Fly Fishing Tips

Fly fishing is an enjoyable activity. Besides, I sincerely believe it’s a good skill to have for preppers and survivalists. While it’s definitely not as cool as learning how to shoot with a rifle but it’s pretty practical. Fly fishing can provide a stable source of food and it’s comparatively easier compared to hunting.

With years of experience in fly fishing as well as the tips and advises other expert fly fishers shared with me, I can share a few efficient fly fishing tips with you.

Know the common fly fishing terminology.

This by itself wouldn’t help you learn or improve your fly fishing skills (though it has tons of indirect benefits). First of all, fly fishing like any other things has special terms that the community tends to refer. Just take SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan) for example, it’s a common term survivalists use to illustrate a catastrophic situation. Knowing these terms help you understand the subject better (in this case it’s fly fishing) and allow you to communicate with people of the same interest.

So here are some common terminology to understand. The end section of the rod where you hold on is the butt. The round elongated metal things that stick out are guides. rear-most guides, (one or two which is a function of the weight of the rod,) are stripping guides. The remaining guide are called snake guides – the highest one is referred as tip top.

The reel is fit on the rod at the reel seat. The reel is hung down under the rod. One of the feet which is on the reel slides into an opening in the reel seat. There will be a piece of metal which slides over the other foot of the reel and attaches the reel on the rod butt. It may come from the top of the reel seat, which is known as down-locking, or come up from the base of the reel seat, which is called up-locking.

Know where the fish are.

In the recent fly fishing expert roundup I did, one of the common tips these expert preach is to know where the fish are. This is something you will get better over time. I have some tips for you though.

Areas around a stream that meet these 3 conditions will tend to have the most fish. They are shelter, food and low current. It could be around some big rocks where the stream current is low giving the fish a place to rest and feed. The rocks also act as shelters which provide protection.

Note: Fish tend to hang around low current areas as they don’t need to expend huge amount of energy.

These days, finding fish is a lot easier though. You can use a fish finder device which basically detects where the fish are using ultrasound technology.

Know and Learn about your reel.

Learn how to disassemble, take it apart, change the spools or cassettes quickly, easily and comfortably. Ensure that inside of each spool, including spares, is marked as to what each line is.

Also, it’s important to know where the drag adjustment is and how to adjust it to suit specific situations. Setting the right drag adjustment for your fishing reel is crucial as it will prevent the line from breaking.

There are no hard and fast rules here. The optimal drag adjustment will be different across different waters and fishes you are after.

String the Line to your rod properly.

This is one of the common mistakes I see many beginners make. They are either careless or don’t know how they should attach the line to their rod properly.

Here is how you should do it. Once you attach the reel, you should pull off some line. Fold the fly line over with the rod butt on the ground with the handle of the reel facing upwards. Move along the rod and run the folded line through each guide. Check to ensure that you haven’t missed any.

Note: The tiny metal loop very close to the butt is not a guide, it’s just to hook your fly when you are not fishing.

Learn to tie some basic knots.

You don’t need to learn all the different kinds of knots to be good at fly fishing. Master some basics one like the Surgeons, clinch and improved clinch knots are good enough to get you started.

There are many Youtube Videos out there that will guide you step-by-step. It’s important to practice tying these knots if you want to be somewhat good at it.

Figure out which kind of grip you will use.

We personally advice and prefer to teach our students, to hand the crank of the reel by the left hand, but if you are left-handed use your right hand.

When casting the line, the hand you use doesn’t really matter but when it comes to playing and landing a fish you want to use your strongest hand to increase your odds. Since it’s obvious you wouldn’t want to switch hands in the midst of the process, it’s best to do everything right from the start.

Be appropriately dressed.

There are a few important things to note when it comes to dressing. First of all, you don’t want to wear attires with bright colors simply because it’s easily visible above the water. It’s advisable to pick colors that are similar to the surroundings which acts like a camouflage.

Secondly, you just have to be comfortable. Don’t pick attires that looks great but restrict movements. Some examples I can think of right now are tight shirts and jeans that prevents your hands and legs from moving freely.

Also, make sure you wear a pair of polarized sunglasses especially if you are fly fishing on sunny seasons. Polarized sunglasses enable you to look at the trouts and fishes below the water clearly.

Conclusion

Hopefully the tips shared above will help you become a better and more efficient fly fisherman. If you are really interested in learning more about fly fishing, here are some more resources that are completely free to get started.

Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Centre (by far the most comprehensive A-Z fly fishing resource I have ever seen).

50 Experts Share Their 3 Fly Fishing Tips (Great insights from 50 experts in regards to the 3 things they wish they knew when they first got started).

Author Bio: Hi guys, I am John, an avid outdoorsmen that blogs over at epicwilderness.com. I am by no means an expert but I will be sharing all the useful tips I learnt along the way with you.

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