How to Start Fly Fishing

So you’ve determined that fly fishing is an interesting enough activity to venture into it. Well, you’re in luck. We’ve broken down exactly what you need to get started, including location selection, necessary gear, and a few other helpful tips & tricks to get your feet wet (pun intended).

How to get started?

While it may feel daunting at first, fly fishing is a relatively approachable sport. With much of the water being fishable without the need of a boat, fly fishing offers a great way to get outside without breaking the bank. That being said, the bug is easy to catch and one can certainly break the bank…. guilty as charged.

Location Selection

This is the single most important factor when getting started, because fishing where there aren’t any fish is a great way to not catch fish.

Let’s start by breaking this down into bodies of water.

Rivers, Streams, Creeks, and Brooks. While these can often be used interchangeably, it’s important to understand that these all have a current and flow directionally towards a larger body of water. When selecting a river we want to fish, its a good idea to do a quick search and figure out if that specific body of water holds our target species. After confirming that our river holds our fish, we’ll need a better idea of the topography of this river.

Lakes and ponds.

Access points. Access points are location along the river where we can reach the bank. It’s a good idea to look around local parks and trails for easy access points.

Gear Selection

One really only needs a rod, reel, line, and some flies to get started. Yes, you heard me. You do NOT need waders to start fly fishing. Save yourself a few hundred dollars and just get some comfortable pants to wet wade in. We’ve got some great options if you’re interested. You’ll thank me later.

Fly fishing gear falls into 3 main categories: Tackle, Apparel, and Accessories.

Let me break those down for you.

Tackle

Tackle consists of all the fishing gear that will directly be used to catch fish. In short, that includes your flies, fishing line, rod, and reel. All four of these elements are pretty essential to fly fishing and are required to get started.

Apparel

While I suppose you could venture out into your local river in your regular attire, you’ll find yourself a lot more comfortable if you equip yourself with the proper apparel ahead of time. A pair of quickdrying pants, a lightweight hoodie for sun protection, and a good pair of sunglasses go a long way here. Additionally, you’ll likely want some sort of water shoe, be it a sandal or wading boot.

Accessories

Lastly, there are a few accessories that will make your experience on the water infinitely better. A good pair of fishing pliers, nippers, and a fly box are all super handy. Whether you need to remove a hook, tie on a new fly, or simply trim up a tag end, these three accessories are almost essential for a good day fly fishing.

Want to learn more?Jump on over to Fly Fishing Essentials: The Gear for a more in-depth overview on what exaclty you’ll need to get started as well as some great recommendations.