How to Fly Fish
A Complete Beginners Guide on How to Fly Fish
Learning how to fly fish is a great way to escape the rush of everyday life and immerse yourself in nature. It’s an opportunity to explore beautiful waters and wild surroundings, challenge yourself, and experience the thrill of catching a fish on the fly.
Once upon a time, we were in your shoes as a beginner angler, and we vividly recall how daunting entering the fly fishing universe can be. Between all the gear, flies, rivers, fish specifies, techniques, and skills, starting off on the right foot can appear, as they say, impossible.
We made this guide specifically for the new angler. Our goal in this short but handy guide is to get you strapped and ready with the tools and knowledge to go have a blast on the water.
Fly fishing takes a long time to learn. Still, the beginner skills we’re going to go over below will help to get you started and familiar with what you need to just get out there and properly test the waters. This article is for beginners, but if you’re already beyond that, we have tons of more advanced fly fishing guides here.
HOW TO FLY FISH FOR TROUT – 4 CORE TECHNIQUES
In this guide, we will cover the four main techniques of fly fishing: traditional nymphing and euro nymphing (AI buzzword of the fly fishing world), dry fly fishing, and streamer fishing. Each of these techniques has unique benefits and style, and we will provide a quick start guide for each one so you can choose the one that fits best for you and is most enjoyable.
THE TOP FLIES FOR TROUT
After diving into the techniques, we’ll cover the top 10 fly patterns to build out your fly box. These are tried-and-true patterns that are known to catch trout pretty much anywhere in the world. We have an entire course on the top trout flies as well as how to match the hatch with our online entomology course, but we’re going to give you the simplified, quick-start version to get you up and going to find out just how great this sport of fly fishing can be for any angler.
HOW TO FIND A GOOD PLACE TO FLY FISH
Lastly, we will review some tips on finding good places to fly fish. While a good Google search will get you some ideas, we’ll go one step deeper to equip you with some tools that will help you succeed in finding where to fish on the river and how to find trout.
Fly fishing can be done for various fish, including pike, bass, bluegill, roosterfish, tarpon, redfish, and nearly every game fish worldwide. In this article, our techniques and tips are focused on how to fly fish for trout. However, the ideas we discuss will have universal applications and are still worth reading.
Now that we have covered the basics let’s start learning how to fly fish with our 4 recommended techniques.
4 Core Techniques for Fly Fishing
Traditional Nymphing | Euro Nymphing | Dry Fly Fishing | Streamer Fishing
When we refer to fly fishing techniques, we refer to the different methods of presenting your flies to the fish. Primarily there are:
- Nymphing: which is a presentation using flies that sink under the water and imitate the nymph/larva form stage of insects that trout eat (side note, yes trout eat insects and the first stage for all aquatic insects is in their nymph form). This is likely the easiest presentation for beginners
- Traditional Nymphing: Euro nymphing and traditional nymphing are two forms of nymphing. Traditional nymphing means you are using a strike indicator (bobber, aka big floaty thingy) to help detect when a fish eats your fly. With traditional nymphing, you can fish as close or as far as you wish—one massive advantage to euro nymphing—and is especially fit for fishing in pools or long runs.
- Euro Nymphing: removes the strike indicator and relies on your ability to detect strikes by using a colored indicator line (called the sighter) with a straight, tightline.
- Dry Fly Fishing: This presentation method is entirely visual because you use fly patterns that float on the water. Known as dry flies, which imitate aquatic insects in their complete adult stage as they buzz throughout the air (emergers, duns, and spinners are the entomological definitions). Emergers swim to the surface of the water, duns land on the water to lay eggs, and spinners are the dying insects falling on the water, and in each instance, are vulnerable to be eaten by a trout. This is often the most exciting presentation because you see the trout swim up from the rock bottom to gobble your fly, but is only sometimes available because dry fly activity is seasonal.
- Streamer Fishing: This presentation imitates large insects or, more commonly baitfish, leeches, crayfish and other large prey for trout. You retrieve the streamer by pulling the line back to you. If you have experience spin fishing, this presentation style may ring a few bells.
While there will be days when one technique can outfish the other methods twenty to one, traditional nymphing is the one sure-fire approach to land a few fish given any river condition. Not to mention, traditional nymphing is beginner friendly. The fish are more forgiving with fly drag than they would be with dry flies. And it’s hard to go wrong selecting the wrong fly pattern with nymphs.
Quick Start Guide – General
While gear is an entire section unto itself, my best advice is to borrow from a friend first. Suppose you don’t have any friends that fly fish and want to try it out. In that case, you can check with renting from a local fly shop, or buying a cheap setup via Amazon or similar that is an all-in-one set up. These could be better quality, but you won’t care for the first 6 months at least. If you have the budget to invest in a decent setup, spend less than $500 for the entire rod, reel and line. Any more is a waste for a beginner.
Other gear considerations are things like boots and waders, hat, sunglasses, pack, suncreen, forceps, and tippet. All have value, as there’s a reason experienced anglers have all this gear and more, but if you’re beginner going out for the first 1 – 5 times, just do your best with your available options and have fun.
Also, get creative with jerry-rigging your own fishing kit. For instance, you can use pliers as forceps and a nail clipper as a nipper. Don’t spend too much. Most of us have hats and sunglasses and you can wet wade in the summer months in most places and wear some old tennis shoes if you can’t borrow boots and waders from a friend.
A reel with a good drag system is also vital to help you control the fish once you have hooked it. A 9-foot tapered leader is necessary for attaching the tippet and the fly. The tippet should be matched in size to the fly you are using.
Quick Start Guide – Traditional Nymphing
Traditional nymphing is one of the most popular techniques used in fly fishing, especially for beginners. This method involves using a strike indicator, a weighted nymph, and a leader to mimic the aquatic insects that trout feed on. The goal is to present the fly naturally and realistically at the proper depth to entice the fish to bite.
REQUIRED GEAR FOR TRADITIONAL NYMPHING
Here’s a quick checklist of the required gear to go out and traditional nymph:
- Fly Rod – 4wt – 6wt – Minimum 9ft rod
- Fly Reel – Anything works for trout so go cheap on this to start
- Fly Line – Match the rod weight for the and then select a weight-forward (WF) floating line
- Leaders – You’ll want at least one leader that is 9ft 4x or 5x tapered and knotless with a loop
- Strike Indicator – Thingamabobbers are the easiest to start but I’d consider NZ Strike Indicators as well for better presentation.
- Top Nymphs – We have an assortment of 72 nymphs that will set you up for a very long time that are the best colors and sizes and patterns to have the best success.
Setting up the rig for traditional nymphing involves attaching the strike indicator to the leader. The indicator is then set at the desired depth to where you believe the fish are holding. The weighted nymph is tied onto the tippet, usually 2ft to 3ft below the indicator. The depth of the nymph is adjusted by moving the indicator up or down the leader until the fly is at the desired depth. A good rule of thumb is 1.5x-2x the water depth. So if your fishing 3ft of water, the indicator should be placed approximately 3.5ft above the fly pattern.
One of the pros of traditional nymphing is that it is a highly effective technique for catching trout, especially in slower-moving water where the fish feed near the bottom. Learning is relatively easy for beginners, requiring only a few basic knots and a simple rig setup.
Choosing the Right Nymph Fly
Match The Hatch isn’t Just for Dry Flies
Choosing the right nymph fly is less important than selecting a properly weighted fly. If your nymph is out of the fishes feeding zone, meaning too high above their heads, the odds of them moving to gobble your fly go down. In my book, the heavier the better. As long as your not hanging up on bottom every couple drifts, then you parsed out the right fly weight.
Here is a brief step-by-step to nail the proper fly weight!
1. If the water appears deeper than 3 feet, choose the heaviest fly from our assortment. If shallower, choose the next heaviest pattern.
Choosing the right nymph fly is less important than selecting a properly weighted fly. If your nymph is out of the fish’s feeding zone, meaning too high above their heads, the odds of them moving to gobble your fly go down. In my book, the heavier the better. As long as you’re not hanging up on the bottom every couple of drifts, then you parsed out the right flyweight.
Here is a brief step-by-step to nail the proper flyweight!
1. Choose the heaviest fly from our assortment if the water appears deeper than 3 feet. If shallower, choose the next heaviest pattern.
2. Adjust your indicator to be 1.5x the water depth (3ft of water = 4.5ft from indicator to fly).
3. Drop down one bead or hook size if your fly starts catching bottom.
4. If bottom hookups continue, your indicator distance is too long. Make adjustments by shorting up the distance between the flies and the bobber.
The type of nymph you choose depends on the most active insect species in the water. If stoneflies are active, then you want to fish a stonefly pattern or near an identical nymph. Fly selection, however can be tough early on, so relying on the tried and true generic patterns is your best call.
Some of the most popular nymph flies include the Pheasant Tail Nymph, the Hare’s Ear Nymph, and the Copper John Nymph. These flies imitate a variety of nymph species, from Mayflies to Caddis. Instead of solving the riddle of what’s on the fish diet, the fish will decide for you. 2. Adjust your indicator to be 1.5x the water depth (3ft of water = 4.5ft from indicator to fly).
3. If your fly starts catching bottom, drop down one bead or hook size.
4. If bottom hookups continue, then it means your indicator distance is too long. Make adjustments by shorting up the distance between the flies and bobber.
Additionally, the type of nymph you choose depends on the most active insect species in the water. If stoneflies are out, then you want to fish a stonefly pattern or near identical nymph. Fly selection however can be tough early on, and that is why relying on the tried and true generic patterns is your best call.
Some of the most popular nymph flies include the Pheasant Tail Nymph, the Hare’s Ear Nymph, and the Copper John Nymph. These flies imitate a variety of nymph species, from Mayflies to Caddis. Instead of solving the riddle of what’s on the fish diet, the fish will decide for you.
Presenation Techniques and Tips
The key to successful nymph fishing is presenting your fly in a way that mimics the natural movement of the nymph in the water. You can use several approaches to achieve this, including dead drifting and swinging.
Dead drifting involves casting your nymph upstream and allowing it to drift naturally downstream, the flow of the current. This technique works best in slower-moving water or deep pools, where you want to give the fly time to sink and let it hug the river bottom. Use your indicator as a reference point for the drift. A pure dead drift means the indicator is moving at the pace of the current, traveling in one straight line. When fishing out and across, you’ll find that the indicator will start to swing back from the bank and closer to you. To avoid this, continue mending the line throughout the drift. This is a simple upstream flick of the rod-tip to keep the fly line above the indicator.
Swinging involves casting your nymph upstream and allowing it to swing across the current, mimicking the natural movement of the nymph. In other words, there is no mending involved. This technique is effective in both slower and faster moving water. At the end of the drift, pause the rod to let the fly line swing through the water—this process mimics the behavior of an emerging nymph.
Tips and Tricks for Nymph Fishing Success
Here are a few tips and tricks that can help you improve your nymph fishing success:
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Be patient and persistent. Nymph fishing can take some time to master, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t catch fish right away.
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Keep your fly close to the bottom of the river or stream. This is where the nymphs are most likely to be found, and where the fish will be looking for them.
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Use a strike indicator to help detect when a fish has taken the fly. The indicator will move or disappear when a fish takes the fly, alerting you to set the hook.
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Pay attention to the water conditions and adjust your approach accordingly. If the water is muddy, you may need to use a brighter or larger fly to attract the fish
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Be observant and pay attention to the behavior of the fish. If you notice fish feeding close to the bottom, you may need to adjust your presentation to get your fly closer to the bottom as we discussed in the fly selection portion of this article.
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Don’t be afraid to experiment with different nymph fly patterns. While some flies may be more effective than others, it’s always worth trying out new patterns to see what works best.
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Finally, always be respectful of the environment and the fish you catch. Handle the fish carefully and release them back into the water as quickly as possible to ensure their survival.
Nymph fishing is a highly effective fly fishing technique that can help you catch more fish in a variety of water conditions. By understanding the basics of nymph fishing, choosing the right nymph fly, and using effective presentation techniques, you can improve your fly fishing game and enjoy more success on the water. At The Catch and The Hatch, we offer a wide selection of nymph flies and other fly fishing gear to help you get started with nymph fishing today. So why not give it a try and see how it can improve your fly fishing experience?
Looking to take your fly fishing skills to the next level? Our online euro nymphing course is the perfect place to start. With our expert instruction and detailed course material, you’ll learn everything you need to know to become a successful euro nymphing angler. And with our limited-time sale, now’s the perfect opportunity to sign up and save 75% off the regular price. Don’t miss out on this chance to improve your fly fishing game and take advantage of this incredible offer.
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