New to fly fishing

[good2go]

Hey folks. I made an impulse buy today and picked up a fly rod. I got it from Walmart, it is a shakespear combo/beginner unit. I did not want to spend too much because I'm not even sure that I will like fly fishing. I got it together and went out to try it out in the driveway. I don't think that I will have much trouble with it but I think I will check out you tube for some tips.
My bigger question right now is flies. I am thinking that I would use it more for perch, bass and the occasional trout. Mostly pan fish. I like using ultra lites for pan fish and thought a fly rod might be fun. If I use the tiny little flies will I have to retie every time I catch a fish? What type of flies will they go for?
Keep in mind, today is the first time I have ever touched a fly rod in my life.
Thanks

[jeepster]

welcome to fly fishing!

hey that shakespere walmart special is what i learned on, so, its definatley do-able, but, once you get the casting down, you will want to upgrade,. my advice is to just go out in the yard and put out a target, and just keep trying to hit it, and increase your distance. the way a flyrod works is it uses the weight of the line to flex the rod, and thats where all of your power comes from... the thing that took me forever to figure out is to let your line extend all the way on the backcast before making your forward false cast and to let the rod do the work. you will be amazed how little effort it takes to cast when you do it right.

i have a fly somewhere (thats now retired) that i fished with every opening day of trout season, and its caught close to 100 fish, so, if you make your fly right, or take care of them, you can get alot of life out of one.

as far as flies go? wooley buggers

[kenzmad]

I second the wooly buggers for the panfish and bass. let the line extend all the way out on your backcast. that "cracking the whip" sound is not a good thing. that sound is you breaking off your fly. I do not flyfish much anymore but it is the most fun way to fish for bass and panfish.

[Russ McDonald]

I got a new fly rod last year.  Have to get out there.  I am also new the scene too.  I have a friend that built me the rod.  Some of you fly fishermen may know the name Powell.  My buddy is the grandson or EC Powell.  When I was in Puyallup I was checking out the casting and stuff.  Looks cool but right now got my bass boat to finish for a big forest service tournament on Lake Shasta in Northern California.

[good2go]

Thanks for the tips guys. I watched a couple videos on casting and have spent some time in the yard. So far I have tied a few knots in my leader, switched the fly out for yarn and realize I have a long way to go. I think I might enjoy this. Wooly Boogers I need to find some wooly boogers.

[UptheCreek]

Like others have said, figure out if you like using a flyrod then upgrade from there.  I pretty much exclusively flyfish for everything.  I think it is a fun and challenging way to fish, but I
mainly fish for trout.  Nothing better than catching hungry cutthroat on a good sized creek in the summer time.

[Hyde]

Wooly buggers, gold ribbed hare's ear nymph, simple leach patterns, prince nymph, pheasant tail, all with and without bead heads.  There's so many good patterns.