I want to know how to use,create and choose flys, flyrods ect… Any good thing shere or otherwise to read or watch … Let me know! i am primarlily interested in using it for sunfish ect…
Welcome to the dark side. 
The main page of this website has tons of info. I haven’t ff for sunfish so I can’t help you on the particulars, but did want to welcome you aboard and point out the main page.
Hi Bigbird73,
Welcome! Be sure to go to the “warmwater” bulletin board on this site, and look through the historical posts, and you will find lots of information on bluegill fishing. Also look though the history of Rick’s articles in the Features section from the home page. Lots of information there and in the lake fishing history. When you get to the point of asking questions, the warm water board and main boards are great places to do that.
Welcome and regards,
Gandolf
RUN AWAY!! NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!!!
[SIZE=2]Welcome to the board. There’s a bunch of helpful people here, and a few non helpful ones, to get you off to the right start. Hang on for the ride of your life!!
[/SIZE]
Betty put it in a Nut Shell. You will have a great time at FAOL Where there are many good folks willing to help. Have a ball. jax
The secret is: You beat the water into such a froth the fish run out on the bank to escape injury, then you scoop them up in your net.
All seriousness aside, welcome to the board, bream are a great place to start and a world of fun to catch and eat without guilt. Bream are not really fussy about flies being the fish version of a teenage boy ("I think I can get that in my mouth!!!). For the foreseeable future do not let your wife, daughter, mom, sis, or other family member throw away old flip flops. Be nice to your friends who hunt anything. Squirrel tails, buck tails, all kind of game bird feathers are good stuff.
Remember there are no dumb questions, you will be hard put to come up with idea someone here has not already tried and is still using or gave up on (which doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.)
Here are simple starter patterns that will catch panfish.
http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=60939&#entry536805http://gotflyfishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-patterns-and-color-combos.html
http://bigbluegill.com/group/flytyingandspecificinstructionsonly/forum/topics/tokyo-spider
I think you’ve gotten some terrific advise so far, so I won’t try to add too much. However, as a way to welcome you to FAOL, I would like to offer you some sample patterns if you’d like. I mainly fish warm water and I focus on easy to tie patterns that catch fish. Send me a PM with your shipping address and I’ll drop them in the mail to you. Jim Smith
Welcome! I reco you check out your local library for fly fishing books first. The ones by Orvis and LL Bean are especially comprehensive ones. and there’s a ton of information available on the Net, including the links you’ll find on the home page here. As you read them, you may have questions on things you don’t understand. The FAOL forums are great places to ask those questions.
Next comes buying your gear. Go to www.cabelas.com and order a copy of their fly fishing (not fishing) catalog. They hae a wider selection of gear than most fly shops so you can see what is available to you and what it costs. If you have a good fly shop near you, I encourage you to buy there when you can. Keeping a good fly shop in business is in your best interests. There are other good catalogs and online stores where you can buy stuff. I’m recommending getting the Cabela’s catalog at the start because it is so extensive. If you have questions about gear, this is a good place to ask for advice and opinions.
As you start fly fishing, you will encounter situations where you need advice. Come back here again.
I reco you start by fly fishing using purchased flies and, if you find you really enjoy it, then take up fly tying. You’ll find a link to some great fly tying instruction on the home page here. It is very well thought out and was state of the art when it was done by the late Al Campbell.
FAOL forums are extremely welcoming and helpful to newbies. No question will be treated as a dumb one. You’ll get more respect, though, if it is obvious that you are also putting some time into learning “on your own” when it is easy for you to do it.
Hope this helps!
Big bird, put a hook in your vice. Attach some thread and reach down to pluck a feather from your belly. Attach it at the stem and wind it forward. tie off and go fishing.
(Betty did warn you about the not so helpful people)
Welcome to FAOL from SoCal. New guy tends the fire and brings donuts. Seriously, there’s a lot of good information here so just kick back and learn what you need. Jim
I would swing by Cabelas and check out their Three Forks rod and reel combos. A 5-weight rod is what most consider for “all around” use… kind of like a medium-light spinning rod. For panfish alone, I would suggest a 3-weight… kind of the equivalent of a light action spinning rod. The Three Forks setup comes ready to go. Reel loaded with backing, floating line, and a leader. Just add a fly and start in on em.
Leaders: I prefer a leader/tippet length about as long as the rod I am using. Leaders are tapered… thick where it attaches to your floating line, tapering down to whatever you like. This helps you lay everything out straight (you will hear the term “turn over”). For panfish, I like a 4x or 5x leader. Some folks will attach a short (1-2ft) piece of non-tapered line onto their leader to extend the life of the leader. This way you are cutting cheap level line each time you change flies instead of leader. This level line we call tippet. I use a small spool of Trilene XL monofilament line that most use for spin fishing. It is way cheaper than stuff labeled as “tippet” and just as good for what you are after.
Flies: panfish will try and eat most anything you put in front of them. BIG panfish are more picky. Brightly colored poppers with hooks size 8-12 are fun if they are hitting top water. Size 8-12 black woolly buggers, small minnow looking flies, and bead head nymphs in a size 10 or 12 would get you started. For nymphs, try hares ear nymphs, prince nymphs and pheasant tail nymphs.
Start with that. If you need anything, please please please feel free to give me a shout!
Welcome aboard.
Since even very small 'gills will swallow fairly large flies, I seldom fish anything small than size 12 flies for them. Also, make sure you have a pair of forceps, Ketchum Release tool, or something similar to help you remove the hooks without injuring the fish you wish to return.
If you are new to fly casting, I would start out with at least a 6-weight rod and line because it will be easier to cast. Remember that the rod casts the line and the line casts the fly. With spinning, baitcasting, and spincasting gear, it is the weight of the terminal tackle which drags the line out behind it. The heavier 6-wt line tends to be easier to cast than the lighter equipment you might favor when you have more experience.
Regards,
Ed
I’ve never used a fly rod in warm water, but can possibly help interpret.
The rod “weight” generally refers to how much it bends in response to a pull from the end of the line - be that from a fish or the weight of the fly as you cast it. Bigger fish require higher weight rods.
BigBird73,
Don’t let the others here try to make it sound like it is difficult to catch sunfish/warmwater fish on a fly rod. Here is the secret that we use here in Tennessee and I am only sharing it because you sound like a good guy:
Get a boat/canoe, a bag of chewing tobacco and a ball bat. You will not need any fly rod or flies.
Paddle the boat out to a good looking spot and anchor. Sprinkle a little chewing tobacco on the water around the boat and wait. The fish will come up and take the tobacco thinking it is a bug or food of some sort. After waiting a short spell, pick up the ball bat and get ready. When the fish come up to spit, hit them in the head with the ball bat. Now that is all that is needed.
Welcome to FAOL from Tennessee!!! Go to the main home page and on the left top corner you will come across “FOTW”. “Click” on it and you will find fly patterns with step-by-step tying instructions in pictures. “FOTW” stands for fly of the week and there will be flies and patterns for each week from 1997 to (I believe) 2011. That should keep you busy for awhile.
You have found a great place to belong here on FAOL. We believe in sharing and don’t mind doing it.
PS - Try to keep the Tennessee Secret on fishing for bluegill with tobacco and a ball bat to yourself. Very few people know about it…WELCOME, FRIEND!!!
Welcome BigBird, as you have probably read already, you are in for one heck of a ride! Welcome from SW Wyoming, and from one who has never fished for what you look for. OH YEA the newcomers bring the doughnuts!
It looks like you are in Burleson. So, there are several options for free introduction to fly fishing classes near you. Bass Pro near DFW airport has a free introduction class each Sat and Sun morning, the Ft Worth Cabela’s also started offering classes, but I don’t know their schedule. The Dallas Orvis shop will be offering their free Fly Fishing 101 classes most weekend starting in April and going thourgh June. I’m planning to help with the casting classes at several of these sessions.
And, both Dallas and Ft Worth both have very active fly fishing clubs with members that would be happy to help you get started. The Ft Worth club just announced that their annual casting clinic will be May 7. Multiple casting instructors participant and anyone that wants help with their casting skills is welcome to attend.
Good luck!
Welcome to FAOL Big Bird from Colorado ! New guy brings the beer ! Fly fishing is a delicious addiction and you will find many fellow addicts here. Explore the website and please ask a lot of questions. You may get funny answers, but you’ll get answers !
welcome from another newb. Maybe we can learn this flyfishing for panfish as the same time.