Would Like To Learn How To Fly Fish But.......

[Wornica]

If you live within an easy drive to trout waters, then i wouldn't think twice about taking up fly fishing...

[Mitch f]

Thanks for chiming in fellas, unique perspectives from all. Understand where wrench is coming from and it's nice to see an artisan in any trade. One of the best conventional bass fisherman that I know, Dan McKee, started out as a fly fisherman only. I think he and others who do both have a more well rounded ability to put fish in the boat.

[ollie]

I dunno, I have said it before, "you can't hold a beer and fly fish at the same time, so what's the point"! Although come to think of it I can't do that very well either. Point is I never really had the desire I guess. I won't come over to the other side, I just won't! lol

[Wayne SW/MO]

I dunno, I have said it before, "you can't hold a beer and fly fish at the same time, so what's the point"! Although come to think of it I can't do that very well either. Point is I never really had the desire I guess. I won't come over to the other side, I just won't! lol

Coming from a guy I thought would never throw anything but a hand tied jig, I can believe it.

[ollie]

For trout Wayne, I can hold my own, but for bass, those jigs don't always do the trick.

[Gavin]

A fly rod is my tool of choice for catching lots of trout...There is no better method for catching numbers...or for sight fishing to any species...more control over your presentation during and after the cast, plus you don't have to reel in line to recast...For blind fishing or bouncing bottom...I'll choose gear most of the time.

[RSBreth]

I love flyfishing, but there are times (like this weekend on Beaver Lake) that conventional gear is what it's gonna take to get them in the boat. BUT - flyfishing for Sunfish or Bass in late summer in shallow water - I've outfished worm slingers with popping bugs. I can't think of a better way to learn to use fly gear than poppers or hoppers for sunfish - and it's just plain fun, too.

[Justin Spencer]

Like others have said fly fishing can be the most effective way to fish for some things, but for me it is all about the process. It slows you down so you have a chance to enjoy your surroundings and becomes about more than just fishing. Wading for trout it becomes more of a solitary sport because it is tough to fish a riffle effectively unless you spread out. If you like to wade fish trout alone then fly fishing is for sure the way to go, from a canoe or kayak it can be a big hassle. Each year I get a little better at fly fishing for temperate bass, and while I still use spinning gear to find the fish, as soon as I catch one I switch it up, and I think I catch more on flies then I would have on conventional tackle. And like RS said, popping bugs and bluegill is a good way to start, and will likely get you excited to expand your horizons.

Bottom line, if you have the time, and lots and lots and lots of patience, then by all means go get you a fly rod. Then take advice from people that fish each river that you go to because fishing a trout park is totally different than fishing Crane Creek, which is totally different from fishing the Current, which is different from fishing the Eleven Point, and so on.

[Wayne SW/MO]

For trout Wayne, I can hold my own, but for bass, those jigs don't always do the trick.

I don't know, they always seemed to do it for you when I fished with you. Maybe you were just wanting to put me in my place. :lol:

[cnr]

I have found that being a fly-fisherman has made me a better fisherman overall. Learning how to nymph fish in particular will give you a good lesson in how the water flows and what is happening on the bottom. I have recently been drifting tube jigs with my spinning rod in very fast current for Smallies. I'm talking really fast water. I have been shocked how many Smallmouth are residing in what looks like impossibly fast water that you would normally catch Rainbows in if you were in trout water. Having the patience to let something drift without moving it at all is a little foreign to most bass fisherman but is very familiar to a fly-fisherman. I firmly believe that every time you learn a new technique it adds to your prowess and skill as a fisherman. At least it does for me.