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I have fished for years but I have never learned the art of fly fishing. My teenage son though is obsessed with all types of fishing (raised him right) and just the other day he came home from mowing our widow neighbor's lawn with two fly poles and reels. He said one was for me and the other was for him. Apparently since the death of her husband 10 years ago these poles have not been used.
So I have two poles, I have a few flies.....what would be the next step. Is there a good place to go to take lessons, would you suggest youtube videos and experimenting on a lake or stream. He is so excited to catch his first fish on the fly rod but I don't know what I should do help him.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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YouTube has great instructional videos. Orvis channel especially in regards to everything. Learn the blood knot and the surgeons knot, I use those the most when building leaders. Also good to be familiar with the life cycle of mayfly's from larvae to adult. When there is a hatch going on and if they are not rising its good to know the stages before they are an adult, most likely that is what they are eating. Visit your local fly shop for more tips etc...The knots are a pain in the butt, they take patience and after awhile you will be zooming through them. Welcome to fly fishing!!
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Personal, private lessons from an experienced instructor cannot be beat. Nothing is so educational as to have a teacher adjusting your grip, arm movement and rod manipulation in real time.
That said, private instruction is not cheap. A 1/2 day for 2 people with a guide from Park City is in the range of $350. That said, 4 hours of intense instruction with a guide will cut through a couple of years of learning about everything from casting, where to cast to, what the major insects the fish eat are and the way the insects available change as the calendar does.
For books, the Orvis fly fishing guide is the standard. The revised (2017) edition is available online for less than $20. It will cover the rods, line, leaders, how they work together, casting techniques and about every aspect of flyfishing.
Ponds? You bet. Our local urban fisheries are excellent places to practice casting. Find a spot with grass behind you so you don't get hung up in the trees and have at it. The ponds often have bluegill. Very cooperative hard fighting fish that are not picky about bugs and are great for learning.
If your son is a Scout, the Fly Fishing merit badge is a good place to start. It will teach the basics and give exposure to other boys and adult leaders who flyfish. If you can't find a merit badge counselor for that, PM me.
Last but not least, fly fishing is a whole nother way of fishing to learn it takes commitment. Put the spinning rods away unless you're going to a big lake or on a boat for now. Fly Fishing only, live it, breath it, do it. It works and opens a whole new realm of fishing.
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orvis web site is great can teach you a lot! there is a guy in kaysville that teaches a bsic class and gets you out on the water I think he still charges around $100 per student. his web site is wildtrouts.com or learntoflyfish.com that second one might be an orvis site. but give novi a shot he can teach you.
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I will second the recommendation on the Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing. A strong reference book with all the basics covered. Get it.
Next you need to identify what you've got (rod length, weight, action, line type, line weight, etc.) and whether it is suitable for the type of fishing you want to do.
Finally get out there and do it. If you get in gear now, you and your son can be casting to cruising fish off the dam at Trial Lake in the Uintas in less than a month.
Guides are expensive and will imprint bad habits on a beginner. Fly fishing is not overly difficult, but it does take a degree of dedication and once it takes hold you'll spend the rest of your life trying to master it.
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I will second the recommendation of a good guide, a class etc.
I would be happy to meet you at Willow Pond and show you some stuff.
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All good suggestions. It’s important not to overestimate the difficulty of fly fishing and make it seem to be an unique art while all other fishing is just fishing. Don’t spend too much time off the water with out fishing. It’s counterproductive. We don’t teach others to do any other fishing by spending hours in preparing them before hitting the water. I learned to fly fish late May 1999. My friend that taught me was a dry fly enthusiast but that was fine for late spring, summer and early fall fishing streams. I mastered the basics there and didn’t throw my first non dry fly until October. That was when I got an introduction to throwing streamers with prespawn brookies. I didn’t even bother with still water for a couple years and still have a strong preference for moving water. Figure out what kind of fishing you might be most interested in and get the basics down there. You can slowly add to your repertoire as you explore new interests. Ask questions of any teacher/guide. Too many do things because that’s how it’s taught. That might be fine if all you ever want to do is fish the Provo but then your missing out on so many far better no name streams in the inter mountain west and beyond. . Flexibllity and adapting to each fishing situation is what separates a great fly fisher from an adequate one. Most guides dont rise to that level but much of that needs to be self taught after you get the basics down anyways.
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[quote Joe_Dizzy]I will second the recommendation on the Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing. A strong reference book with all the basics covered. Get it.
Next you need to identify what you've got (rod length, weight, action, line type, line weight, etc.) and whether it is suitable for the type of fishing you want to do.
Finally get out there and do it. If you get in gear now, you and your son can be casting to cruising fish off the dam at Trial Lake in the Uintas in less than a month.
Guides are expensive and will imprint bad habits on a beginner. Fly fishing is not overly difficult, but it does take a degree of dedication and once it takes hold you'll spend the rest of your life trying to master it.[/quote]
I think I can safely say I have not imprinted bad habits on a beginner. I am an Orvis trained fly fishing instructor that started fly fishing in 1970 and have been fly fishing ever since. I trained under Rosenbauer himself, and was mentored by Francis Betters of Ausable River fame. I taught at the Ausable River fly fishing school for Orvis and am a charter signing member of the NYSOGA with degrees in F&W management and wilderness recreation leadership.
I have lived in Utah for 28 years and have fly fished about every fish in the state. I currently guide for the St Regis Hotel in Park City.
Yes guides are expensive, well trained professionals are...about the only bad habit this guide will teach you is that catching fish on a fly is easy.
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Get the book.
From it you will learn the major aquatic insects, their life cycles and how to tell which from which. Along with that you will learn about terrestrial, (land based insects), the tiny insects we generally refer to as midges and which fly is to imitate which bug.
You will learn a wet fly from a dry fly, when to fish which.
How to build a tapered leader...for dry fly fishing that gently sets a fly on still water and how to make a stiff butt leader that will roll over a big hopper pattern or weighted nymph in the wind.
You will learn the rules of 3, how to determine which X tippet to use with which size fly so they work together.
How to pause during the casting stroke to allow the rod to load without letting the line settle down behind you. How to "roll cast" so you can stand with your back against the brush and still cast...
Flies? That's a whole nother world...the world of insects mostly and how to imitate them, then comes tying your own flies, the joyous way bad weather is spent winding feathers, yarn and hair onto hooks to use next year, or tomorrow if you brought home some samples taken from the water that day.
The community ponds are great if they have bluegills and they don't seem to be able to tell a dry fly from a wet fly either. There is also the Cottonwoods, Mill Creek and City creek to hit close in for some moving water practice.
PM me if I can be of assistance.
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OK, perhaps I should have said "could" imprint bad habits. My bad.
Not all guides are created equal and I have had my share of issues with some on the Provo River over the years.
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Perhaps, I've encountered some of those kinds of guides myself.
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Not to make this a big deal. I like reading what both (toll and joe_dizzy) of you have to say in these posts. I do have a question about the guides on provo river. Most rivers have a limit of guide permits that are issued. Does the provo river have this? It seams to me that both provo and weber rivers have people taking other people out and say they are guides but do not have a permit or legal permission to do so? anyone else get that vibe or is it just me?
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