New to Fly Fishing? Do Your Homework!
By Yukon Jack

So you have decided to take up fly fishing. Where do you start? Having just gone through the process myself I have found it to be quite a journey. I thought that decades of spin fishing would prepare me for an easy transition to the “art” of fishing with the fly rod. In reality this is not the case.

I found that the various aspects of fly fishing each involve a fair bit of research and/or hands on training. Before you can even begin fishing you have to buy the equipment, learn casting/fishing techniques and gain at least a basic knowledge of fly selection for the fish you want to catch. This takes dedication and many hours of research, training and practice. Furthermore, becoming a proficient fly fisherman could take years of practice and experience.

As tedious as that all sounds it actually has been a lot of fun. Many people make the mistake of trying to teach themselves how to cast which in many cases just leads to bad habits. Like anything learning the right way from the beginning is always better than trying to break a bad habit after a year or two of frustration.