aspiring fly fisherman

[redbike1217]

Hello all.

I've used spinning and casting rods and tackle for years, and I want to try out a fly rod that I received as a birthday gift. The rod came in a kit, with backing, line, leader, and 4 flies. I have some questions, and would appreciate some help. How much backing, line, and leader do I put on my reel? Also, I have 3 flys; 1 black, 1 white and 1 chartruese. Is there a certain name for those flys, or do they just named by the color? Just wondering. One more question. What flies work best for smallmouth, walleye, perch, carp and pike?

Thanks.

Don
Michigan

[JohnScott]

Don -

Greetings and welcome from SE Idaho.

Can't help you on fishing for smallmouth, walleye, perch, carp and pike. But not to worry, someone with good ideas for your kind of fishing will come along soon.

Unless you are going to catch BIG fish, you don't really need backing. But it is good to have enough on the reel to almost fill it up between the backing and the fly line.

What to do about the leader tends to depend on the kind of fishing you are doing, so I'm going to leave that to someone more familiar with what you are after. Along the same lines, I suspect that the flies you have are streamers. Maybe you can give a more detailed description so folks can be more helpful ??

John

P.S. Be sure to ask about everything that comes to mind - helps keep this place lively. But also take advantage of FAOL by reading "all" the material from the menus on the home page, and reading through older threads on the BB.

[J Castwell]

Put enough backing on your reel to cause the fly line to come up to about a 1/4 of an inch from the rim, ie. full.

[mcsteff]

I'm in SW Michigan (near the St. Joe River). What part of MI do you live in? There are a lot of Michiganders on the board. Perchance one of us would be near to you to help. I think the white fly is called the white fly, and the black fly is called the black fly and...oh well, you get the idea. A Woolly Bugger (see here) would be a good place to start. Also go on over to the Warm Water forum and introduce yourself to those fellows; lots of help over there!
Welcome Don.
mcsteff

[FishnDave]

Don,
J Castwell's advice about backing is right on the money. John is right, you probably won't get to your backing often, but if you start tangling with carp, you WILL get into your backing!

Backing goes on the reel first. Next, you'll put ALL of the Fly Line on the reel. Then the leader will go on last. If its a tapered leader that came with your kit, use the whole thing. Its probably 7'-9' long. Tie the thickest end to the fly line. There's sections on this website that you can access from the home page (not the forums), that give EXCELLENT descriptions of how to do all this (which knots to use where, etc).

On this FAOL website, and also using Google, you can search for good species-specific fly patterns, and see how those recommendations match up to what you have already.

Using fly-fishing tackle takes some getting used to....mainly understanding that you are casting the line, NOT the lure. I still use spinning gear at times, but over the past few years I've used fly tackle more and more...its just so much fun, and can often be the best choice to fool fish!

Best of luck and success with your new adventure!

[Greg H]

Notwithstanding the excellent advice available on this website, I think you should buy a book. In recent years the default location for information has been the internet, but a good book with LOTS of pictures will explain things well and be easy to refer to. A few examples are ORVIS and LL Bean .

On this site, start here.

[jimsnarocks]

Redbike, Welcome to FAOL. I thought I posted this a few days ago. Oh well. CRS. Anyway there is a lot of info to be gleaned from the pages of FAOL. Also inquire around where you live for local fly fishing clubs. There you will meet like minded folks and get a lot of hands on help. Good luck.Jimsnarocks

[10ae1203]

The best advice I got when I was starting out with casting was to have a wrist motion like hammering. It isn't a semi-circular motion, but rather a linear motion with a snap at either end.

Another way to look at it: The guy at the fly shop had a short length of dowel with a punctured tennis ball on one end. Hold the dowel with the ball op in the air. Try to flick the ball off the rod with a circular motion - doesn't work.

Have fun.

[MikelC]

to FAOL and the wonderful world of flyfishing. I live about halfway between Lansing and Detroit. Have nothing to add the the already great advice from our fellow members, just wanted to introduce myself. If you ever need a fishing buddy for a little flyfishing, give me a shout on PM.

Mike

[hungNtree]

Don,

Hi. You have just found the most helpful site and some of the best people on the web. I am brand new to fly fishing too, and I would have gave up along time ago if not for FAOL. I have asked all kinds of dumb questions, and everyone has been extremely patient and helpful. As a matter of fact, it is just nice to know that there is still people in the world like the ones here.