Post by: 75johndeere on March 05, 2013, 06:01:17 PM
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Post by: KopperBuck on March 05, 2013, 06:12:59 PM
Post by: JLS on March 05, 2013, 06:18:47 PM
Get a decent line, plan on 40-60 bucks. If you are fishing more rivers you'll want a double taper. If you are lake fishing a lot too you may want a weight forward line. Put the braided loop connecters on the end of your fly line so you can quickly put on a new leader.
The local fly shops can help you with fly patterns. Get on the water and learn. Learn to cast, learn to double haul, learn to mend your line, learn to see a subtle take on an underwater nymph, learn to see what the fish are feeding on based on how they rise/surface/gulp, etc.
Post by: 75johndeere on March 05, 2013, 06:45:58 PM
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Post by: JLS on March 05, 2013, 06:48:57 PM
Any of these would work fine.
You don't need to pay for a guided trip. Take your rod to the park and practice your casting, then hit the water.
Post by: Pathfinder101 on March 05, 2013, 07:13:43 PM
I would say that a decent weight forward floating line that matches your rod would be good to start out with. Get some decent 9 foot leaders and a few dozen of the most popular flies. If I could only have a half dozen flies in my box for Montana, they would be the elk hair caddis, the parachute adams, the bead head hares ear nymph, the bead head pheasant tail nymph, the wooly bugger and some sort of weighted stonefly nymph.
Don't go get a guide, any guide that wants to get a good tip will expect you to already know what you are doing when you get in the boat so he can concentrate on finding you the fish.
Good luck, and be careful...this is more addicting than golf... :twocents:
Post by: 7mmfan on March 05, 2013, 08:52:58 PM
You've got your rod, and the advice on a cheap reel is basically right. Invest in a good weight forward line, they are way easier to learn to cast with then a double taper, and will work for more techniques as well. A Rio Grande is great all around line, as well as a Airflow Supple Impact. Stay away from Cortland lines, and most Scientific angler lines. Learn to "pick it up and lay it down" most fly fishing is not "casting". You can accomplish a lot by picking up 20' of line and putting it back down. The fish are in the water, not the air after all.
Once you can put your line in a hoola hoop at 30' consistently, and feel good with the rod in your hand, hire a guide and go for a float. Tell him you want to learn multiple techniques that you can use when fishing from shore, since that is what you will do mostly. Any guide worth his salt will slow down and teach you anything you want to know.
Feel free to PM me, I'll be happy to give you any advice I can give you.
Post by: JLS on March 05, 2013, 09:14:02 PM
As an ex-fly fishing guide, I can't stress enough the benefit of going on a guided trip when you are first starting out. It may seem like a ton of money to pay to have someone take you fishing, but if everyone is on the same page, and the expectations are set that you are trying to learn how to do this, and not just chase a bobber down the river, then its definitely worth your while. You will learn more about not just how to fish effectively, but the entemology and bug hatches, and phases that make ALL the difference when fly fishing. You will learn on your own, but it will take you 10 times longer.
You've got your rod, and the advice on a cheap reel is basically right. Invest in a good weight forward line, they are way easier to learn to cast with then a double taper, and will work for more techniques as well. A Rio Grande is great all around line, as well as a Airflow Supple Impact. Stay away from Cortland lines, and most Scientific angler lines. Learn to "pick it up and lay it down" most fly fishing is not "casting". You can accomplish a lot by picking up 20' of line and putting it back down. The fish are in the water, not the air after all.
Once you can put your line in a hoola hoop at 30' consistently, and feel good with the rod in your hand, hire a guide and go for a float. Tell him you want to learn multiple techniques that you can use when fishing from shore, since that is what you will do mostly. Any guide worth his salt will slow down and teach you anything you want to know.
Feel free to PM me, I'll be happy to give you any advice I can give you.
Out of curiousity, why don't you like Cortland 444 lines?
Agree completely on pick it up and lay it down.
Post by: JLS on March 05, 2013, 09:23:20 PM
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1051 (http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1051)
Here is a link to the Perfection Knot that you will use on your leader butt so you can do the loop to loop connection.
http://www.animatedknots.com/perfection/index.php (http://www.animatedknots.com/perfection/index.php)
Post by: 7mmfan on March 05, 2013, 09:27:51 PM
As an ex-fly fishing guide, I can't stress enough the benefit of going on a guided trip when you are first starting out. It may seem like a ton of money to pay to have someone take you fishing, but if everyone is on the same page, and the expectations are set that you are trying to learn how to do this, and not just chase a bobber down the river, then its definitely worth your while. You will learn more about not just how to fish effectively, but the entemology and bug hatches, and phases that make ALL the difference when fly fishing. You will learn on your own, but it will take you 10 times longer.
You've got your rod, and the advice on a cheap reel is basically right. Invest in a good weight forward line, they are way easier to learn to cast with then a double taper, and will work for more techniques as well. A Rio Grande is great all around line, as well as a Airflow Supple Impact. Stay away from Cortland lines, and most Scientific angler lines. Learn to "pick it up and lay it down" most fly fishing is not "casting". You can accomplish a lot by picking up 20' of line and putting it back down. The fish are in the water, not the air after all.
Once you can put your line in a hoola hoop at 30' consistently, and feel good with the rod in your hand, hire a guide and go for a float. Tell him you want to learn multiple techniques that you can use when fishing from shore, since that is what you will do mostly. Any guide worth his salt will slow down and teach you anything you want to know.
Feel free to PM me, I'll be happy to give you any advice I can give you.
Out of curiousity, why don't you like Cortland 444 lines?
Agree completely on pick it up and lay it down.
Cortland lines are stiff in my opinion and have a high memory, which isn't the end of the world, but it does affect your casting stroke and how you need to cast to accomplish certain things. They also tend to wear out faster. NOW, what I consider fast is inside a year with 100-150 days on the water. I've found the Rio lines and the Airflow lines tend be durable, supple, and very easy casting. They float well, and for the average fly fisherman, they will last at least a few years.
Post by: 7mmfan on March 05, 2013, 09:30:40 PM
Post by: JLS on March 05, 2013, 09:36:41 PM
Maybe the TR2 would like a Rio :)
Post by: ryanfam on March 06, 2013, 10:27:49 AM
Good luck as you picked a great spot to learn how to fly fish. :tup:
Post by: JM on March 06, 2013, 11:04:27 AM
Post by: 75johndeere on March 06, 2013, 07:45:40 PM
Post by: JLS on March 06, 2013, 08:08:54 PM
Skwalas are a smaller golden stonefly.
Your basic pattern types are a nymph, which is the larvael form of the insect. Next you have emergers, which is the form as the larvae emerges into the insect form, and the adult which is the hatched insect.
The basic insects you'll have on the Bitterroot are the skwalas, caddis, and mayflies. I have a book called Flyfishing Montana that does a really good job of showing the different hatches going on each month, and the patterns one would want to use during that time.
Post by: 75johndeere on March 06, 2013, 08:44:01 PM
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Post by: JLS on March 06, 2013, 08:48:26 PM
I think it's going to be hard for you to cast with it. How did the practice go? Maybe check with the shop and see if they'll work with you on it.
Post by: 75johndeere on March 06, 2013, 09:23:21 PM
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Post by: thatkidwho on March 06, 2013, 09:27:59 PM
Practice, practice, practice. I spend 30 minutes twice a week in the street practicing my cast. Also get friendly with the guys at a local shop, they love to talk about it.
Post by: JLS on March 06, 2013, 09:34:09 PM
I did alright was getting it to lay down smooth but couldn't get much distance worse case I can buy another rod as I didn't buy the first one it was free from a friend
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It will be hard to cast much line when it is underloaded by 2 weights. It's like trying to pitch a 1/4 oz Panther Martin with a steelhead rod. You just can't load the rod up enough to make it work for you while you're casting, and without the flexing and loading you won't get any power or distance.
A 5 weight is perfect for the Blackfoot and Bitterroot. Maybe see if you could trade the rod, or sell it and buy a 5 weight? Check your local Craigslist too.
Post by: JLS on March 06, 2013, 09:35:45 PM
The rod, reel, line wt combo seems odd to me but I know nothing. I just started fly fishing last summer. Check out LL Beans guide to fly fishing. Its a great primer on techniques, theory and water reading. It also covers some basic fly tying.
Practice, practice, practice. I spend 30 minutes twice a week in the street practicing my cast. Also get friendly with the guys at a local shop, they love to talk about it.
You're not actually casting your line ONTO the street are you? Blacktop is not going to help your line last very long. Those magical coatings will get abraded off in very short order :yike:
Post by: thatkidwho on March 06, 2013, 11:27:41 PM
The rod, reel, line wt combo seems odd to me but I know nothing. I just started fly fishing last summer. Check out LL Beans guide to fly fishing. Its a great primer on techniques, theory and water reading. It also covers some basic fly tying.
Practice, practice, practice. I spend 30 minutes twice a week in the street practicing my cast. Also get friendly with the guys at a local shop, they love to talk about it.
You're not actually casting your line ONTO the street are you? Blacktop is not going to help your line last very long. Those magical coatings will get abraded off in very short order :yike:
No it lays in the grass but I do have to stand street when shooting for distance
Post by: jagermiester on March 07, 2013, 08:05:47 PM
Post by: JLS on March 07, 2013, 08:20:42 PM
You don't need to learn how to cast you need to learn how to read the water and mend your line.
:dunno:
So when you have a great big lunker laying next to a cut bank, sipping emergers, how are you going to catch him if you can't cast?
Post by: jagermiester on March 07, 2013, 08:24:52 PM
Post by: JLS on March 07, 2013, 08:47:08 PM
Are you kidding I am saying the casting is the easy part!
:bash:Doh!
I'm with you now.
Post by: 75johndeere on March 07, 2013, 08:55:11 PM
Post by: jagermiester on March 07, 2013, 09:01:55 PM
Post by: GEARHEAD on March 07, 2013, 09:07:25 PM
Post by: RifleRidge on March 07, 2013, 09:23:34 PM
My Grandfather and My Mother did a lot of fly fishing just for fun. I always thought of it as ~~*censored* and giggles, really!~~
Fun had by all!.. :fishin: :cmp1: :fire.:
Post by: justsomedude on March 08, 2013, 08:10:02 AM
• It's called fishing not casting. As you become more comfortable limit false casting.
• Learn how to tie knots and double check them. Big fish break bad knots.
• Don't stress about matching the hatch. You can fish with a streamer during a mayfly hatch.
• You don't need specialty “fly fishing” gear. Spend money on going fishing, not buying gear.
• Pick one fly and learn to fish it. It's kind of like having a go-to swing, club or whatever that gives you confidence.
You're in a great place to start fishing. Have fun with it!
Post by: 75johndeere on March 10, 2013, 09:21:45 PM
Post by: 75johndeere on March 10, 2013, 09:58:07 PM