# I am a new fly fisherman.



## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

ok I recently went steelhead fishing using a spinner and spinning rod setup. 
well I caught a steelhead and am now hooked! Now I am looking into fly fishing. I know you can catch trout on them but they are leaving soon.but i also see you can catch blue gill , crappie, bass and all that fun stuff. Seems like a perfect way to learn before the steelhead run hard again. Well I always figured fly fishing is expensive and hard to learn. but on troutlet i seen this combo where u get a 8 ft pole in 5/6 with a 5/6 reel with prespooled backing and fly line and leader on it all in number 5 or 5/6 and basically its ready to go out of the box. plus u get a assortment of flies and a starting booklet on sale for 20 bux plus shipping.. i kno this sounds cheap and cheesy but I didn't want to spend a fortune on something i might not like so i figured why not try this and then work your way up to the expensive stuff.. plus it got a 5 stars out of 5 rating on the reviews. I have also been reading flyanglersonline and was about to get some books from the library on fly fishing. I wanna take this seriously and am eager to learn and study up on stuff.. I also talked my 2 cousins into buying a combo also as they said why not try it for 20 bux. we all like to fish on my boat and stuff but this seems more of a chalenge what do u got to lose really. one question. so what are some good kinds of flies to use around here for steelhead or bluegills and bass? there are millions of fly patterns but I am sure only a few work for certain times and places. hope we enjoy fly fishing. it seems relaxing and fun to do but it also has a challenge and skill to learn. sounds great to me!


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## ngski (Aug 16, 2005)

Welecome to the wonderful world of fly fishing. I just started fly fishing a few years ago and I'm hooked. Haven't touched my spinning outfits for years. Once I got my first 5/6 weight for my birthday got hooked immediately, took a few lessons, now I tie my own flies and even built my first 3wt fly rod this past winter.

Your choice with a 5/6 weight is perfect for fishing Bluegills to Bass and everything inbetween. If you get hooked on fly fishing I expect you will out grow that starter set quickly. I still have my first fly pole but the reel it came with wore out the plastic clicker claw / drag system second season from all the fishing I did. 

The 5/6 wt outfit will not handle a steelhead. Recommend a 8wt with a large arbor reel with a decent drag. If you want to get some practice to handle steelhead, target carp with an 8wt it's a blast. The sport of Fly fishing is expensive but shop around for deals, even look on ebay for equipment.

Fly selection is over whelming, just stick to patterns that resemble bugs and bait fish. Bluegills love anything that looks like a bug and has rubber legs attached to it. When targeting Bass I love to use poppers near evening time. Gander Moutain has some inexpensive flies but I recommend www.anglersdream.net, typical flies average 60 cents and the more you buy the price drops. Most of your online stores will split up the fly categories, stick with terrestial patterns and nymphs and streamers.


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## rweis (Dec 20, 2005)

FA69 - Welcome to the addiction. FFing for Steelies is not a lot different than spinning. You are still trying to float or drag a lure/bait past their noses. I agree with a larger rod for steelies, a 7 or 8 wt, at least 9 feet, but make sure the reel has a very good drag. I've had Carp and Steelies take 60 to 80 yards of line in the first run. 
If you can, take a casting lesson. "It only takes 30 minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master." It is a very different feel than tossing a lure. Be sure to practice as much as possible. Cast for no more than 20 minutes or you'll get real sore. Always have a leader on when you practice. Make sure you are using the correct size leader for the fly you are using. There are charts that show which size (0X, 1X, 2X, etc.) leader to use with which size hook. 
Besides the rod, reel, line and lures, you will probably need - good polarized sunglasses, nippers, hemostats, a couple of spools of tippet material, some matching leaders, small split shot, and some floatant for your dry flies. By starting in the spring, you can wet wade and not have to buy waders until next fall.
Topwater Flies - small poppers for panfish and some mid-size for Bass. Foam bugs are also good.
Subsurface - Un-weighted streamers like Deceivers or Gummy Minnow.
Bottom - Conehead Wooly Buggers in Black, Brown, Olive & White, Craw imitations, San Juan Worm, Nymphs such as Bead Head Prince or Zug Bug and some Stone Fly or Hellgramite imitations. 
AND read as much as you can.


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## Mojohook (Apr 13, 2006)

ngski said:


> Bluegills love anything that looks like a bug and has rubber legs attached to it.


All great advice but this above is probably your biggest take-away as far as bluegill. Although I'm not a bluegill fan per-se, I think it is and was the absolute best fish to target to build up my casting and hook-set ability! lots of fun too! Find a bluegill pond and spend plenty of time there. 

Enjoy. It just gets better and better!


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## joerugz (Feb 28, 2007)

Same as above....HOOKED! I learned from my dad when I was a kid. Left it behind as I discovered new things. Recently got back into it and I can't put it down. Tip a slow sinking black ant with a maggot or two and hold on to those big gills! 

I have tons to learn about bass. I went to Cabella's and purchased some deer hair lures to target bass. in the past I've been successful with poppers. What a thrill to get a three pound bass on the end of your fly line!


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## flytyer (Jan 3, 2005)

Don't forget the foam spiders for gills. Like the others said learn to cast then practice, practice, practice. Once you can cast and have that down, try fishing in a stream or river for smallies. That way you can figure out how to mend your line and get a drag free drift. Use streamers and crawdad flies for smallies. A bit of advice, if you want to learn to fly fish, leave the spinning rod home and just take the fly rod and don't get discouraged. It takes a bit but before you know it, it will all come together and you'll have a good time. Another thing fly fishing "can" be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Just because you have a $500 rod and $400 reel doesn't make you any better fisher person than the guy with a $20 combo. The whole thing is get what you can afford and have a good time with it. 
Check out Cabelas and Bass pro their stuff is pretty good for the money. I use an 8 wt. Cabelas combo for steelhead and salmon and love it.


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## Pikemandu (Apr 4, 2005)

Try to hit a stream with white bass running, its a great way to learn streamer fishing. I would probably add clouser minnows as a fly for just about anything sub. I have caught bluegill, walleye, bass and even catfish on it.


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## Utard (Dec 10, 2006)

Echoing others: WELCOME! I think my first and best advice is find someone who can go fish with you and "show you the ropes." The first time I ever even lifted a fly rod was on a small mountain stream in the Utah rockies. I remember that day (although it was over 10 yrs ago) like it was yesterday. Went with my buddy and his dad. Once you get comfortable, then just go as much as you can. I never learned more about fly fishing than I did last summer when I went by myself a couple times a week all summer long. I'd also say that flyanglersonline is by far the best fly fishing website out there. You can learn alot there. Im there everyday (under a different name). I'm in Delaware county, if you want to meet up sometime we can give it a go. Just pm me or something. Good luck!!


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

thnx guys for all the tips. I will let you know how the rod combos look and feel. I will post a pic of them also.


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## ngski (Aug 16, 2005)

Don't forget all the rivers and streams in Ohio, where you can find smallies and that will get you some river experience for tackling steelhead fishing. If you live up north, check out the rocky, grand, and chagrin in the summer when the water is wadable, those holes you run across in the river will be the same spots where the steelheads hang out.


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## ledslinger (Aug 24, 2006)

welcome to the fly fishing madness--my advice would be that once you commit to pursue the sport ---to get the best quality reels that will serve your purpose --- never to buy a rod unless you can cast it first---and learn to cast from a quality instructor

i still have the quality reels that i purchased in the early 70's but the cheap ones have long bit the dust

i have bought pricey rod blanks and after i built the rod ---found out the actioin wasnt what the advertizing said---
ill try to cast a prospective rod with the recommended line and one line weight on either side of it---sometimes the rods action will be enhanced by by a lighter or heavier line for your given casting style and efficiency---the line weight on the rod is just a suggestion and another persons opinion based on thier style and efficiency

i taught myself to cast with open loops and low energy casts and got tailing loops whenever i tried to extend my casts and after 15 years of bad casting i took a class from a champion tournament caster---it was hard to break old habits but it was well worth it---take a class--join a group (FFF or T-U)---and read all you can


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

hello, fly fishing is an enjoyable time. great way to get out and ejnoy a summer day. for a $20 rod, the weights arent going to matter all that much. but itlol be sufficiant to get you started. bass in the rivers and pond blues are good place to start, and even after 25 years or so of flyfishing, bass are still my prefrerred target with a flyrod. poppers, stick with topwater baits. my most productine bass fly has been a hard bodied popper in a bee colouring. also Sneaky Petes are a great fly, too. the most thing I can emphasize is be respectful. flyfisherman used to have a code of copnduct, thats long gone. now we have packs of fly anglers wandering around and openly disturbing other fisherman.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

ya I am always respectful and I always fish far away from everyone. I know what ya mean tho. the other time we went we were fishing for steelies and these 3 guys come wading up. then they proceed to stare at us for about 5 minutes while whispering to eachother about how we are in a pretty good spot with lots of fish. after they proceeded stare longer and to try there jedi mind tricks and make us move they gave up and he said lets go and then said said lets just wade through and there they walked right in the water basically right through where we were fishing when they could of easily walked onto the shore and gone behind us . but I guess they left there lil hot spot and came back to find us there and didn't like that too much so they figured they could try to mess it up for us . lol.


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