Help me Not Stink at Fly Fishing?

[jpberg]

Trouttimes and Warren said what I would. A club, or a shop are really irreplaceable when you’re starting.
And watch the water. It’s hard to take the time when you’ve got a family to attend to, but knowing your water and the hatch is half the fun.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

We have an Orvis store down here that sells flyfishing gear. I took lessons a few years ago. They were free, but also had a lot of high pressure sales. It was interesting. But, I am just not into fishing to pass the time, a sports fisherman as they say. I am about doing what I have to to get fish out of the water and onto the grill or skillet. But, I guess I can see the attraction for some.
I just picked up some waders and boots. I think that walking out into the water while fishing was really what I was after. But, then I realized that it was much more comfortable to wear my swimming trunks.

 

[Sonorisis]

I'm a heretic. "Match the hatch" is an exercise in biology, it has not been a productive way to catch fish for me. Experience has taught me that there are two ways to attract fish when fly fishing. One, piss the fish off and provoke a strike using brightly colored wings or bodies on flies. Two, present a fly that reflects prismatic light. Make a fly with peacock hurl body wrap and grey hackle for simulating insect wing beat. You'll catch more fish than any "M the H" guy on the water. Put a splash of red on the tail to wake 'em up when they're not feeding. I learned these things from the old boys who just wanted dinner in Wyoming many years ago. Never failed. This assumes you are able to present a fly in that part of the riffle where fish are waiting.

 

[krizzose]

Sorry but you are too far away from me. I do have two key things for you to think about.

1. Fish eat below the surface 90% of the time. Fish nymphs. To start. Smaller the better.

2. Learn to read water. You have to fish where the fish feed. Simple right? Look for feeding lanes where the water brings the food to the holding fish. If the fish has to use more energy to catch the food than the food yields, it’s not going to move to eat it.

I second this. I would add that fishing the “shoulders” of the season (before the hatches start and after they stop) with streamers is also a lot of fun. It requires less casting finesse and can result in big fish. Check out “Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout” by Bob Linsenman and Kelly Galloup.

Modern Streamers For Trophy Trout

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I remember two North Carolina fly fisherman using closed reels. They caught their limit and gave us the rainbows. Those guys that looked like they had just stepped out of an LL Bean catalogue were fishless. That taught me something, BTW, the NC guys used Palmer Ties.

 

[mikethompson]

@SBC its too bad that our old friend Banjo isn't here.

 

[trudger]

You already are doing it right if your having fun and not catching fish. There is some great advice already posted up for sure. Nothing beats time on the water for learning what doesn't work.
Local guides will speed the learning curve. Fly shops are a great resource if you have one near. I would love to fish the Driftless Area someday.
Don’t come to Michigan we are all out of fish ?.

Edit: I can't type but I've got a great back cast

 

[leonardbill1]

A few things that I've learned (not that I'm great, but these things have helped):
1. If they don't hit a fly within the first 5-10 minutes they probably aren't going to hit it any time soon, so try a different fly.
2. Tippet is cheap. It allows you to change your flies often without eating up your leader. Pick up several sizes (I've found that 1X through 6X covers the bases for me).
3. Nymphing will require periodic adjustments to the location of the weight (both from the nymph and from the indicator) and to the amount of weight to find the right depth.
4. Two flies in the water increases your odds, so use a dropper (either a nymph tied to the hook of a dry fly or a nymph tied to the hook of another nymph; another use for thin tippet).
5. Trout are basically lazy. Fish spots where food is likely to come to them without much effort on their part yet not expose them to predators.

 

[JohnClyde]

Depending on your set up (9' + rod? light fly line?) and the river's depth and assuming there's no mad rise going on, I'd be immediately into either wets down and across or a tight line nymph set-up with a couple of nymphs (one heavy at the bottom and a smaller a foot or so above. Comb, comb, comb those seams.

 

[bassbug]

No matter how experienced, everyone has an off day where they won't catch a fish. However, if you're consistently not even getting a rise to your fly or a take on a nymph, you're probably doing one or both of these things badly.

1. Presentation. Is the fly drifting naturally? Does it match the speed and direction on the naturals? Has it landed on the water without spooking the fish? That's why, for the most part, fish don't eat bits and pieces of the forest that have fallen in the water. (ignore this last one if you're fishing for bass, they're beyond stupid)

2. Are you fishing in the right place? Not the stream or lake you've chosen but where specifically in that water. call it reading the water as others have said.

Regardless of species, fish are not all that smart, but they have instinct going for and against them. If it even remotely looks like food, chances are there's a few that will try to eat it.