Fishing Articles and Information

The Art of Fly Fishing

By Joe Myers

Fly fishing I believe is the best form of fishing, an art it has been described. Well when you really get into the sport, the casting of the line, presentation of the fly, playing the fish when it is hooked, maybe an art form it is.

The equipment used today for fly fishing is very technologically advanced, gone are the days of heavy rods and reels.

Today's kit is light and strong, carbon-fibre rods and highly engineered reels and slick fly lines. The cost of gear can be high but there is some very reasonably priced stuff around if someone is just starting out.

Ive been fly fishing for about 18years now and I still get a great buzz when I go. I mostly fish for rainbow trout on private lakes which are stocked regularly with fresh fish.

They are what are called put and take fisheries where whatever fish are caught and kept by the angler they are replaced with fresh ones the following week.

Some fisheries also allow catch and release where fish are caught and returned to fight another day by the angler. This is what I prefer.

There has been some argument and dispute whether catch and release should be allowed,that is up to the fishery. If the fish is landed, unhooked in the net in the water and given enough time to recover there would be no damage to the fish.

Do not take it out of the water and man handle it, if you have to make sure your hands are wet so as not to remove the protective slime on the fish.

If the fish happens to swallow the hook and if there is bleeding then the fish should be dispatched immediately, there is no sense in releasing it for it to die slowly.

There is a method that is used in fly fishing now where a bite detector or indicator is used. It is a small round colored polystyrene ball or cylindrical shape which is attached to the fly leader so far up from the fly.

The line is casted out and the indicator is fished mostly static or maybe twitched now and again to cause some movement of the fly.This can be a very productive method of fishing but personally I'm not in favor of it as I feel its float fishing with fly fishing equipment.

My personal favorite form of fly fishing is using the dry fly where the fish takes the fly off the surface or just in the surface film. This can be really exciting and spectacular if you can match the hatch,that is your artificial fly resembles what the fish are feeding on.