive any Ideas?

Goose

[jasper707]

You can get an okuma rig that 4-5weight that will not only be a good beginner rig but actually be a decent set up for a while for around $75 comes in a clear plastic tube. i know they have them at the Sportsman's up here in Alaska and I think I've seen them at Wal Mart before. It has the same reel on it that I use on my temple forks rod and it has seen some major abuse from red salmon, big pike, and countless trout and with some cleaning and oil it runs like a champ.

[goose133]

Thanks for the tip. Now that the boys got the great news about the deer regs changing to a minimum age of ten instead of twelve I might not get them to do anything but shoot the 30/30 and black powder all summer. It may not be Alaska but life is good.

Goose