EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (well almost)

January 18, 2010

If you’ve been around Fly Anglers OnLine (FAOL) for a while you may already know everything you need to know - and even can find everything you need help with right here on FAOL. But if you’re new around these parts, here is a little help to get you off on the right foot and hopefully catching fish! After all, that’s the name of the game right?

If you are really, really new start here: https://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/101/ Fly Fishing 101. This section contains literally everything a person needs to go out and catch fish. Really.
No need to buy a bunch of books, videos or take a class. People have used this section as the one and only resource to learn to successfully fly fish. I’ve got the letters to prove it. 

Now that I think of it, even you might get a tip or two you didn’t know by reading it too. Just saying....

For more on where the fish are, Bob Boese (Coach Bob) has a column which puts it into terms you just can’t miss. You’ve got to read https://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/bobboese/051109.php Solitaire. Bob even has pictures with captions to show where the fish are. If you missed this one back in May of 2009 best you go back and catch up.

Is your casting a problem? Well so is mine, but just because it’s raining out and I can’t get out to practice. Did I mention a dirty word? Practice? Well live with it. If you know how to cast and don’t practice, Shame on You. You won’t ever get any better (or keep the level of competence you have now) if you don’t practice, you will use it or lose It.

Don’t really know how to cast? Okay, we can fix that. The very best short explanation of the casting motion and method was done by my late husband here: https://www.flyanglersonline.com/oldsite/articles/cst/cst19397.php  HOW TO CAST. The very best way to use it is to print it out, take it outside with you and your rod. Follow the instructions.  Just do it. It works.

Fly Tying? FAOL without a doubt has the best free instruction available anywhere. The author of the series is the late Al Campbell. Al was a terrific person with a passion for teaching tying.

His series works on the idea of teaching something and adding to it with each lesson.  The photos are excellent and he tells it like it is.  Start with https://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/ Beginning Fly Tying and work your way through Intermediate and Advanced Tying. When you’ve exhausted all those, prepare yourself, you’re at https://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/atlantic/ Atlantic Tying. Scroll down past the Contests to the The Flies (includes lessons and individual flies with recipe). You will also find articles on materials and tools and recommended reading.  It is all there.

Someone asked about spinning deer hair on the Bulletin Board recently.  Of course someone recommended Chris Helm - and I’m sure they were not aware we have terrific instruction for doing the spinning and trimming in, guess where, Al Campbell’s instructions in the Intermediate Section.  He also does some marvelous warm water flies out of spun deer hair, see the https://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/intermediate/part38.php Deer Hair Perch and Crappie.

Videos on how to use a whip finisher, both the Matarelli style and Thompson style whip finisher are in Part 6 of Beginning Fly Tying, and the hand whip finish method is in an old LadyFisher column (1998)  https://www.flyanglersonline.com/oldsite/articles/ldy/ldy110298.php column. The animated version is also found here: https://flyfishprofessionals.com/anim_whip.html.

One more thing - with as much information available as we have here on FAOL, I really can understand people posting their questions on the Bulletin Board instead of trying to find the subject via our SEARCH feature (found in the box, left-hand menu, front/main page) and also half way down the front/main page, or at the bottom left of the menu at the bottom of each page.

If for example you type in hand whip finish into the SEARCH feature, you will get 1065 matches. Going to the bottom of that page gives you the option of cutting down the matches by requiring the SEARCH to match “all words”. That brought up 549 matches, all three methods are in the first 5 matches. That is pretty simple and effective. Try it you may be surprised.

No, we don’t have everything on FAOL - yet, but you might be surprised at what really is here!

The Ladyfisher

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