Basic Tips On What You Need To Begin Fly Fishing
Published August 22, 2024
Fly fishing can feel daunting for beginners. Maybe it’s the fly casting technique that freaks you out. Or maybe it’s rigging up your first fly rod. Or it could be researching insect hatches and all those funky fly names. Fair enough. But here’s some good news—even beginners can catch fish on a fly rod!
This beginners’ guide assumes that you’re new to fly fishing—either new to fishing in general or ready to add a fly rod to your arsenal of spinning or baitcasting rods. So, to keep things simple, this article will go over the basics of fly fishing gear and offer beginner tips on how to cast, where to find fish, and how to catch them on a fly rod.
What Is Fly Fishing?
Fly fishing is an angling method that uses artificial flies to catch fish. These fake flies are created by tying natural and synthetic materials in patterns that mimic insects, minnows, and other aquatic food sources.
When most people think of fly fishing, they probably picture a trout slurping a fly off the surface of the water. However, fly fishing is not only effective for trout but also panfish, bass, carp, pike, musky, steelhead, salmon, redfish, tarpon, and other saltwater fish. And not all flies float—after all, most fish feed beneath the surface, not on it.
The most basic types of flies are dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, and streamers:
- Dry flies are floating flies that imitate adult insects that have either surfaced from underwater or fallen into the water.
- Wet flies are thin, lightweight flies fished below the surface that look like emerging insects and slow-moving aquatic life.
- Nymphs are weighted flies fished near the bottom that mimic invertebrates and immature insects that mature underwater
- Streamers are larger flies fished underwater that resemble swimming prey, such as minnows, baitfish, crayfish, or leeches.
Most flies weigh next to nothing. Even weighted nymphs and streamers don’t tip the scales as much as conventional bait and tackle. That makes the mechanics of fly fishing different from conventional fishing.
In conventional fishing, it’s the weight of the lure or bait that catapults your cast from a spinning or baitcasting rod. In fly fishing, it’s the weight of the fly line that generates the energy to flip flies out to the water.
That’s why fly fishing requires a distinctive fly cast (which we cover below)—and special rods, reels, lines, and tackle. In this video, two of our Gearhead® Experts talk about their first fly fishing outfits and how to match your fly rod, fly reel, and line system to the kind(s) of fly fishing you want to do: https://youtu.be/pQB9tVnUzn8
What Do Beginners Need For Fly Fishing?
The basic fly fishing set up includes a fly rod, fly reel, fly line, and flies.
Fly Rods
As a beginner, your most important purchase is your fly rod. Fly rods come in different weights, lengths, and actions. Here are some fly rod basics to help beginners crush this important choice:
- Fly rod weights range from 0-weights to 14-weights. The weight indicates the size of the fly line a rod is designed to cast–the higher the weight, the heavier the line.
- Fly rod lengths range from 6–12 feet with 9-foot rods being typical. Longer rods cast further and have more reach to handle your fly line effectively. Shorter rods cast more accurately and handle better in tight quarters.
- Action refers to how easily a fly rod flexes and how quickly the rod tip recovers: fast-action rods are stiffer and cast farther, medium-action rods are versatile and easier for beginners to cast, and slow-action rods excel at delicate dry fly casts.
Beginners often start with a mid-weight rod for its versatility. For freshwater fishing, the most versatile fly rod is a 9ft 5wt—which is also the most popular length and weight for trout. For saltwater, a 9ft 8wt is a versatile option for redfish, speckled trout, smaller stripers, and bonefish. Medium or medium-fast action rods also make sense for many beginners since they’re versatile and easier for beginners to cast.
Ideally, though, anglers choose their fly rod based on where they’ll be fishing the most, what presentation(s) they use, and which size and species of fish they expect to catch. Here are general rules of thumb for choosing the correct fly rod weight:
- 2-4wt: panfish, small trout, small streams
- 4-6wt: trout, smaller bass, larger streams and rivers
- 6-8wt: bass, carp, pike, steelhead
- 8-10wt: salmon, striped bass, red fish, small saltwater
- 10wt+: musky, big saltwater fish
In this video, a Backcountry Gearhead goes over more fly rod basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghfguWeY6PQ
Fly Reels
Your fly reel should match the size of your fly rod. For example, if you’re fishing a 5-weight fly rod, you’ll want to pair it with a 5-weight fly reel (or a 5/6 reel—which is built for either 5-wt or 6-wt fly line). For fly reel recommendations, check out our picks for the best fly reels.
Fly anglers usually retrieve their line with their hands—not the fly reel. However, a good fly reel can be helpful because of its drag. Drag is a reel’s braking power, which prevents big fish from pulling out all your line while maintaining pressure on fish to keep them hooked without snapping your line. Fly reels feature two types of drag:
- Disc drag systems are the smoothest and most reliable choice.
- Click-and-pawl drags are less expensive systems that provide less adjustability and stopping power than a disc drag system.
In this video, Gearhead Cat goes over more basics of fly fishing reels to help you understand your choices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdb-d64WE2c
Fly Lines
Fly lines are thick, coated lines that provide the mass required to cast lightweight flies.
Most beginners start with a floating fly line. Floating lines not only work for dry fly fishing but also for many sub-surface presentations. However, sinking or sink-tip fly lines may be more appropriate for deeper water presentations.
Fly lines are labeled by weight—with each increase in weight indicating a heavier fly line. That is, a 4-weight line is heavier than a 3-weight line. If you’re a beginner, make sure your fly line, reel, and rod are all the same weight.
Importantly, the main fly line itself is just one part of your line system. In fly fishing, your line system consists of (1) backing, (2) fly line, (3) leader, and (4) tippet. The arbor of the fly reel connects to the thick backing, which connects to the main fly line, which connects to the leader, which (sometimes) connects to the thin tippet—each segment gets progressively thinner to transfer energy to the fly on the cast. This video explains more about the anatomy of a fly line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aORGiu6J6l4
Anglers usually carry a small assortment of leaders and tippets when fly fishing. Leader and tippet sizes are the opposite of fly line sizing—the bigger the number, the lighter and smaller diameter the tippet. In general, 4x–6x tippets work for trout fishing, and 3x–4x are good for bass fishing. (If you use spinning tackle, a 4X tippet is approximately 6lb test.)
As a beginner, you’ll need to learn a few knots to connect these various lines and to tie flies to the end of your leader or tippet. This Orvis video shows you three useful knots to get rigged up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ghw_DsLmgU
Flies
Most fly anglers carry an assortment of dry flies, nymphs, and streamers since fishing conditions change week by week, if not hour by hour. A general rule is to “match the hatch,” or use flies that match the specific insects (and other prey) that fish are targeting at a specific moment.
Flies are sold in different sizes. Fly sizing is the opposite of what you might expect—the larger the number, the smaller the fly. That is, a size 22 fly is tiny—smaller than a size 20 or size 12 fly. It’s typical to carry your go-to flies in several sizes, so you can size up or down to mimic the size of fishes’ current food sources. For example, anglers might carry their favorite nymphs in size 12, 14, and 16 and their favorite dry flies in a series, too.
Fly Fishing Tools and Accessories
So far, we’ve covered the basic fly rod outfit for beginners. But you’ll probably need to carry a few fly fishing tools and accessories:
- Polarized sunglasses for protection and underwater vision
- Floatant to keep dry flies floating properly
- Hemostats to remove hooks and grasp small objects
- Nippers to clip knots, leaders, and tippets
- Fly boxes to carry and organize our the fly collection
- Net to land fish bigger fish
Once you’ve accumulated a few flies, tools, and accessories, you’ll need a convenient way to carry your gear and tackle on the water, such as a fly fishing vest or pack.
If you’ll be fishing cold water, a good pair of waders and wading boots are a must. For recommendations, check out our top 5 waders and wading boots for men and women.
How To Cast A Fly Rod
Once you’re rigged up and geared up, you can tackle the challenge of the fly cast. The timing of the fly cast is tricky, at first. But with a little practice, it's possible to catch fish on a fly rod even without a perfect cast.
The basic fly cast is the overhead cast. This involves (1) a back cast—where you sweep the rod back to roll out the fly line behind you—and (2) a forward cast—where you snap the rod tip forward and stop it to unfurl the fly line forward to carry the fly to the water. Fly casts are relatively short—usually no longer than 30–50 feet.
Let’s break that down a bit. Here are the steps for the basic fly cast:
- Grip the fly rod. Grab the cork rod handle in front of your fly reel, placing your thumb (easiest) or pointer finger on top of the rod. Keep your grip relaxed.
- Strip out line. Pull a few feet of line off the reel and flick it out through the guides until you have 20–-30 feet of fly line in the water in front of you. (Less line is easier when starting out.)
- Drop the rod tip. Lower the rod tip, so it’s pointed down at the water.
- Start the back cast. Sweep the rod tip up and back in a smooth, accelerating motion.
- Stop the rod abruptly as soon as it passes the vertical position. The stopping point is when your hand is near your ear—as if you were talking on the phone—with the rod angled around the 11:00 or 10:00 position behind you.
- Pause. This is crucial: wait and watch your fly line as it unfurls behind you in the air. This “loads” the fly rod (bends the rod tip back) to generate the energy for the forward cast. (Most new anglers rush and don’t pause long enough to load the rod.)
- Accelerate the fly rod forward. Just before your fly line completely straightens out behind you, drive the rod tip forward with a smooth accelerating motion, keeping the rod tip on a level plane. This motion is like flicking paint from a brush onto a wall.
- Stop the rod abruptly above you. As soon as your rod hand passes in front of your face (at 1:00-2:00), come to another complete stop to roll out the loop of fly line in front of you.
- Slowly drop your rod tip when the fly is about to land on the water to present it to a fish.
It’s smart to practice the overhead cast in an open area like a park before trying it out on the water. Remember to look behind you before casting—unlike spin fishing or baitcasting, the overhead cast requires room for your back cast. For example, if you’re casting 30 feet in front of you, you’ll need 30 feet of clearance behind you, too.
How To Fish Flies: Basic Fly Presentations
Once you have a feel for the basic fly cast, you can hit the water and give fly fishing a go. To make things easier for yourself, choose a body of water where there’s plenty of room to cast, such as a pond or small stream without trees behind you. Take a cast, following the basic tips above.
With a conventional spinning or baitcasting rod, you rely on your reel to stop and retrieve your fishing line. With a fly rod, you mostly use your hands.
Once your fly lands on the water, use the index finger of your rod hand to grip your fly line loosely. To retrieve your fly line, keep the line loose in your trigger finger and use your non-rod hand to pull the fly line toward you in small sweeps—this is called “stripping the line.” When you need to stop the line or set the hook, use that trigger finger to pinch the fly line firmly against the grip of your fly rod.
With each cast, your goal is present flies to fish as naturally as possible. Different types of flies call for different presentations:
- In dry fly fishing, the basic presentation is to cast upstream of rising fish and let the fly float downstream in a natural ‘dead drift’ where the current (not your fly line) controls the fly.
- Wet flies are often ‘swung’ by casting them across the stream, drifting them down with the current, and letting them swing across the current in an arc until they are downstream of you.
- In nymphing, the basic presentation is to cast at an upstream angle and let the flies sink and drift downstream in a natural manner while maintaining a tight line to sense a subtle strike.
- In streamer fishing, the basic presentation is to strip or twitch the fly line to swim the streamer through the water column in a way that will trigger a predatory strike.
When you see or feel a strike, you set the hook with a short upward or downstream sweep of the fly rod. (Remember to pinch the fly line against your rod with your trigger finger as you do this.) If you hook a small fish, you can retrieve it by using your hands to strip in the fly line. If you hook a larger fish, you may want to use the fly reel to utilize its drag to maintain pressure on the fish without it snapping your leader or tippet in the fight.
At Backcountry, most folks are catch-and-release anglers. To release fish safely, wet your hands before handling them and keep fish in the water as much as possible as you remove the hook. Use barbless hooks for quicker releases, handle fish as little as possible, and choose rubber nets that don’t scrape off fishes’ protective slime. That keeps our fish populations healthy and helps other anglers enjoy the joys of fly fishing.
Where To Go Fly Fishing
Now that you know the basics of casting and catching fish on a fly rod, it’s time to figure out where to catch fish. That’s tough, though, because the best fishing spots vary by the time of year and by the species of fish. For example, fish may be shallow during the spawn and in deeper water other times of the year. Likewise, largemouth bass, musky, and panfish mostly stick to slack water while smallmouth bass and trout favor moving water where available.
That means it’s not realistic to point to universal spots that always produce fish. However, certain locations tend to hold more feeding fish than others:
- Current breaks: In rivers and streams, fish primarily orient themselves to current. Aggressive fish will move into fast water to feed. However, that takes a lot of energy, so more fish feed in runs, pools, or pockets of mild current where they can hold position without wasting energy while the current washes food right to them. Cast flies to seams between faster and slower currents and look for lines of bubbly foam on the surface to see where the current naturally carries food to fish (remember, “foam is home”).
- Rocks: Many fish base their movements around rock structures (especially smallmouth bass) while several species of fish, including trout, often hold in current breaks just above or below boulders in moving water.
- Depth changes: It’s often productive to fish sharp transitions between deeper and shallower water, such as the drop offs below riffles and tailout areas of pools in rivers or steep banks and channels in lakes.
- Cover: Most fish species seek cover, either for protection or ambush points. This may be weed beds (bass, pike, panfish), downed trees or logjams (trout, bass, panfish), shade (especially on sunny days), or overhanging banks. It’s almost always a good idea to fish in, or adjacent to cover.
- Shoreline: Many fish feed close to shore, especially in low-light conditions or high water–where the shoreline offers breaks in the current and ambush points to trap minnows, baitfish, frogs, and terrestrials.
Over time, you’ll learn your local waters, seasonal fish and insect cycles, and patterns for finding fish. That’s when fishing really gets fun—especially with a fly rod!
Final Thoughts
Fly fishing can be an effective—and addictive—way to fish. It’s hard to beat the experience of watching a trout inhaling a dry fly, luring a steelhead or salmon off its nest with an egg-sucking leach pattern, picking off panfish after panfish on tiny poppers, or triggering an aggressive bass, bonefish, striper, or musky with an annoying streamer pattern.
You won’t become a master fly angler overnight. However, with some mastery of the basics—and plenty of practice—you can enjoy the beauty and excitement of fly fishing.
FAQ
Q: Is fly fishing harder than regular fishing?
A: Fly fishing is harder than fishing with a spinning or baitcasting rod but just a little bit harder—all kinds of fishing have their learning curves.
Q: Can I teach myself to fly fish?
A: You can teach yourself to fly fish, but it’s easier and more fun to learn alongside a more experienced fly angler. You’re less likely to develop bad habits and more likely to catch fish right away, which will encourage you to keep working at it to get better. Also, we recommend watching videos of leading fly anglers. Some of our favorites for trout fishing are George Daniel’s Living on the Fly, Tom Rosenbauer’s Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing, and Domenick Swentosky’s Troutbitten.
Q: What do I need to start fly fishing?
A: To get started with fly fishing, you’re going to need:
- Fly rod
- Fly reel
- Fly line
- Leaders
- Tippets
- Flies
- Essential tools and accessories
- Waders and wading boots