A Newbie?s Journey:
My wife bought an inexpensive fly rod and reel for me for Christmas. I?ve practiced casting in the back yard and I can pretty much put a straight cast where I want it. I?ve also practiced the roll cast in our pool because I’ve found that the resistance that the water puts on your line makes all the difference when trying to learn to roll cast.
I?ve only been out fly fishing 4 times so far. But each time I go I learn a little bit more. I went to our local river Tuesday evening after work and as I was hiking back to the car I realized how much I?ve learned so far. I thought I?d share that with you and hopefully let other newbies know they?re not alone in their struggles.
As I said, I?ve only been out a few times. I tend to lose 4 or 5 flies to trees and bushes each time. I have all the normal problems. I get wind knots, I hang up my fly in the trees, my knots come untied. I had a very cheap set of nylon waders but they leaked after the first time out and the 2nd time out the ripped wide open.
First lesson: $20 nylon waders from the local sporting goods store are worthless.
On Tuesday I drove 15 minutes to the Bear River just downstream from Rollins Lake in the foothills of the Sierra mountains. Not having waders I knew I would be fishing from the bank. So I hiked in a ways until the trail brought me to a series of slow moving pools below some riffles. I found a spot on the bank with low bushes behind me and I rigged up with a 6x tapered leader and a pale evening dun fly. Knowing that I?ve lost flies just because my knots were bad I decided to really concentrate on making my improved cinch knot perfect.
Second lesson: Wetting the line and pulling the knot tight quickly seem to make all the difference.
About 10 feet out there?s a rock with a dark, deep pool on the downstream side. I approached the stream low and quietly and roll cast to the darkness. OK, I didn?t get a rise, but I was able to cast a dozen times or so and didn?t hang up my line so that?s good. Then I tried casting further out to another dark hole. I kept my back cast up above the bushes and about half of my cast actually went fairly close to where I wanted them to go. It was as if all that casting practice actually helped.
On the other hand, back home in the yard I can cast wherever I want. Out on the river everything seems to change.
Third lesson: just go do it. You?ll make mistakes and tangle your line, but casting on a river is totally different and you?ll learn a lot just by trying.
I moved upstream to another big pool and this time I just snuck up to the river and sat behind a rock looking for a rise. I couldn?t see anything straight on. But I kept thinking that I was seeing something out of the corner of my eye. I?d turn and there would sometimes be a tiny circle of ripples but most of the time nothing. I wondered if I saw anything at all.
I was able to do about 2 dozen cast before I caught my fly in the tree behind me. But this time the knot held and I was able to gently retrieve my fly. I still wasn?t getting any bites and I couldn’t even see fish rising. I did see little white flies about the size of my pale evening dun fly so I probably picked the right fly, but I’m starting to wonder if there are fish in this river.
Since I couldn?t seem to get a fish to rise I just practiced watching my fly on the water. I paid close attention to how my fly line laid in the water and how the current played with the line and the fly. I started to see how when the line was in the current a certain way the fly would drift naturally. But if the line laid out a different way the fly would start to drag and then get pulled under. OK, so that must be what all this ?natural drift? talk is about. I could see what Doug Swisher was talking about on the casting DVD I have. I tried to do the reach cast but it just wasn’t working out. I think more practice is needed.
I finally lost my fly in another tree. But at least I?ve been fishing with it for over an hour instead of losing a fly every 5 minutes and taking another 5 minutes to get that darn cinch knot tied. So I decided to try a bead head nymph and fish under the surface.
Lesson Four: Wow, casting with a tiny bit of weight on your line is REALLY different. I ended up pausing on my back cast even longer than I was before because I could feel the nymph pop as it changed directions on my backcast.
I got about 4 cast in before I lost the nymph in a tree. By that time it was really starting to get dark and I had a couple steaks waiting at home for dinner. So I hiked out and just enjoyed the incredible view.
It feels like every time I go out I?m getting just a little bit better. I?m tying my knots are a little bit faster, I?m getting more cast in before I tangle my fly in a tree, I?m starting to see how get a natural drift, I can SEE and HEAR when my fly presentation on the water is nice and gentle vs. splashing down. I?ve still never caught a fish while fly fishing but each time I feel like I?m a little bit better than the last time. Each time I feel a little bit more confident.
Now, if I could only find a darn fish.
), I would sit while watching TV with a piece of 12 lb test and a bass hook and practice the knots I wanted to use. For fly to tippet, I settled on the
