Mastering fly fishing would take you a significant amount of time and effort. With experience, you would learn the tips and the basic. However, there are certain do's and don'ts of fly fishing that you should know if you intend to excel in it.
Remember this list of do's when you are out fly fishing and these would surely prove to be smart advice.
Always bring a plastic bag to keep your catch. If you are on a long and tiring journey back home, you would not want the smell of fish in the car.
Make sure that you invest in buying several lines. The reason is that you have to get the fly to the accurate depth to feed the fish.
Waders will make your day a lot easier. You would easily be able to dodge shrubs and bushes along the edge of the water. This way you would easily be able to get closer to the fish.
When you are fishing out in an area do check out your information by getting more knowledge from the locals. This can even help you improve your catch.
You should always follow the safety measures so when you are fly fishing it is essential to have a vest on.
You should make use of a variety of entices for attracting the fish. Do not just stick to one?
Make sure that you have a significant quantity of every variety of the fly. The reason is that you may end up losing the fly, or it may even be destroyed by the trout's teeth.
It is also essential to have protective clothing. For example, if you are fly fishing in winters then it would be good to have a base layer followed by a mid layer. The top layer should also be present along with waterproof clothing.
Now you should have a disaster management tools and items at hand. There is a possibility that small mishaps may occur with your clothing and waders. The best solution is to have anglers glue and wader repair solution with you. The angling glue can be quite useful to fix up a leader or a damaged fly.
Carrying spare items can also be a smart move. For example, make sure that you have an extra reel and rod too.
Keep checking your leader for damages and wind knots. The leader can become frayed when lying on a rough place or through the rocky bottoms. If the leader gets damaged, make sure to change it because you can end up losing the fish.
Keep checking on the ferrules as well. You need to ensure that they do not become loose or lose their alignment. There are two possibilities. It can happen that the tip can fly off during casting, or a large trout can also bust your rod at a weak point because of loose ferrules.
It is essential to take care of your gear as well. This means that you have to oil the reel. The line should be cleaned, and you need to check out if the rod has any chips or dents. Line chips can easily be mended with the help of super glue. If the repair is beyond you, then the smart thing to do would be to take your gear to a tackle dealer to get it repaired or replaced.
You can simply save the day by learning to build up different knots that include nail knot or water knot. You should also be aware of building a leader on the bank side. When you would learn the repairs and the basics, it would save a lot of time and effort as well.
The following is the list of don'ts which you should be following to the core.
Many fly fishermen tend to cast too far. Well, this can prove to be a big mistake on your part, so you have to ensure that you do not commit this mistake at all. What you often do is that you try to push out the line at a great distance. This would cause bad casting and a lot of tangles.
Do not opt for heavy leader lines for flies. If you go in for a 4 to 5 lb line, then you would be able to catch a lot more fish.
Another mistake that most fly fishermen tend to do is that they buy very expensive rods. Well, you have to ensure that you do not commit this error. You can easily get cheaper rods that would be as useful as any expensive rod and catch a lot of fish as well.
Another misconception is that a big rod can cast further. The distance is down to the timing and rod setup. You have to ensure that everything is matched well. There are times when anglers tend to struggle with a rod of about 11ft in a situation when a 9ft rod would work well.
Do not tread heavily on the boat or the bank side because there is a possibility that you might spook the fish away to anglers on another side.
It is never advisable to false cast a fish that is already showing. There are chances that you might spook it away.
Now that you know the do's and don'ts of fly fishing you can look forward to a great fishing experience. If you feel that it is difficult to remember all these things, then make it a point to have a checklist and make sure that you review the list when you are going out to fly fish. When you would take care of all these details, then you can enjoy the experience and would not have to face disappointing results. On the contrary, the outcome would be great.