learning to trout fish

I have been a course fisherman for the last 44 years but would like to learn how to start fly fishing. I live in slough but travelling is not a problem.My wife brought me a ron thomson starter kit in april for my birthday but alas this is still in its box. Any help and advise would be really appreaciated

Look on-line for your local trout fishery and book yourself a lesson --a lot of fisheries have their own instructors

If you put down where you are from TJ. You never know there may be someone who posts here that can help to get you started.

Learning to cast is the main thing ....

Ed is quite right. The biggest obstacle anyone has to overcome when starting to fly fish is the casting.

Many anglers try to take it up, yet after a few disastrous sessions they give up in disgust. Most people I have ever met who have denigrated this section of our sport, do so, I think, because they can't do it.

Also there is a totally different philosophy involved which has got nothing to do with specimen fishing or bagging-up.

Learning to cast really well is actually harder for most than learning to drive a car or ride a bicycle. I say this to encourage you because as your casting skills and tackle manipulation improve, so your enjoyment from fly fishing will grow. There is an analogy in the game of golf. Most high handicap hackers hate the game, but as they get better they enjoy it more and more.

I notice that you have a low cost outfit. One of the aspects I have learned after 15 years of teaching fly fishing is that it's not always a good idea for a beginner to learn on a cheap set of gear. This is unfortunate of course because even in the hands of a beginner, a good set of equipment will perform much better.

People like myself who have been fly fishing for half a century or more can actually pick up a cheap rod and line and still catch lots of fish. A beginner can't.

I leave you with this tip. Get it into your head that in fly casting you are NOT casting the fly - you are casting the line. The fly goes along for the ride.

Thanks for the advise lads. Looks like ive gott to crack the art of casting the line before going any further.

TJ,

Ron is spot on as usual.

I had been fly fishing (casting self taught) for about 25 years thought I was a decent fisherman. So I went for a once in a lifetime holiday to New Zealand, the trout angler's Mecca.This was in 1999.

To cut a long story short, I couldn't get a line into the wind. The NZ nor'wester is fierce. One fish sticks in my mind. It was about 6lb and only a few yards away, upstream of me tight to the near bank. For the life of me I couldn't get my fly on it. I simply did not have the ability. The line was blown on to the bankside vegitation several times. Big trout don't stand for much of that sort of nonsense.

The answer lay not in power with the rod (which is the novice/duffer's standby) hand, but in technique with the other hand. But unfortunately for me I didn't have that at that time.

I came back home. Decided that I needed to swallow my pride and stop being a smartass and booked a casting lesson with Eoin Fairgieve. He sorted me out in no time. I wasn't doing that much wrong, but with his advice and that one lesson, I am probably a better caster than most. So much so that I came second in a casting competion the other week.

I've also been back to NZ with more confidence and had a great time. I was even asked for casting tips by a guy who has guided for the likes of Mel Krieger and John Goddard (mega compliment).

I am still a bit lacking with the double handed rod for salmon, so am going for a lesson on Thursday. Again, I don't think I'm doing much wrong, but I could be better.

To put it in a nutshell, if I had taken instruction at the start, I would have enjoyed my fishing more, as casting is so much of the pleasure of fly fishing.

Alex

Quite true Alex.

I was lucky in a way in that the first time I picked up a "fly rod" I was able to get into the trick of casting. This came as a result of reading "Drop me a Line" by Maurice Ingham and **** Walker (that man again). In this book **** recommends getting hold of a length of rope and flicking it forward and back. This I did and soon progressed to rod and line - actually the first two sections of an old three piece cane coarse fishing rod.

In later stages I had a couple of free lessons from Jack Martin - a champion caster, and **** Walker himself.

I never looked back and count my fly fishing times as some of the most enjoyable and exciting moments spent fishing in my life.

The instructions in "Mr Crabtree" are pretty fine; I believe they were borrowed from a leaflet that either Shakespeare or Pfleuger published in the states. Got me chucking a level line most of the way across the upper Thames with one of those Japanese combination rods, 'way back!

If you watch the fly -casting episode of the "Out of Town" dvd now going the ebay rounds, you'll see a distinct braking in the action of both Barrie Welham and the French caster who features in it; a sharp halt beween what I seem to remember Venables calls the "Snip" and the follow-through. This means the power is applied to the FIRST part of the casting arc, so giving the cast an upwards bais - important in not harvesting nettles behind you, and thrashing up a foam ahead.

Sadly, I don't think the Crabtree diagrams covered hauling.

I doubt if in the times when Venables wrote Crabtree, that single or double hauling would have been contemplated by English fly fishers. If it had have been mentioned, no doubt the fly fishing establishment would have considered those employing such a style as "cads".

The double haul style of casting, and indeed the shooting head and forward taper line, originated in the USA of course.

Even **** Walker had to re-learn his casting style when he started fishing Grafham.

Hmm... I feel that perhaps single-hauling is so instinctive that everyone did it, but it didn't need a name - until double-hauling came along.

I've just been on a 10 day fly fishing school and after course fishing for about 5 years i found it alot of fun!

As everyone has said the casting is very important,and as i was constantly told it's not a wrist action (",)

Another bit of advice was to put a book under your arm and as you cast you cannot let the book fall.

Get out there and do it TJ you'll love it.

Good for you Wendy.

Some of the finest casters I have ever seen in the world have been women. Joan Wulff, wife of the late legendary Lee Wulff, is such a caster.

Casting well has little to do with strength. It's all about timing and technique. The ability to execute a good cast is often just as much fun as catching a fish. And when you can cast well, you are going to catch lots of fish.

oh i caught plenty ron! my first trout i will never forget!

Next thing to do Wendy is to learn to tie all your own flies and this is nothing to do with trousers.... )

Seriously you will find it a lovely hobby that will take up a lot of winter evenings. Designing your own patterns is very rewarding, especially when you catch a fish on them.

Women generally make much better fly dressers than men. They can manipulate things much better than men if you ask me.

Jackie Wakeford was a supreme fly dresser. She tied flies for many of Britains most famous, including **** Walker.

I think you have found your niche Wendy. After catching a few trout you will never want to go back to those horrid smelly coarse anglers what?

)

Erm.... i don't think so Ron i love my course fishing i found fly fishing fun but...i was sick to death of casting out every few mins.

I am gonna go out and buy myself a fly rod and reel sometime next week and go fishing somewhere on my own maybe the ribble or somewhere like that.I tied a few fly's whilst i was there and yes it is a good hobby my fav was a blue Zulu!

Fly fishing is very light i liked that about it you can just up and go!

One of the things I truly hate about coarse fishing is the amount of darned gear you have to carry. Not only that it's the tackling up and then the de-tackling at the end of a session that I detest.

When I am fly fishing I can walk miles with my little seat bag over my shoulders, my net and my rod and reel.

On a river you don't even need a bag, just a few things in your fishing vest.

Wendy,

If you stick with it, you will find the casting to be not just a way of getting a fly in front of the fish, but will enjoy the casting itself.

The travelling light as both you and Ron say, is a refreshing change from carrying brollies, bait, rod rests, feeders and leads....

I think the trout season on the Ribble is finished now, but you should still be able to have a go for grayling. I would stay clear of heavy nymphs though, until you have found your feet.

I'll be down with my mate, fishing for barbel "above Preston" (OK, at Elston)for a week from Sunday 15/10.

If you fancy a wee casting lesson, or some guidance on fly fishing a river, just PM me. I'm no instructor, but I do OK.

Thanks for that Laurie i may pop along during the week for a few hours. I've got to go and buy a fly rod and reel yet though.

Wendy,
I tried to PM you, but I'm having computer trouble and don't know if it was sent ok or not.

So, the gist of it was...

Don't go buying a rod and reel as I have plenty (too many) and can bring down a couple of outfits for you to try out.

Are you thinking of fishing rivers like the Ribble/Hodder, or were you going to start off on stillwaters for rainbows?

I tend to use a #5 rod as a general outfit, but would suggest a #6 outfit as a good general outfit for rivers and lochs (sorry, stillwaters).

Alex

Alex