Complete Fly Fishing Newbie - Where To Start?

[mainbutter]

I have plans this closed season in MN to chase panfish (open year round), and use it as a good time to learn to fly fish.

I have all my tackle picked out (4 wt w/ floating line) except the most important part - lures!!

Given that I don't really have a good understanding of fly fishing terminology, where would you point someone who's looking to start tying his own panfish flies?

Thanks!!

[homebuilderman]

Hi!

Where to start - where to start?

Well, first things first. You need the tools and materials. I would suggest that you research fly tying kits online and pick one that fits your budget. Rest assured they are - or can be - pricey, but the tools will last you a lifetime. I got my first fly tying kit in the summer leading into 10th grade (20+ years ago). I broke my ankle and was stuck inside with a cast. So, my mom got me the kit to pass some time away. I loved it and I still use the same tools today.

So, here are some ideas for kits:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_27765____SearchResults This is a trout kit with an instruction video from Lefty Kreh - He is a legend in fly fishing. As a note: I bought the bass fly tying kit for my bro-in-law when he wanted to try tying. The kit was an excellent starter kit and also had a great video with Lefty Kreh. The trout kit shows you how to tie some patterns that will work for panfish also (wooly booger, ant, etc).

Cabelas also has several complete starter kits with DVD instructions:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/index/index-display.jsp?id=cat20532&navAction=jump&navCount=1&cmCat=MainCatcat20431&parentType=category&parentId=cat20431

For me, I really enjoy catching panfish with topwater flies, but sometimes you need to go sub-surface. Truth be told, most times you can catch bluegills on just about anything that's kinda furry and has jiggly legs.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Topwater: Grasshopper patterns, muddler minnows, foam ants

Sub-surface: Wooly booger

When I was learning to tie, there was no internet and I had to figure it out on my own. I used to buy flies and try to recreate them just by looking at them. The wooly booger is about the easiest and will catch fish.

Nowadays you can use the internet and your learning curve will be far easier:

youtube.com

Wooly Booger

Ant

Spider

Muddler Minnow

Thanks for reading.

Greg

I have plans this closed season in MN to chase panfish (open year round), and use it as a good time to learn to fly fish.

I have all my tackle picked out (4 wt w/ floating line) except the most important part - lures!!

Given that I don't really have a good understanding of fly fishing terminology, where would you point someone who's looking to start tying his own panfish flies?

Thanks!!

[GDille]

Poppers are easy to use and easy to make, buy sone cheap foam flip flops and small diameter brass tubing, about 1/4 to 3/8 to get started. Use sandpaper to sharpen the brass tubing end, and push it through the flip flop. Remove the cylinder and sand it to clean it up a bit. Poke a hole length-wise through the body and shove the hook through the hole and super glue once in position. tie on a tail before or after, it makes no difference really. another good fly is the hare's ear nymph. It mimics about any nymph in the water, and I usually get hits when it isn't moving. check out flyanglersonline.com, click on fly tying in the side-bar and the go through beginning tying. Its a lot of help

George

[mainbutter]

omg thank you for the flyanglersonline.com suggestion! I've been reading through their beginner fly tying section, it's fantastic.

[RSBreth]

One of the best subsurface flies is the Hares Ear Nymph. For a little more depth the bead-head version works good. Dave Whitlock's Red Fox Squirrel Nymph is another awesome panfish fly. Twitched along beside cover these two work great, but considering how cold the water is up there right now, a great way to fish them is under a small strike indicator like you would a jig and float rig for Crappie. Cast beside cover, let the fly drift down beside the cover, then give it a twitch every 15- to 30-seconds or so. I catch tons of Crappies on fly gear fishing like that, and plenty of Bluegills are there with them.

It's a lot of fun.

[GDille]

Once you have gone through the beginner section, check out the fly of the week archives on flyanglersonline, most of those flies are very simple, and abriveiated versions of well know flies that work just as well, or better than the original. If you have questions just ask, it cant hurt.

George

[Peterjay]

If you happen to know someone who ties, you could ask if they'd give you a lesson or let you watch the next time they tie up a batch. That'd be the best way to learn the basic skills. One thing about panfish is that they'll hit just about anything that moves, so you won't have to worry about tying anything complicated right off the bat. A simple nymph pattern with nothing more than black and white chenille wound on the hook will produce more panfish than you know what to do with. You won't need any fancy equipment to get started. You don't even need a bobbin - you can get by with using half-hitches to hold the materials down. One of the inexpensive tying kits would be enough to get you going. IMHO, the best tying site on the web is flytyingforum.com. They have a beginners' section you might want to cruise. Once you get the basics down, the next step is to get yourself addicted to the point where you absolutely have to own every synthetic fiber known to Man and a piece of every bird or mammal that isn't extinct. (and a few that are) Consider yourself warned.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Peterjay

[Doug Mitchell]

If you happen to know someone who ties, you could ask if they'd give you a lesson or let you watch the next time they tie up a batch. That'd be the best way to learn the basic skills. One thing about panfish is that they'll hit just about anything that moves, so you won't have to worry about tying anything complicated right off the bat. A simple nymph pattern with nothing more than black and white chenille wound on the hook will produce more panfish than you know what to do with. You won't need any fancy equipment to get started. You don't even need a bobbin - you can get by with using half-hitches to hold the materials down. One of the inexpensive tying kits would be enough to get you going. IMHO, the best tying site on the web is flytyingforum.com. They have a beginners' section you might want to cruise. Once you get the basics down, the next step is to get yourself addicted to the point where you absolutely have to own every synthetic fiber known to Man and a piece of every bird or mammal that isn't extinct. (and a few that are) Consider yourself warned.

[kyratchethead]

My advice, with 40+ years experience of fly tying, is to get your hands on a good beginner's fly tying book.

That's how I started. My wife worked in the university library right after we were married and she brought me a

book home one afternoon from the library's "used book sale". It was "FLY TYING" by Helen Shaw which is a

straight beginner's book. I think it's out-of-print now, but it was all it took to get me hooked on fly tying. You

might try on

www.abebooks.com which is a used book site to see if there is anyone with a copy for sale. Oh, and

a word of warning, too - fly tying is VERY ADICTIVE especiially after you catch that first fish on a fly that you have

tied yer'self!! I now have over 120 books on fly tying in my library too, which my wife says is 119 more than I need!

Edited January 24, 2010 by kyratchethead

[mainbutter]

Thanks a ton guys

I ended up hitting up Thorne Bros here in Minnesota and picked up a fairly inexpensive kit that came with a bunch of materials, all the tools I needed, and a nicely done picture book with a dozen or so patterns.

I've also been doing all of the patterns on flyanglersonline.com that I had materials for. I've got a nice little assortment of flies now that I think will be perfect for panfish.

One of these evenings I'll put up some pictures!