Beginner flyfisherman looking for assistance

[boattart]

My Son is about to turn 10 in about a week and got a bit of a taste of Saltwater fly fishing in Vanuatu recently when an expat used to come down to the lagoon to fish each afternoon and after hooking up small GTs and Barracuda would hand the rod over to Hayden to wind in and so he asked for a fly rod for his birthday. I found what I thought was a nice value start up set at Xmas in Wagga and would like to get him started. Problem is I am a complete novice to fly fishing and was hoping to find someone that would be able to show the 2 of us the basics. I do have a boat to fish from once we get started and would be more than happy to take anyone for a fishing trip or 2 in exchange for their time and tuition.

Edited January 8, 2013 by boattart

[jimmy72]

what a cool dad you are !

what weight rod did you get him, what do you want to catch?

both the peter morse book on saltwater fly fishing fundamentals and rob sloans book on trout fundmentals is a good start, add that to some days on the water and you'll be on your way.

let us know and i'll try and help you out !

cheers

grant

[boattart]

Thanks Grant. The set I found is an 8wt and probably looking to start with bread and butter fish like flathead bream and whiting and maybe looking at the occasional salmon that frequent around here.

[flycaster]

Hi Boatart

I would like to give you two pieces of advice. I've learned from bitter experience that it is absolutely vital to take lessons from an accredited professional flycasting instructor, rather than teach yourself and pick up every bad habit in the book.

The second piece of advice is: Never, NEVER buy a flyrod without trying it out with different weight lines FIRST.

Flyrods are such a personal thing that one could purchase a very expensive rod and hate it, or buy an inexpensive one and love it.

Kind reards

Flycaster (Ross)

[jimmy72]

hey mate,

Flycaster is right, lessons will save you much heartache and get you catching fish much faster. what line did you get? .. a floater or intermediate of a fast sinker?

flies to consider are flathead - clousers, bend backs, and half and halfs ( half deceiver half clouser) as these will ride hook point us and save you getting snagged too much as you want to bump along the bottom - also deceivers and other baitfish patterns will work too, you just have to keep them just off the bottom. i find medium fast strips and a pause in between works well with the fly resting on the bottom for a second then leaving a puff of sand get the flatties biting - try and imagine that when you are working the fly.. watch it in shallow clear water first to see how it responds .. then its just a matter of counting as the fly sinks to know how deep you get and when to start the retreive

bream love small baitfish flies, baited breaths, BMS pink assed hammer heads, and crazy Charlies. i found short sharp 4-6 inch strips work....with a decent pause so the fly settles on the bottom on the pause, something like hopping the fly . or sometimes you need to crawl the fly along the bottom slow with the odd twitch - crab flies work too

whiting = small poppers with steady retrieve, and crazy Charlies , and two hook worm flies - whiting are bugger to catch consistently though.. drive you mad you can get blackfish on weed flies with a little weed burley you use an floating "strike' indicator on you leader to see the take .. just need to work out the right depth and is a dead drift with no real retrieve tailor will eat just about anything stripped quickly through the upper weather column, eyes flies , and surf candies deceivers, small flash profile flies - ditto for salmon .. always have a few 2-3cm eyes flies if you can see the salmon and they wont eat .. most likely on micro bait.. the gummy minnow flies works here too

leaders would be 10lb minimum for flathead , 4lb for bream and same for whiting, for salmon 12lb is fine -- tailor .. they will bite you off even using 20lb .. use you worst flies for them ha ha

the above bream whiting and flathead adviceis based on using a floating line , leader of around 10ft and fishing water less tahn 6 ft deep. drop off weed beads and structure is importatnt when consideringw here to fish.. just like with lures and bait

you can get sinking leaders ( called poly leaders in various sink rates ) , sort of a coated weighted line or 6 ft you attach your 6ft mono tippet to ... these will turn your floating line into something like a sink tip and help for water of 6-12ft deep. save buying a new line??

shallow water leaders can be hand ties using various sized mono ( google will give you some recipies i.e weight of line and length of the sections ) or you can buy tapered leaders and then when you loose the first couple of feet through tying knots and bite offs, just tie on an appropriate weight tippet to the end of the leader , make a small loop in the leader fo this -- tippet = the last few feet of the leader .. the thinest bit that you tie to the hook/fly.... .. this way ou dont need to replace the whole leader which gets pricey.

im on the other side of sydney from you, drummoyne so its unlikely i will get down your way to help - plus i would not know where to fish down there, if you are up this way , there are a couple of spots that are reliable for the fish you mention ;-) let me know

. there is the illawarra fly club that is pretty active or used to be and not far form you .. thats likely the best place to get info and make friends to assist - google will reveal all you want to know about them

there is also the sydney fly rodders but that might be further away -- feel free to Pm me any questions at all always happy to help, as it is a little daunting when you first get started fly fishing. my advise is get the book - read it , play around for a weekend, get a lesson and then join a club and get out there ..practice in the park but cut the point off your fly ! cheers grant

PS dont forget the carp in our mark ponds.. they love bread flies ( a little bread burley to get them going) - they fight hard and you can catch them on sinking and floating bread flies .. catching any fish on a floating fly is great fun --watch em come up to it and take it ;-)

Edited January 15, 2013 by jimmy72

[papasmurf]

Boattart,

I am a member (and President) of Illawarra Fly Fishers' Club (IFFC), to which MACKERAL refers.

I have been a member of IFFC for almost 10 years now and I must say that despite not having been a “Club person” before joining, my decision to do so all those years ago was a good one. Having taken up fly fishing, I thought that the only way to increase my skill and knowledge base was to join a club and following some investigation on other clubs, I decided on IFFC, despite living in the Sutherland Shire. I have met some great people, made good friends and had the opportunity to fish in some of the most beautiful places on this earth through fly fishing and by being a member of IFFC.

Being a member of any club affords you the opportunity to learn more about fly fishing, allows you to get to know like minded people with a passion for fly fishing and you get to participate in club activities such as day, weekend and extended trips away (Weipa and New Zealand amongst them), fly casting and fly tying. With respect to IFFC, the members are a great bunch of men and women and there is no shortage of people willing to assist you with casting, fly tying or information should you require it, or offer a place on a trip when you become better known.

IFFC is not just a Trout fishing only club like others. In essence we fish for anything that swims and while we fish for Trout during the season, we also fish for Bass and all saltwater species, particularly those in the local estuaries and waterways. This adds another dimension to our approach to fly fishing.

IFFC meets on the first Tuesday of the month EXCEPT January; the December club meeting is the Christmas dinner and presentation. Casting practice is held once per month on the Sunday immediately after the club meeting at the lagoon located on Western end Stuart Park, Wollongong – 10:00 am start and a 12:00 pm finish.

Through fly fishing I have been to Los Roques in Venezuela, Montana/ Wyoming/ Idaho twice and NZ five times - it is simply an amazing and absorbing pastime. Once you start, there is no stopping !

Should you not wish to join a club I am more than happy to give you advice on what gear to purchase and give you some casting lesson s to get you started.

Regards,

Neil

[reeseman]

I think I enjoy tying flies more than using them actually.

[boattart]

Thanks for all the info.

The kit I bought came with an 8wt rod and reel, 100yds or 20lb backing a WF*F floating flyline and a tapered leader 9ft 12lb.
I assume I then tie a tippet onto the tapered leader of whatever lineclass depending on the fly and target. I would be keen to get somoe lessons if anyone can recommend someone particularly if they where in the Sutherland area.

Girella I would be interested in some info on the club or if they have a website or email

Edited January 28, 2013 by boattart

[Guest blackbream]

Do yourself and your son a big favour and go along to Illawarra Flyfishers club meeting. You will learn a lot more by enlisting the assistance of the club in helping you to understand fly fishing, the equipment, setting it all up and maintaining it all. When you set out in fly fishing it can be a real quagmire of information, but is something that can be learned more quickly and easily from those of us who have all started out just like you and your son. The club has from time to time, qualified casters attend, but there are also very good club casters who will be prepared to help you and your son with the basics.

Like you, I purchased my first rod and line without really understanding what it was all about. It was a mistake, and I always tell people to be thoroughly informed before making any choices in equipment in both rod and line weight and quality of equipment. Again, a club is the best option. Generally speaking, a fly rod is graded by the line weight of the actual flyline. For example ; #8 weight rod and line would be comparable to a light beach rod. Similarly a #5 weight rod and line could be compared to say a light bream spinning outfit. This is just a basic comparison, and just trying to give you an overview. It sounds to me like this is something you and your son could do together.

Just google up Illawarra Flyfishers and you will find their web page which is very informative.