Flyfishing JONG is stoked.....

[bigsugar]

So I have decided to take up flyfishing. I visited my folks last week and dusted off my dad's old "Actonrod" a 9' fiberglass rod that was about 45 years old. After going to the local fly shop to get new line (we had to try different line weights.....it wasn't marked on the rod) and having the salesguys laugh at my ineptitude and pathetic flyrod, I went fishing. I suck. Tailing loops were a big problem, wind knots, etc. Despite all that, I am still stoked, especially when one cast out of twenty is halfway decent.

fast forward to today. I decide to splurge on a 8'6" Scott A2, 5 weight 4 piece and a Redington CD 5/6 reel with some fancy line. Holy shit, my casts are 100% better, more accurate with relatively delicate presentation.

Yeah, pretty much a useless story, but I am super pumped to actually fish with this thing.

[TS Quint]

Not a useless story actually...first off, what store did the salesman laugh at you? I hope that's not where you went back to spend all the money on your new stuff!?!

I'm just getting into fly fishing myself after moving from the prairies...my best advice would be to spend a good amount of time just casting on dry land...getting the hang of it before even hitting the water.

[uncle crud]

PSSSST...

"wind knot" is a casting flaw, not a wind flaw! we fishermen know how to lie, so we blame leader/tippet knots on the wind!

I agree on the dry-land casting practice. To get the line to track well, it helps to do some side-arm casting because you can watch the line pay out behind you and time your forward cast properly. Then you can slowly move the angle up toward overhead.

To follow where your tippet is going, tie some yarn to the end. You can use a fly, but the hook will keep grabbing grass & plants & other things. You can get pretty danged accurate casting going by doing dry-land practice.

Just remember that casting a fly line is about patience, smoothness and finesse. Power and strength are NOT in the equation. Don't try to muscle it. Work on getting the timing right and letting the rod supply the muscle.

[bigsugar]

[QUOTE=uncle crud;1348845]PSSSST...

"wind knot" is a casting flaw, not a wind flaw! we fishermen know how to lie, so we blame leader/tippet knots on the wind!

QUOTE]

Yeah I know......my point was that it was really difficult for me to make a decent cast with the old fiberglass rod. It is much easier with the graphite. I have very few tangles and tailing loops now.

Dry land practice was very helpful. I probably logged about 30 hours between the two rods before I ever got on the water with the new rod.

[Mybad!]

Not a useless story actually...first off, what store did the salesman laugh at you? I hope that's not where you went back to spend all the money on your new stuff!?!

I'm just getting into fly fishing myself after moving from the prairies...my best advice would be to spend a good amount of time just casting on dry land...getting the hang of it before even hitting the water.

Do I need more equipment (flies or stuff I don't know about) to cast on land other than rod, reel, and line? I myself just bought a set up of the before mentioned equipment after years of watching people fish while I was paddling. Also, are instructional videos a waste of money or are there some that are worth the cash?

[fez]

Do I need more equipment (flies or stuff I don't know about) to cast on land other than rod, reel, and line? I myself just bought a set up of the before mentioned equipment after years of watching people fish while I was paddling. Also, are instructional videos a waste of money or are there some that are worth the cash?

dont know of any videos, but to practice casting, you should throw a leader into the mix. instead of a fly, just tie a piece of yarn onto the end of the leader.

did you buy your rod from a local shop? if so, they would probably teach you to cast. not sure where you are located, but some shops have demo days or there are instructional days.

[TS Quint]

I've seen some of the instructional videos out there (sorry, don't recall titles)...some were helpful, others were crap...I only paid a couple bucks in late fees at my local public libraries - try there - - - it can't hurt.