All of my trout fishing is with a spinning rod and reel with spinners, worms, etc & I don't know much about fly fishing but that is soon to change. Most of the creeks and streams that hold trout in Georgia are small and not suitable for fly fishing but I am going to venture into some of the larger rivers and attempt some fly fishing and need some advice.?ÿ
Long rod or short rod.
And what type of line should I buy, is one type more forgiving than the other for a novice?
Leader lengths?
As my grandpa said; "If you want to learn to cast-fly fish, if you want to catch fish-worm fish".
I learned both, prefer worm fishing to fly fishing cause I like to eat trout.?ÿ
Long pole, you can't fly fish with the heavy line needed to cast without one. As far as length of leader, I like one that works well with the length of the pole. Cut it long then trim and refit it till it feels right.?ÿ
Two simple things I learned early; always, always, always fish upstream, wear dusky clothing, dark green is best.?ÿ
Figure out the hatch, very important.?ÿ
Of course where I fish I don't ever see anyone, pictures I've seen of eastern water where people are lined up along the river probably mean my rules about clothing and stream routes are pointless.?ÿ
It is my plan that once the weather cools off I am going to hike into the Cohutta Wilderness area and try to fly fish the Conasauga River.?ÿ
The first thing that you are going to learn real quick like is how NOT to inadvertently pierce your ears or any other parts of your abdomen when casting. After that it's a lot of fun. I flyfish for specs and bluegill behind my house.?ÿ
Moe is correct about pole length. ?????ÿ
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Seems like it would be very peaceful & therapeutic. ?ÿ Om.
For me, the best part of fishing is taking the time to be there.
Can always stop on the way home and buy fresh fish if needed...........
There is (or was last time I was there) an old wooden sign (USFS I believe) on a small creek in the Cache National Forest, that read:
"The gods will not subtract from man's allotted time the hours spent in fishing." (or something very similar, it's been several decades since I was last there).
Loyal
Up until the age of 26'ish, fishing, hunting, diving was all I did. Sadly, and wrongly, for the past 15 years or more, that's what I haven't been doing, just doing work. And not happy. Gonna get back into those things.
Richard, in my younger days I was the same,?ÿ hunting, fishing, swimming, dirt bikes, frog gigging, was a near daily activity. Not so much anymore and I am not happy either.?ÿ
Go with a #5 weight fly rod for less than trophy size trout, you can spend as much as you want but if you get some Kmart special you'll be throwing your money away. A breakdown carbon fiber rod that would fit in a backpack is ideal for small streams. I got 'hooked' on fly fishing small streams when I was about 7. Sneak up on a pool, you have to be super stealthy because they can sense the vibrations from your steps, watch your shadows, peak around a boulder, dangle a dry fly up and down over the water imitating the real thing and then let it touch the water briefly and prepare for an explosion of water. This kind of fishing for Golden trout in the Sierra's is my favorite, streams are often only a few feet wide and may have 9-10" fish! Pound for pound wild trout fight harder than a tarpon. They often hold under cut banks so drifting a grasshopper imitation a few inches off a cut bank often yields results. Good luck. I settled where I'm at because the fly fishing opportunities are endless when the water's not covered in ice. A weighted hare's ear nymph pattern works good on deeper pools when you want to get down to the bottom. Just cast above where they're holding and let it drift down.?ÿ
I just checked, and I have 4 or 5 Bamboo Fly Rods (1 a takedown), several (combo) Fiberglass Rods, and a Fenwick Graphite rod (8ft. #6), there may be others.
My current "go to" rod is the 8ft. graphite with either a weight forward (black sinking line) for wet fly, lure, or natural bait (larvae, pupa, etc. from the waters that I'm fishing), and a weight forward (green floating) for dry fly adventures. I have 2 graphite single action reels (1 with each line type), so that switching lines is easy.
I do have a couple of spinning rods and reels, but its been a LOOOOONG time since I used them.?ÿ?ÿ
Loyal
5 weight fly rod, St. Croix or Orvis or some other mid level make
5 weight dry/floating line.?ÿ Rio is good.?ÿ Don't get bug spray on it or it will eat the coating.
9ft Tapered leader for trout.
Nail knot tool to attach butt end of leader to fly line.?ÿ There are plenty of videos to show you how to use it.
Gink to put on your flies before they get wet to help keep them floating high. Maybe some of the powder too.
Flies: Sulphurs, dunns, elk hair caddis, prince nymphs and anything else you hear about from fishing reports.?ÿ Get a few different sizes (#16, 18 and maybe some in the 20s.)?ÿ If buying online, remember that flies are sized based on the hooks, bigger numbers = smaller flies.?ÿ?ÿ
The reel is probably the least important item you need if your target is trout less than five pounds.?ÿ I prefer a reel that can easily be palmed, which allows me to keep the drag loose and use my reeling hand to control the release of the line.?ÿ With trout less than 20" you will probably just strip them in and only use the reel to hold your line in between fishing.
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Have you wasted countless hours here yet?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxGQMCT70DALylKj9CQl2sw
Back when I lived in Kentucky I would fly fish quite a bit. Not so much anymore. You can get a pretty good kit from Orvis or LL Bean that will get you up and running in the 200 dollar range. It will get very expensive quickly, but there is nothing better that the feeling of a trout taking the fly! You'll be hooked. Pun intended...
