Minimum Tackle Needs

[vickory]

Right i will be new to Fly Fishing.
What would i need to buy to fish my local streams which i know have loads of troat in not very big, but could be some good sport.

[BUDGIE]

Hi mate.The first thing really is to choose a rod or more acurately a suitable line size for the size of water you are on.

Fly fishing lines are rated under a system called the AFTM system.I believe AFTM stands for American Fishing Tackle Manufacturers.The system not only shows the size/weight of the line (which will then obviously correspond to the correct sized rod) but also the "taper" of the line and its floating or sinking rate An example would be AFTM DT-6-F.This would describe a Double Tapered size 6 floating line.

I wont go into all the different types/tapers/densities of fly lines as this is a big subject.Sufice to say for your stream requirements a Double Tapered floating line will be the one you want.The exact weight/size being dependant on the size of the water. This could be a 4,5,or 6.I would be tempted to reccomend a 6 as you could use this on small still waters as well.

The rod needs to be matched to the line weight and once again the length will be dictated by the size of the water.I would reccomend once again going for a commise of 9'.

Fly reels come in a wide range of prices and qualities.Some are single action (not geared) and others are geared.They have a variety of different drag systems but in all truth a fly reel serves merely as somewhere to store the line.Often retrieving and playing a fish is done by not winding the reel but "stripping" the line with your hand.There are several cheap but good fly reels on the market.Once again the size will be dictated by the line used.

As with all tackle try to buy a balanced outfit.The AFTM system helps out a lot here.

Other things you will need are -

backing for your fly line.The standard fly line is only 30 yards so you need a backing line for when a fish runs.Some lines can be brought with the backing line allready attached.If you are new to this the ready joined line is the easy option.

Leader matirial-As fly lines are so thick (they have to be like this to cast as unlike normal coarse tackle the end tackle ie the fly!! hasnt enough weight to be cast conventionally it being the weight of the line itself that carrys the fly) you will also need some leader matiriel.This is just normal mono or fluro carbon in either a ready tapered form or brought in several different sizes,cut in to lengths,knotted together to make a leader which tapers down from the fly line tip to the fly end (point) These can be brought ready made.Now the system used to describe the size/breaking strain of a leader is also strange! Leaders are reffered to as size 0x to size 7x.In practical terms size 0x has a point breaking strain of around 10lb and 7x around 2lb.

The leader can be joined to the fly line with either a "needle knopt" or a simple to attach braided loop or leader.The taper of the leader is important in helping you cast and present your fly properly.Size is obviously selected depending on size of fish, conditions etc

At a push you can use your normall coarse landing net but eventually you will most likely want to buy a specialised folding trout net as this helps you be more mobile.

Rather than tackle bags and boxs a fly fishermans waist coat can be used to store all the little bits and pieces you will need for a days fishing,once again helping you keep mobile.

Other sundry items are a "priest" for cleanly dispatching any fish you want to kill to eat.A selection of various line flotants,degreasers and fly floatants/sinking compounds.One of the most usefull pieces of kit and also a very important safety aids are a good pair of polarised glasses.

Last but not least are flys themselves! A truely massive selection of different types,sizes,colours etc.This can be totally bewildering to the newcomer but I will let you into a little secret...in a lot of cases the exact pattern isnt that important ! size and general colour being more so.Find out what is reccomended by the people on your local water.

Hope that gives you some help.Anything Ive missed or your not sure on just ask and I will see if I can help.

Oh one last thing I will say is even though casting distances on streams arnt that great get some casting instruction as this will help you no end.As a very wise man once said "If you have £150 to spend on casting a trout fly then dont spend all £150 on a rod but £50 and the other£100 on lessons!"

[vickory]

Thanks Budgie very helpful.
Another question i have noticed the amount of differant fly's you can buy. how do i choose with ones to get.

[anglerpaul]

Nice one Budgie im new to flyfishing too.
got the gear but never really used it. Must give it a go.
Fresh troat
The fly selection was the thing that put me off having a go.

[BUDGIE]

Flies...there are thousands of different patterns! but dont let this put you off.

I will try to break them down into different types and explain how they are used.I will then give some examples of "must have" patterns that work every where.

There are firstly two main types of flies-Imitators and Attractors.

Imitators are exactly that ,copies of natural items of food that a trout may take.Examples of this would be a shrimp pattern or a copy of a May fly.Attractors dont imitate any specific food item but merely apeal to a trouts agressive nature.

These can both come in the form of -
Dry flies-these as the name implies are fished dry on the surface of the water.

Wet flies-fished below the surface.

Nymphs-tied to represent imitations of natural flies in their larval stage.

Lures-large often gaudy creations tied mainly as attractors but some as fish/fry imitations.

On most waters it helps to know what natural food is present at certain times of the year and use patterns which imitate these.Local knowledge comes in handy here.If you dont want to get that involved in entomology then simply looking in the catch book that most fisheries have will show you what patterns work there!

The way the fly is presented and worked is as if not more important than the exact pattern chosen.As I said before the size and colour is often more important than the exact pattern chosen.As this is such a massive subject what I will do is post a couple of simple patterns and how to fish them over the next couple of weeks.

[anglerpaul]

Cheers Budgie i understand flys a lot more now.
It's like pike fishing with lures and spinners, thier is a huge amount available.
Looking forward to your future posts on this subject.
Ps it you use a sinking flys do you need sinking line. Or do you use a long leader.

[BUDGIE]

You can use a floating line with a long leader or a sinking line! depends on a lot of things like the depth of the water and the type of presentation you are trying to achieve.

In the ideal world you would carry a range of fly lines with different sinking rates.Most streams/rivers and smaller still waters can be covered with a floating line though.