# Newbie Questions



## normd (Jul 5, 2005)

Ok so now that i have my fly outfit and assorted flies, what other essential accessories are recommended for hitting the water? I'll be fishing the streams, rivers and ponds of NW Ohio. No not the walleye run!


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## elkcow (Jul 18, 2009)

Hey, I do a lot of fly fishing of Ohio streams and ponds. I tie my own flies. A lot may depend on what fish you are going for. I have found the clouser minnow fly has caught many nice large and small mouth bass on it. It is a eye weighted deer hair that really works well on many fish. Other stuff you need well .....don't be taken in by fancy shops selling stuff you don't need. All you need is high pair of rubber boots and hit the water. Enjoy

My gear vintage - vintage 6 weight bamboo rod and vintage pfleuger medalist.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

I don't carry alot when fishing, especially ponds or smaller rivers, fly boxes, indicators, shot, tippet spools, and hemostats and maybe one extra leader. I can normally fit everything I need into a multi pocket fanny pack, I like the ones designed primarily for turkey hunting, one big compartment and several smaller ones.
 some guys prefer a vest but I have never be comfortable in one .
Good luck and Good Fishing and please share some pics soon !


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## knuckleric (Mar 4, 2015)

garhtr said:


> I don't carry alot when fishing, especially ponds or smaller rivers, fly boxes, indicators, shot, tippet spools, and hemostats and maybe one extra leader. I can normally fit everything I need into a multi pocket fanny pack, I like the ones designed primarily for turkey hunting, one big compartment and several smaller ones.
> some guys prefer a vest but I have never be comfortable in one .
> Good luck and Good Fishing and please share some pics soon !


I agree, I don't like wearing a vest usually, so I keep my gear in a sling pack when I'm out. I like to keep it light too and have hemos and nippers on separate zingers on the outside of the bag for quick access. Only other necessity is polarized glasses and you're good to go.


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## garhtr (Jan 12, 2009)

Yep, good call on the glasses, especially if you start sight fishing carp, unfortunately 9 times out of 10 I forget mine at home 
Good luck and Good Fishing !


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Something that hasn't been mentioned (those that have are good, especially a good pair of hemos), if you're wet wading streams in warmer weather, is a couple pairs of quick drying (sometimes convertible with zip-off legs) pants. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Men...r=8-7&keywords=columbia+convertible+pants+men

Keep an eye out on sales, outlets, even WalMart sometimes carries some cheap. I think both pairs I have were roughly $20-25 each. They breathe, they dry fast, and wearing waders in warm weather sucks. You can wet wade in them, get out of the water and in a few minutes they are fairly dry. Walking through brush and weeds (think nettles, aka sting weed) in shorts can be rough on your legs. Pants like these save you from a lot of the abuse. I wish I had known about them sooner.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

A list for a short creek or stream outing would include flies, a spool or 2 of tippet, nippers, hemostats, a sammich, and a bottled water. Why, you may ask, a sammich and a bottled water for a short stream outing? Because if you're like me, you'll lose track of time. I wade most of the streams and rivers in central Ohio, and although the above listed are necessities, I also usually have waders, wading boots, a pocket knife, some bandages, insect repellent (be careful, deet will dissolve some fly lines), a thingamabobber, and always have polarized glasses. I keep a log of my fishing, so I usually have a stream thermometer.

Before you head out, check the flow of your stream at the USGS website.


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## Tom 513 (Nov 26, 2012)

I carry my gear in (dont laugh) old fanny pack, spare leader, 1 spool of tippet, readers, sml tape, cellphone in water proof case, and hemos and nail clippers attached. For Bass may I suggest a good supply of Blk and Olive Wolly buggers and for pan fish I like spiders and sml poppers


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## normd (Jul 5, 2005)

Great info, thanks!


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

for bass, grasshoppers and crayfish dropper.
I go with size 6 and larger so the little bluegill don't get hook in their mouth.
rickerd


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## Longhorn (Oct 26, 2014)

Accessories are nice, but I recommend setting aside some money for casting lessons. You can fake it on smallish freshwater rivers like y'all have in Ohio, but if you ever fish anything larger or fish where you need accuracy, you'll want to bring your "A" game, which means learning to cast well.


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## adamaj (Jun 29, 2014)

For NW Ohio warmwater wooly buggers in size 10-4. Conehead/weighed and unweighted. Various poppers/ foam creations for panfish on top. A few deerhair flies for bass on top. Above all be patient and experiment. Feel free to pm me, i'm in your neck of the woods.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Longhorn said:


> Accessories are nice, but I recommend setting aside some money for casting lessons. You can fake it on smallish freshwater rivers like y'all have in Ohio, but if you ever fish anything larger or fish where you need accuracy, you'll want to bring your "A" game, which means learning to cast well.


I understand lessons can helpful but fly casting and fishing is not difficult. Most people just think it is or make it appear that it is. With some practice and youtube anyone can be casting like a pro in no time at all.


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## Tom 513 (Nov 26, 2012)

Bassbully 52 said:


> I
> 
> I understand lessons can helpful but fly casting and fishing is not difficult. Most people just think it is or make it appear that it is. With some practice and youtube anyone can be casting like a pro in no time at all.


Id have to agree, as I am self taught. Some days I cast well others not so much, but I do catch fish so to me that is what its all about. Lol, after you have to retie multiple times and get enough wind knots you force your self to become better at casting, plus you learn to tie knots like a pro. Funny I tell people I fly fish alone so other fishermen dont point and laugh at me, actually Im over it!


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Tom 513 said:


> Id have to agree, as I am self taught. Some days I cast well others not so much, but I do catch fish so to me that is what its all about. Lol, after you have to retie multiple times and get enough wind knots you force your self to become better at casting, plus you learn to tie knots like a pro. Funny I tell people I fly fish alone so other fishermen dont point and laugh at me, actually Im over it!


LOL I hear you. I have showed many people how to cast a flyrod in 10- 20 minutes and they are casting 30' or more with no issues. Its not difficult to cast a flyrod folks, really... its not.
To be accurate takes more time but it also does casting any fishing rod.
I feel flipping a jig under a low to the water boat dock with out a splash much harder then a 40' fly cast. I also feel showing someone how to cast a casting reel much harder than flycasting.


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## Longhorn (Oct 26, 2014)

I used to think I had taught myself how to cast until I found myself needing to cast 60'-80' reasonably accurately for redfish and fight winds from varied directions at the same time. Self-taught will work fine in most cases for what you all do, but it's easy to pick up bad habits which may hamper you down the road if you ever want to learn to cast properly. I speak from experience as one who had to unlearn what I taught myself. I look at it this way; we all can use instruction. As great as they are at golf, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have swing coaches.

I still think it's harder than using a baitcaster, but then again, that's all we used growing up around here. LOL. Nothing like a bird's nest or two to make you learn in a hurry!!

Tight lines everyone!


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## Gus Martin (Jan 31, 2017)

normd said:


> Ok so now that i have my fly outfit and assorted flies, what other essential accessories are recommended for hitting the water? I'll be fishing the streams, rivers and ponds of NW Ohio. No not the walleye run!


I've caught nearly 80% of my Ohio fish (streams, rivers, ponds) on a black or olive woolly bugger size 8, 10 or 12. They just seem to get the job done!


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## adamaj (Jun 29, 2014)

Couldn'tE="Gus Martin, post: 2293594, member: 71096"]I've caught nearly 80% of my Ohio fish (streams, rivers, ponds) on a black or olive woolly bugger size 8, 10 or 12. They just seem to get the job done![/QUOTE]

Couldn't agree more!


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