I’m interested in having a go. What’s the easiest way of getting into it? Small lakes, trout, dry or wet?

Easiest way is wet flies/lures on a stocked trout fishery.

It’s also really worth getting a lesson, or going with someone who knows what they’re doing, or you’ll end up getting really pissed off at how much of a mess you’ll end up in.

I love It, haven’t done it for years, but I’ll go back to it at some point.

Go to your local fishing tackle shop and ask for advice on where to go locally, kit will depend on that, they should also be able to put you in touch with any local clubs. Personally I wouldn’t go near stocked fisheries as I hate the places but depending on where you live there may not be many other options without travelling. If you have no-one to show the basics then an hour or two with a coach will set you up.

Yes, stockie bashing is grim km, but it’s a great place to learn casting and get a bit of confidence. It’s far too difficult to learn from scratch on a river.

Jim, where are you located?

Definitely get a lesson first of all, the casting does take some time to get use to, and best to learn how to do it properly now.

Many local tackle shops do not stock fly gear or have limited knowledge of fly fishing (most are just match or carp anglers), so you may have to find a specialist store or even your local Orvis store if you have one. Check out GAIA for a local instructor.

A local stocked fishery is the way to go.

If you want a half decent kit but not breaking the bank. Airflo do a kit for 69.99. Bargain. Especially if you are trying to see if you enjoy it or not first of all. I got my FiL one and he seems to really enjoy using it.

Wear a cap and glasses though! those flies can be bloody lethal!

There’s a book on the subject I hear is worth getting

[video]https://youtu.be/CeicexenTmU[/video]

a few lakes near me rent the kit as well. I had a session in north yorks, all kit provided, good guidance etc.

I never catch much, but its still fun. weirdly meditative moving slowly, watching the water, casting as gently as possible and then when you get a fight on it comes as quite a shock!

i learnt from scatch on rivers. you often dont need to cast to far either so they can be good for learning. sea trout fishing is my method, at night. nothing better, your senses are in overdrive.

Why fly fish when you can trot a bunch of red maggots down the swim and catch 3 times as much!?

Why trot a bunch of red maggots down the swim when you can lob in a trace of treble hooks and jig out 3 times as much!?

I reckon I could throw some pretty far

km79 – Member
Why trot a bunch of red maggots down the swim when you can lob in a trace of treble hooks and jig out 3 times as much!?

POSTED 51 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

I doubt it.

Lucky enough to have the River Itchen at the bottom of the garden, so can fly fish to my heart’s content. However I grew up in the black country and learnt to fish on the cut (canal for non-yamyams). I even used to practice on the road outside our house, which must have looked weird. If you are near Winchester then I can offer a try out on the river, but it is probably much better to start on a still water and get a lesson.

At the moment it is duffer’s fortnight with a massive mayfly hatch so the fish are jumping round like loonies. It still takes a bit of skill to catch them, but once you have some of the basics then you are away. I actually like the fly tying as much as the fishing as I have a look during the day and tie a fly to match those on the river. I think it is as much about learning about the river as it is about the fish.

Itchen? That dribble? 😉

I’ve got the better trout river here. 🙂 Sadly don’t get to fish on it anything like as much as I’d like to!

I’m in Shropshire and there doesn’t seem to be lots of fisheries local. No doubt some great rivers in Wales. I too fancy the tieying. I imagine I’ll probably put it off until I’m too old to enjoy biking but I think that’s going to be a long time away.

Jim, there is some awesome fishing in rivers like the Teme. Some have day tickets, but there is quite a bit if you know where to look. My folks live round there so I will ask to see if there any recommendations.

Flashy, yes it is a dribble but a 2 lb greying and a the same for a wild brownie was not a bad outcome for 1/2 an hour on a little mayfly this afternoon.

I think I’ll try & get into fly fishing up here in North Yorks. I’m mainly a sea angler but the winter season has been dire on the NE coast, even the boats aren’t getting much as yet.
A colleague at work spends big money on salmon fishing by fly, he’s in some syndicate with waters that cost a fortune to fish & nearly all are catch & return. I’ve seen photo’s of him with 25-30lb Salmon that he’s put back. He’s also a member of the Fly Tiers Guild & gives lessons etc.
Unlike me, I reckon he knows his stuff!

Was only kidding, Manton!

On the river front though, amusing tale to tell. I have an office in Montana, amid some of the most astonishing landscape I know, with some truly epic fishing. One night, over beer in a local bar, got talking to a guy and fishing cropped up in conversation. He asked where I live. I told the name of hte village, he didn’t know it. I mentioned the river, he knew it. His next words were, “Can you get me some time on the river there?”

I learnt to cast in a field first, definitely worth doing if you can. I don’t know where you live but if you can find one of those lochs that are full of small keen pan-size fish it will make learning more pleasurable than not catching anything for ages, alternatively a stocked lake or something.

Nowadays I’m more than happy to spend the day catching nothing at all in a beautiful wild place though.

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Absolutely kicking myself for leaving the big camera in the car and only having a badly scratched phone lens but hopefully this shot conveys some of what makes #assynt my favourite place to be. A slow moving shower passed by #quinag and caught the last of the sun giving a long lasting #rainbow. The #midges were horrendous and are clearly visible in many of the shots I took! #mountains #scotland #igscotland #highlands #lochinver #flyfishing #igersscotland

A post shared by @ jim_jimski on Sep 4, 2016 at 3:12pm PDT

Did a little in the sea years ago. Now purely spinning sea and rivers

Jim, there is some awesome fishing in rivers like the Teme.

Any pointers would be gratefully received here too. I grew up fishing the Wear in Co Durham for wild brownies, ST, salmon and grayling. Gave it up when I moved away 20 years ago but still have a couple of rods in the loft.

I could travel over to Shropshire for a day out.

Op where in Shropshire are you? The little river Tern is great for Grayling and Trout.

I tie much more than fish these days but IMO small ‘put an take’ stillwaters are probably the easiest way in to fly fishing.

IMO It’s easy to get caught up in the mechanics of casting – sure you need to be able to get the flies in the water but you see so many people trying to put out a full line when the fish are much closer in.

Don’t rule out fly fishing for mullet close in at the sea if you are by the sea. Good sport and a good alternative to spinning for bass.

Fly fishings a bit expensive on rivers down here (Hants) or most are club stretches and have years of waiting lists. Did have a day on the test fishing for grayling a few yrs ago as a mate worked for an estate locally. Had a decent grayling that day but my mate reckoned that day would have cost the four of us a couple of thousand quid if we’d paid for it!

I stay on the coast these days and manage some good sport through spinning (lure fishing) for bass on a catch and return basis.

A local huntin’ shootin’ fishin’ shop (now sadly gone) sold me a rod, reel, line and some lures for £50 (rod and reel second hand) then took me to a park for about half an hour’s time on how to cast. The guy who showed me this said some people can just cast, others can’t and that I’d find out pretty quick once I started aiming for things which I was. If the latter, he recommended a couple of places to take lessons. He also sold me a permit for access to certain areas of a couple of rivers for (get this people in England) £20. FOR A YEAR. With fish stocked into the river*. I’m a completely rubbish angler and probably would benefit from some lessons but I don’t care. A day on the riverbank clocking the birds, butterflies and fish I can’t catch is still just a really pleasant day out and escape from whatever nonsense is going on elsewhere. Anyway, my advice, find a decent shop where they don’t treat you like an idiot, listen to their advice and find out what your options are on places to fish.
* Strathmore Anglers Improvement Association – only useful for people in Dundee and Angus though. Price has gone up t £25. I’d be outraged if it wasn’t still excellent value for money