Addicted To Flyfishing

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Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Flyfishing is an addictive pursuit. Unlike lure casting where you use the weight of the lure to cast, in flyfishing you use the weight of the line to cast. Flyfishing generally requires longer rods but like good spinning rod fishermen it requires knowledge of what the fish are feeding on. The phrase “Match the Hatch” means only to cast to the feeding trout or bass an imitation of the fly or nymph the trout are feeding on at that moment. Flyfishing offers the same exciting moment when a trout comes to the surface and strikes your fly as when a spin caster has a bass strike a Hula Hopper.

Flyfishing as mentioned before requires the casting of the weight of the line to present the fly. Lines come in varying weights from a 1wt (1-weight) to a 14wt. The average weight in the East is a 5wt, where the average weight in the West in a 7wt. The west has wider rivers and they need the extra weight for more distance. The fly rod you buy will be in tune with the weight of the line. A 7wt line requires a 7wt rod, and a 5wt line requires a 5wt rod. It is not unusual for a fly shop when you purchase a good rod and reel to give you the line free. Fly lines run in the $50 to $60 range.

A good rod and reel will cost at least $250 but an excellent rod and reel will cost $700 and up. There is and exception to this, Orvis one of the fine rod and reel manufacturers has start a low cost line called Clearwater that offers significant savings on a full line of flyfishing gear. It is an excellent chance to enter the sport without spending to such money.

Flyfishing happens to take place in the most beautiful surroundings. And the intense concentration one catching a trout can sometimes take your attention away from the nearby scenery. I was once fishing the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park when down stream from me I saw a nice rainbow feed beside a grassy bank. I kept my eye on him as I waded down to a position to cast for him. He was rising to Green river caddis and I had one on. I made the perfect cast about a yard ahead of him and as my fly floated down I knew the exact spot where he would strike. As I thought he came up to take the fly I was so prepared that I raised my rod to set the hook and pulled the fly right out of his mouth. Frustrated I made several false casts to dry off the fly and cast again and made a bad cast as my line slapped the water. I tried five more time to get him to rise but I had put him down. I started false casting to work off my adrenaline and looked up at the scenery. There to my fear and surprise was a bull moose in full rack bedded down not three yards from where I was casting to. He was giving me a territorial stare that said leave or I will make you leave. I calmly but quickly exited the water and in my walk back to my Blazer, I had to laugh and say only in Yellowstone.

Not all flyfishing is that dramatic but flyfishing does take concentration, a relaxed concentration. You don’t think about your worries and cares. You just concentrate on casting well and to the right places. And after flyfishing, even if you were skunked, you come away feeling that you learned a little more about the sport and know what questions to ask next time you are in a fly shop.

ORVIS CFO Disc Drag Fly Fishing Reel III - NEW