Fly Fishing Tip #2

Angler casting a 9' 5wt, on the wide waters at Buffalo Ford, YNP.

Rod/Line

Talking now fly fishing trout in moving water :

It all starts with the cast. And to make a cast you need a rod and a line. Of course a reel is nice and you also need a leader/tippet and a fly—stick with me and we’ll  get those in later.

Maybe because I started with a telescoping steel rod/automatic reel (whiz-z-z-z...whap!) , a worn out level line with a short (who knows how heavy?) piece of mono square-knotted to the end of the fly line. I find it hard to blame any shortcomings—sloppy, off the mark, whatever—on the rod.  For at least 90% of trout fishing situations any old rod, especially any old rod with matching Double Taper or Weight Forward floating line and a properly constructed leader and tippet will get it done provided...YOU DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE AND LEARN TO CAST.

If you like me prefer DIY as opposed to group therapy (e.g. fly fishing 101 school/seminar) a good way to start is to Google:  U-tube, Fly fishing, casting...
The lawn is a good place. Start with a basic cast. Practice until the mechanics are as familiar as, say, tying your shoes.  Strive to keep false casts to a minimum. To lengthen the cast strip line off the reel and feed it on the backcast. Once you’ve mastered the basics, put out a target. Aim for accuracy from just a few feet out to say 50 feet. That done up the ante: practice casting up under over-hanging tree limbs; around and through bushes.

When you can consistently pull off the above without thinking go fishing. 

While there’s a lot to like about fiberglass and bamboo, for most of us graphite is it. Some of today’s rods cost more than a lot of my trucks. Trust me, a more expensive, higher modulus (whatever the hell that means) rod is the least of your worries. With apologies to Lee Wulff,  the rod is last thing you should change. And these days even the cheapest graphite is way better than even the best of my early fiberglass rod—better made, better casting tool and way lighter.

Remember now, we’re talking trout fishing in moving water only. So repeat after me:  For at least 90% of my fishing I need a 9’-5 or 6 wt. graphite rod, no matter how big the river or how tiny the crick and I don’t need to remortgage the house to get a decent rod. 

For what it’s worth I have cast several Redington, TFO and Echo rods which retail for well under $200 that in my opinion fit the bill nicely. I do not have a nickel in any of these companies and I know of several other makes, similar priced, said to perform well, but I haven’t personally cast them so...