[Closed] Fly Fishing for a beginner

Kit typically needed is very very different between river and reservoir. I'd say as a beginner to fly fishing learning to cast on a still water is much easier, river fishing IMO is far far more absorbing, but also much harder.

I'd get some casting lessons on the reservoir and then maybe book a days guiding/tuition on a river and see if you like it

It's all subjective, you can get away with a poor cast on a river when there's a ripple on. Register for fishpal, post what you have done on here, there'll be loads nearby. It truly is the grandest of pastimes....

Maybe read fly fishing by J.R.Hartley if you can find a copy?

I've tried it, and still dabble when time and child allow. The biggest thing was finding out what kind of line to use, floating/slow sinking/quick sinking/kind-of-sit-there-halfway-down/etc. I'm still not there, but in general if you can see trout going for insects on the surface then obviously use a floating line. If it's sunny/bright then use a sinking line as the fish don't like light too much - it's what type of sinking line I can't figure out.

Then you've got the flies. Just buy a mixed set off eBay rather than trying to tie your own. Which one to use? Who knows. I certainly don't. I just chop and change until something works.

Casting is an art in itself, but you can generally get OK by practising (without fly/hook! - the line is heavy enough itself) on the nearest open space. I practised on the field opposite my house. There are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube to get you started.

I enjoy it, despite catching very little, and it seems to hold a bit more of a gentlemanly air about it (according to my wife) than just sitting by a pond with a 4-pack of lager and a copy of Autotrader.

I enjoy it, despite catching very little

Some of the greatest days I've had on the river have seen not a single catch! 🙂

A quick google throws up this place, might be worth a try - http://www.flyfishthornton.co.uk/ I suspect this is the place you referred to in the OP, though. Not sure about the boats, mind you....

I'm blessed in that I live along one of the best trout rivers on the planet, but sadly my days on the banks are few and far between these days. A mixture of money and life getting in the way. Some, as here, http://www.orvis.co.uk/intro.aspx?subject=96 are open on occasion (Kimbridge and Wherwell are delightful!), but rather spendy to say the least. An invitation to a private beat is the way!

Yes that's the place Captain, I often ride my bike round it, theres always lots of anglers there mostly in the boats! Can't you find a quiet stretch of river and fish?

Can't you find a quiet stretch of river and fish?

Rarely. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riparian_water_rights

For example, there are houses in the village that are on the river, but despite seeing the trout glistening just inches from them, the owners don't own the fishing rights, so netting is right out of the question! 🙂

Nothing is ever straight forward is it 😆 So it's going to be expensive or expensive then?

Not necessarily! A lot of fun to be had on places like the reservoir you mention, but be wary....it's one of those things that can get under your skin!

I work with a lot of folks in Montana. When I tell them where I live, the fishers among them all ask me if I can get them a day on the river immediately! Then again, I ask them when I can come and fish their rivers, too.

Mine.
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Theirs.
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🙂

Just move to Wales, a year of excellent fishing costs about the same as an hour in Hampshire!

9ft #6/7 line, get 2 spools with floatind and a slow sinker and crack on. Will do most rivets/resrs. Bit like bikes, get something that's 'good enough' but affordable and decide what you like from there. Wets and nymphs to start. Do a bit of reading, have the crack with whoever's out. Would love to get back into it if I had the time.

Wow! Not too shabby eh Captain! So can you get me a day on the river?? 😉 😆 😆

Just move to Wales, a year of excellent fishing costs about the same as an hour in Hampshire!

Scarily, this is true!

Hard to beat a really good Itchen or Test beat, mind you. 🙂

Mitus - No. 😉

Maybe read fly fishing by J.R.Hartley if you can find a copy?

Oh aye, casting: lift slowly, when at 10 oclock (back to front) acvelerate it backward, keep the rod as vertical as possible: left to right. Stop at 1 oclock let the line "load the rod" then push the rod horizontally forward back to ten o'clock and let the line loop forward until it gently drops down. Don't pivot the wrist before 10 o'clock. Also don't confuse the preceding for a euphemism, although it almost certainly is.

Also don't confuse the preceding for a euphemism, although it almost certainly is.

😆

😯

Aye, geography is against you southerners, I can get a permit for any of our local rivers, all decent salmon waters, fir less than 50 quid a year.

My method for trout...worms and maggots! They'll out fish fly any day, all this mumbo jumbo about art and nature. No... it's about catching loads of big fish!

I've seen that before when I was at school other lads used to poach the res, nail in wall, line tied to nail + hook + worm = freezer full of trout and one fed up bailiff who couldn't run quick enough to catch them!

Dan. Shame on you.

Fished worm for trout since I was about ten. Used to catch loads in the wk burn, sometimes from pools the size of a flexi bucket! Feel all nostalgic thinking about it. So many swims in that burn have changed now and gone. Shame

River Irwell near Rammy is free.
🙂
Little margin pole and a bit of patience.

I'd love to have a proper go, let us know how you get on.

More pics of rivers, ta.

Get / wear a pair of specs.

Rocked up at a corporate day wearing rigger boots for a bit of fly fishing.

Gently had the pee taken out of me but spent the rest of the day in the greenest place I've every been .... nice lunch, bottle of something white and french and I then had a nice little kip on a dry spot I found under a willow.

Didn't catch a thing.... but it was lovely

CaptainFlashheart - Member

Just move to Wales, a year of excellent fishing costs about the same as an hour in Hampshire!

Scarily, this is true!

Hard to beat a really good Itchen or Test beat, mind you.

I grew up in Hampshire, fished the river whitewater one year for 300 quid.. this litle stream in Wales is pure limestone, crazy fly life, and was very similar for £35 a year (no fish caught in vid 😳 )

Or even better, my favourite little secret stream is free, check out the size of the fish at the end for the size of the stream:

😀

Had a poke about in John Norris yesterday, may be getting the bug again!

I'd love to be able to cast a fly line, I've got a half decent rod (Daiwa Whisker) & some really nice flies which were hand tied. Unfortunately I'm more used to whanging a 6oz sinker into the North sea & I think I'm a bit ham fisted.
A work colleague spends £££'s on salmon fishing. He's in some syndicate & gets to fish some serious water. He catches salmon weighing well over 15-20lbs & returns them. If he 'accidently' catches a brownie or sea trout he keeps them.
Fly fishing's a science.

Catch and release is a reality on all of my local rivers essel. Mainly due to the thick bastards under reporting their catches, so rivers have been deemed cat c, no salmon allowed to be taken. Retards.

Hard to beat a bit of fishing, this is one part of my local river.

Lot of rivers here c&r eve for trout, unless they are stocked. Not all though, nothing like a wild brownie fried ASAP after being caught.

Haven't fished all last season, maybe next year will dust off the rods 🙂

The Greys kit is excellent- I have a stream flex 4wt, and it is a joy to cast. Also, the Airflo stuff does not break the bank.

However, I'd start with something a little heavier, especially if you want to start on still waters. a 6/7 wt, intermediate line.

If you get in touch with the local trout fishery, they will have a contact to have a few lessons with, which I would recommend. With casting you can get in to a few bad habits, and its best to get these rectified early on. Or get in touch with GAIA, the game angling instructors association.

Get confident on the lakes, then think about the rivers later on.

You can also fish for coarse fish on the fly. I do a lot of my Pike fishing on the fly, chucking big budgies on a 10wt. Great fun. You can also use that 10wt for carp, just tying some dog biscuit imitations with deer hair. In fact, I am just about to head to my local river with the fly rod for some Chub fishing!

But fly fishing is brilliant, fun and is not just limited to trout! You may also want to start tying your own flies at a later date, which is really rewarding tying a fly then catching on it. Tight lines!