# Fly Fishing help



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Does anyone here fly fish? I was told last summer that the creek just a block away is one of the "finest fly yfishing streams" in the US. You couldn't prove it by me, but I have a couple of kids that I think would enjoy the sport. They got to pier fish at camp and liked that. But the neighbors said that our creek is not that good for regular fishing. Neither dh nor I know a thing about it. The closest we have been to fishing is lake side fishing and only once or twice. My ds birthday is coming in March and I thought he might like to learn if we got him some things to get him started. (He will be 10.) Where do I start? Or is this a bad idea?


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## netexan (Jan 3, 2008)

I started fly fishing at the same age as your son some 29 years ago. It's not neccesarily an easy sport but it's not nearly as tough to do as some would lead you to believe. My advice would be to find someone in the area that can help him get started as there are some very different techniques involved with the gear as opposed to standard fishing equipment. Check your phone book and see if you can find a fly shop in your area as they will be able to get you and your son headed in the right direction with gear, tips, practice and advice.


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

Find a pond and practice casting for sunnies and bass. If you can hook sunnies, trout will be easy. Sometimes I would rather use a little popper for sunnies than dries for trout.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Fly fishing is best learned by being shown/taught. Either find someone who's willing to teach or sign up to take a class or two. There's just a whole lot more to it than flippin' a fly on the end of a line.......


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

One of our seasonal neighbors fly fishes. He will be back in May. Right now I need to get equipment since I think it sounds like something he could do.


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## netexan (Jan 3, 2008)

Several companies sell starter outfits, cabela's, orvis, etc. ranging in price from less than $100 to well over $500. The first thing you will need to do though is figure out what you need based on what type of water you'll mainly be fishing; streams, large rivers or lakes, and what will you be fishing for; bass, bluegills, small trout? All of these things play a factor in choosing a rod as line weight and length of the rod depend on how it is to be used.


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## Riverrat (Oct 14, 2008)

You should, as some on here already stated, find someone to show you the basics, how to start the cast and the proper way to lay out a line. Then you practice your casting, you do not need to be out over water to do this, practice in your yard. Break the hook end off and use the rest of the fly to practice casting. One piece of advice from a long time fly fisherman, wear a broad brim hat, epically while learning' it hurts to get hooked in the back of your ear, or the side of your head.....I have been fly fishing for Atlantic Salmon, and trout for over 30 years, and look forward to it each year. Good luck, but most of all have fun doing it.


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

And once you get them set up, I will donate flies for them to use. I tie flies and the cost of mailing costs more than the materials to tie with.

I would suggest you get your rod and reel on Ebay. Way way less than $100 to 500 dollars. Here are some good links to good setups for the young-uns:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-FLY-FISHING-ROD-REEL-COMPAC-JAPAN-LOT-OF-2_W0QQitemZ220356462467QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Fishing?hash=item220356462467&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Nice-Shakespeare-Wonderod-Fly-Rods_W0QQitemZ200308503324QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVintage_Fishing?hash=item200308503324&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Orvis-Green-Mountain-WF7F-Fly-Line-NR_W0QQitemZ380102319437QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item380102319437&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A5

http://cgi.ebay.com/WF8F-AQUANOVA-FLY-FISHING-LINE-NEW_W0QQitemZ220357622423QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item220357622423&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

These are pretty good examples of what is available on Ebay. The three rods are good older Shakespeare fiberglass rods, Fly reels are just storage places for fly line, and rods such as these are designed to handle weight Forward 7 or 8 lines, especially with a new flycaster.

You should be able to get all of the auctions above for a total of $75 or less and that is for 3 rods, 2 reels and 2 lines. For a leader you would just use either a tapered leader or if fishing for panfish a 6-7 foot length of 6 pound monofilament line will work.

PM me if you desire and I will give you both my email and phone. If you have questions about auctions, etc I am glad to help

To get the links loaded just copy and paste them into your web browser.


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

netexan - pm me with where in Texas you are. If we are close we should get together to fish. As for the yarn - I could get it in lesser quantities for many times the price - go figure. 

Isn't it odd that the two fly tyers on here are from Texas and most fly fishing takes place in other parts of the country. You would expect every person from Colorado or Idaho would be a fly fisherman


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Thanks, everyone! I am bidding on the items on ebay!


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

If you just want to catch the fish, trout will also bite worms, marshmallows, corn, salmon eggs, etc. 

You can tie a fly several feet below a bobber or casting bubble and catch trout without a fly rod, too.

I got the cheapest fly rod I could find to teach myself years ago, then did the same with DW last year. You don't ever want to hear the line crack like a whip, that usually means you just popped your fly off. Once you learn to feel the line pulling against the rod, you're on your way.


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## Drew Cutter (Dec 30, 2008)

When buying fly fishing rod and reel. Spend the money on the rod . The reel is design to hold the line. According to a fly fishing web site i subscribe to S.W South dakota has few place fly fish. No shops were listed. Best bet is Orvis .


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

Here's what flyfishingcommunity says about our stream.



> Boxelder Creek is a fly fishing destination in South Dakota that offers great scenery, easy access, light pressure, and nice populations of stocked and wild rainbows, browns, and brookies. The hopper fly fishing is very productive.


This stream is just an 1/8 of a mile down the street.  Last summer one of our neighbors (seasonal neighbor) said he was pulling 16" trout out of it.

Black Hills Fishing Areas

It should do for fishing.


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

Tying foam hoppers, crickets, and beetles for your boys is a simple matter. Do a google search on foam flies to see what they look like.


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## netexan (Jan 3, 2008)

16 inches is a good trout anywhere. I wish y'all lots of luck and years of enjoyment with this new hobby.


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

Micheal said:


> Fly fishing is best learned by being shown/taught. Either find someone who's willing to teach or sign up to take a class or two. There's just a whole lot more to it than flippin' a fly on the end of a line.......


One can find excellent videos on fly casting in any sporting goods store. When I started the ideal method was keeping one's arm tight to the body and just using the wrist, and it hurt after a while. Now it is recommended that the whole shoulder and arm be used , letting the rod do the work. I agree if one can find a class to go to, that is the best way. Just watch out for the purists who gag when one says they put a worm on their hook and let it work the holes.


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

"Best bet is Orvis ."

Best bet is Orvis if you have bunches of money to spend that need not be spent. The early Shakespeare white Howald Process fiberglass rods are as good as they come, light as a feather, and inexpensive to buy on Ebay. I'll match my 7'6" Shakespeare 4wt against anything Orivis has, especially since the Orvis rods are graphite which has a harsh fast tip vs older fiberglass that has a sweet slower action that is a pleasure to cast. If you want to slap your line and leader on the water then get the Orvis. When you get really good then you can graduate to my Phillipson Pacemaker bamboo - now that's sweet. Going to the Bamboo from a graphite requires that you learn a whole new way of casting.

My 3 best Shakespeare fiberglass rods plus my 2 bamboo rods total can all be bought for about the same cost as 1 Orvis Rod.


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## netexan (Jan 3, 2008)

Slow down a minute there Yucca. I fish an Orvis rod a 9' 6wt that is a tip flex, or fast action rod. It is my rod of choice when the wind is up or if I'm fishing large bodies of water like lakes where there's always some wind. It is a fairly expensive rod but I've literally put thousands of hours on it while working as a guide in both Alaska and Wyoming and I've never had a problem. It is not an ideal rod for a lot of situations, small streams being one of them but then again I have other rods for that, however it does have it's uses.
For a new fly fisherman I don't recommend spending the money that it would take to get you a top end Orvis rod and in this matter I agree with you about looking for an older rod. That said, Please be a little bit kinder to my graphite baby as I was thinkin' about trying for a bass or two out in the pond today and I don't want her feelings hurt before we go. lol.


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

OK - you can guess I am OLDer and not a fan of graphite. Maybe I might warm up to the new Hexagraph rods which can be made to "imitate" bamboo. My main complaint was the cost of the graphite, especially ORVIS and the fact that with 2 kids and maybe a DH wanting to learn to fly fish Orvis is definitely not the way an average family might go. The average family doesn't shop at Niemann Markus (Needless Markup) either. I suspect the auction I pointed out to the OP will go for 3 rods for less than $50.00. That plus some 5-10 dollar reels and some weight forward lines gets them into tackle that could probably last them a lifetime for sane money. My Howald Process Shakespeares that I fish every year were made around 1950. So far that is approaching 60 years of reliable fishing. They are slower action that allows for soft presentation of flies and since I have 4 different weight/length rods, I can fish just about anything I want to throw. My 9 foot will throw a big bass bug, as well as throwing dry flies if I need to reach out there or of it is really windy.

Here's something to discuss - Have you ever fished FURLED leaders??


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## netexan (Jan 3, 2008)

Yucca, The only leaders I fish are the ones I tie up. Over the years I've owned quite a few bamboo rods as well as a few fiberglass. I do like the soft forgiving action of the bamboo and I enjoy the feeling of nastalgia that they provide me when fishing with them. Sadly though I have to say that I no longer have any as I parted with them while caught up in the "wonder rod" craze of the 90's. Lately though I've been thinking about picking up another one or two thanks mainly to this thread.


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## bassflyrodder (May 6, 2007)

If you go to flyanglersonline.com and post in the general forum that you are looking to learn to fly fish I bet you will find someone willing to meet you in person and show you the ropes. Another source would be to contact your local chapter of trout unlimited. Lots of times they have programs for youth another group is the Federation of Fly Fishers. Another potential source is a local rod and gun club. Most any outdoor group would be glad to introduce youth in to outdoor persuits. I would show you but I am in PA a little to far for a trip. If you need any help e-mail me at [email protected]

Tight lines,

Pete


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

Furled leaders are old old technology using modern materials. I have never fished a better leader. You can easily make them yourself - here are some links:

http://www.dragon-flyfishing.com/page10.html

http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/gear/brown_furled_leader.aspx

http://www.peninsulaflyfishers.org/Tackle/furled_leader/furled_leader.html

http://www.hatchesmagazine.com/page/may2006/185

http://www.bamboorodmaking.com/html/making_furled_leaders.html


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## YuccaFlatsRanch (May 3, 2004)

I have 3 bamboo that I use, and I use all that I have. My uncle gave me a Phillipson Pacemaker 8.5 ft when I was 10. I'm a few months shy of 60 and it was not new when I got it. Still looks and works like new. I have an 8 foot Montague Rapidan, and an 8 ft Kingfisher which was made by Heddon. All are in pretty much pristine condition. Ebay has some good deals on Bamboo, in fact there are several Heddon, and several Granger (and Granger by Wright McGill) that are currently available. I watch carefully for sleepers all the time. Am looking for a mid-section for an Horrocks-Ibbotson Saranac. I got a great butt section and 2 great tips for a buck at a yard sale. Someday the middle will show up.


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