Beginner in Fly Fishing

Hey Guys,
I live in southeastern minnesota, buy rochester. I want to start to fly fishing. I don’t know reallly anything about it yet. I want to fish trout in the creeks around here and fish down by lansburo on root river. But I also want to fish pannies and bass. I don’t really want to spend a ton. But I would like some ideas so I don’t buy a cheezy reel and rod that I won’t be happy with. I dont know what to use for flys, leaders, strike indicators, plugs? Anything? Please help, It looks like so much fun, I want in.
Later
Hollywood2

Hi Hollywood2,

The first thing I would do would be to look for a store in your area that specializes in Fly Fishing. I don’t know the Rochester area very well so I can’t help you there. Another thought would be to find someone in a local club or sporting goods store that fly fishes and can answer your questions.

It can seem pretty overwhelming when you first look into fly fishing, but it doesn’t have to be all that complicated. I’m certainly no expert but I have been a student of the sport for a while so maybe I can help.

Lines: In order of importance, the line is tops, then the rod, and lastly the reel. You can literally cast a flyline without the rod. A decent line will cost you $30-$50 dollars and should last you for years with reasonable care. 3M has a department called Scientific Anglers and they make some of the best supplies for fly fishing. They make fly lines called their “Concept” series. These lines are specifically designed for beginners and cast very well. I have one that I still use. They’re also less expensive.

Rods: Graphite is all the rage but a good fiberglass rod can cast like a dream as well. The main difference is weight. The graphite rod is a lot lighter and this will be apparent after a long day of casting. Flyrods also come in different actions just like other types of rods. “Fast action” rods bend more at the tip. Personally I find them tougher to cast with than a slower action rod. This is hard to describe in words, you really have to wave the rod around and watch it to see how it acts. A good length is 8 1/2 or 9 feet.

Reels: Unless you are fishing for trophy fish with very light leaders, most of the time all your reel is doing is storing your line. A good reel is a simple single action reel that will cost you $15 or $20 bucks.

Leaders: More has been written about leaders than everything else in fly fishing added together. Several companies sell pre-made leaders that work well. Which leader you use will depend a lot on what you are fishing for and where you’re doing it. Sunfish could care less. You could use 4 feet of 8 lb mono and they’d be happy. If you’re fishing bass you need a tapered leader that comes out to maybe 10 lb test. Stream trout fishing is a whole other animal where your leader will need to be considerably lighter because of the water clarity.

Weights: Fly lines and assicated equipment are categorized by weight. A 3 or 4 weight outfit is great for delicate presentations to small trout. Tarpon fishing might require a 10 weight outfit. The bigger the number, the heavier the line and the bigger fly you can throw. The smaller the number, the more delicate you can be. A 6 or 7 weight is a pretty good comprimise between delicacy and power. I have a 6 weight that works well on everything from 7 inch Bluegills to 22 inch Bass. The line and the rod BOTH should have the same rating. In other words a 6 weight rod is expecting a 6 weight line to load it.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.

Rootski

Rootski gave you some very good advice !

I generally tell folks just starting out to fish for sunnies/pan fish first. This give you the practice casting you’ll need. You can practice in your back yard if you can’t get to a lake.

Once the line and the rod become “part of you”…trout fishing will come much easier. Good Luck!

Hollywood2,

I have never been fly fishing but I’m aquainted with some very nice people that fly fish and share my interest in smallmouth bass. I would recommend that you hook up with them at the next SEMSA (Southeast Minnesota Smallmouth Alliance) meeting.

– General time: Every 3rd MONDAY of each month. Meeting Start 7PM, join early for dinner at 6PM Next meeting MONDAY 5/16

– Location: Whistle Binkies Old World Pub Meeting to be held in back room (off to the right as you enter).
Address: 3120 Wellner Dr. NE Rochester, MN located in the small shopping mall off of 37 St. NE across the street from Chateau Theatre/Shopko North. Enter from 37 St, OR from road entry off of Broadway Ave.

Not only does this group act as an advocate for smallmouth bass in SE Minnesota, but some of the members have taught fly fishing. I hope to take the first step to fly fishing one day myself. Stop in and meet the group when you have a chance.

I bought some flys at Cabela’s in Owtanna, they said they were put together by local fly fisherman, A nice little kit set me back something like $50. ( thought that was a couple years ago, I would imagine they still do it) Otherwise if you ever in Lakeville, I’d reccomend you stopping by Gander Mountain, and asking for John in fishing, he is a fly fishing god.

I have fished trout all my life. I gradually evolved into a fly fisherman. It took a lot of time for me to do this. But if I have any advice it is to make sure the line, rod, and leader are matched! I am still learning but this type of trout fishing is so much, fun, challenging, and frustrating that if you ever get into it, it will probably be the way you will fish trout most of the time. In Southeastern Mn. streams I get by with a 7 and 1/2 foot graphite, a 5 wt. line, and a 9 foot leader. I have a cheap reel. I have found out that lines are really important and even the brand name. I used to use Cortland lines wt. forward and had an Orvis beginner line at around $30.00 that was great! I am now using a Cortland cheap line and will go back to the Orvis beginner line wt. forward. I am not into very expensive stuff as I have found with the proper balance of rod, line, and leader that is what counts. Just my thoughts and I am not an expert at all but I have had many of hours of great trout fishing. Good luck to you. All of the above advice and future advice should be and is good advice.

More good advice and I agree that fly fishing can get pretty addicting. One of my all time favorite lines is a 7 weight WF line that I paid $25.00 for. I agree you don’t have to spend top dollar to get good performance.

Having a balanced outfit is really important, but it depends on what you are fishing for. Stalemackrel needs to lay it out nice and gentle so he doesn’t spook the trout. I fish for Bass and I need to punch a very large fly into a small spot at a distance of 50-80 feet. To do this, I use a Bass bug taper line that is one weight too heavy. In othehr words, I have a 9 weight line on my 8 weight rod. This works like a charm and really helps when casting big flies.

Rootski

As Stalemackerl put it…I’m no expert either.

I think the Kinni by River Falls is similar to the streams in SW MN. Low hanging trees making it hard to cast. Because of this “cover” or tree canopy, I have a 7 1/2 rod with 4 weight line in double taper. The shorter rod for two reasons: Short casts and the fly eating trees. Again because of the trees, generally there’s not much wind and you can get by with a 4 weight line…short casts make the double taper ideal. Another thing is a few years down the road you can turn a double taper around and it’s like a new line.

As a side note for lake fishing I use a 6 weight, 8 footer. I have both the weight forward and a double taper. To me, it’s easier to cast the DT out there, but when I need distance or I’m fishing later in the year…the weight forward is my preferance.

As everyone has said…match the line to the rod. My dad didn’t know any better and used an 8 weight rod with a 5 weight LEVEL line for years..he just thought others could cast better than him. When he was 60 years old, I hooked him up with a 6 weight and matching WF line…If I recall…he said “I can cast like I’m a kid again!”

In rereading your post. I would recommend a 6 weight, 8 footer. I don’t know if I would recommend a WF line to start with. I guess it would depend on how much stream vs lake fishing your going to do. More lake – go for the wf, streams DT. (but that’s only my opinion)

You might want to just ask around or make a post inquiring about fly rods. There’s many people that thought they wanted to get into fly fishing, looked easy, bought the stuff…then used it a couple times, hooked their ear and it’s laying in their garage or attic. Like all fishing,there’s a rod for every application. My stock is an 8 wt, 6 wt and a 4…covers every application in MN (for me).

Once you find out how to use them…it’s hard to put them down…Most fun you can have standing up…

Ps Learn the Roll Cast. It will save you some fly’s!

What would someone that is thinking about taking up fly fishing expect to pay to get set up? I’m taking a stream conservation/fly fishing course at school next fall, and I’m wondering about how much cash it would take to get started with new equipment. Any rough estimates would be appreciated.

As you said Brian, a good deal could probably be had by getting some used equipment, but in case i can’t find any used stuff, I’d like to know what new would set me back.

Skippy,

I think you could get set up for $100 (approximately). Check out some of the combination deals where they have a rod, a reel, and a line all loaded and ready to go.

And Brian: I think you’re right on the mark with your suggested weights for different circumstances. Very good advice. I used to fish with a guy who grew up in Silver Bay. He fished small, brushy north woods streams for Brookies. ALL he knew how to do was roll cast! He never had room for a back cast so he never learned how to castr a fly in a conventional manner. But he could hang out of a tree and roll cast 30 feet up to the tail of a riffle as pretty as you please.

Jeez all this fly fishing talk has me anxious to get out there!

Rootski

If I were in your shoes (and I was about 8 years ago) I would first take a couple of fly fishing classes. One in a classroom to learn the knots and flylines and other assorted stuff. Then take an “on the stream” class/fishing trip to learn how the basic casting techniques and then get some fishing in. I know you are not in the Cities but Summit Fly Fishing in St. Paul offers these classes and they are well worth it in my opinion. Also for SE MN I’d for sure learn how to steeple cast and roll cast. Whatever rod and line you end up with understand this, each rod and line combo has it’s “sweet spot” which is the length of line out that the rod works best with. Try to stay in that zone when casting and things will work much better. Good luck learning, fly fishing is a fun sport. Be patient, fish slow, and have fun.
Clark

What Clark said by all means. Take a lesson. I taught myself how to fly fish after watching my grandpa in the mountains just slay them. It took a year to learn many things a knowledgable person could show you in 15 minutes. I suggest fairly cheap gear to start with. I broke a few poles before I knew how to take care of them. Learn how to fish a scud for trout. It is by far the easiest of all flys to catch big trout on.