Fly Fishing Gear: What's Essential?
If you've never been fly fishing before, odds are you don't know where to really begin
when it comes to buying your fly fishing gear. Or, perhaps you've purchased all of the gear you would ever need and
just aren't sure what to bring along on the standard trip. Or, like many of us out there, you may be a seasoned
angler and just plain forget stuff! Either way, if you want to avoid the "Ah, crud, I left my box of flies on the
sofa!" feeling when you get to your fishing spot, feel free to use this as a checklist guide for the fly fishing
gear that's absolutely essential.
Rod
We don't recommend trying to fish with your bare hands, unless if you really want to
get wet and throwing the reel at fish generally doesn't work out. The solution to this is...finding the
proper fishing rod! It can come with or without a reel, as a lot of times you can find reels separate and put
them on by yourself. Just make sure you have the right kind of rod for the environment you're trying to fish.
A six foot or eight foot rod for fishing streams is probably not going to do you well in the
ocean!
Line
Of course, trying to fish without fishing line is probably not going to work out
either, unless you're really, really good at smacking trout to death with your rod or have great aim for
chucking that reel. We wouldn't recommend trying it. We would, however, recommend picking up the right kind
of fishing line for where you're going. And please, make sure you put it on your reel before you go;
otherwise you might be stuck standing outside doing that while good fishing time goes to waste.
Flies
"Ah, crap, I left my flies at the house!" This is never a fun moment, especially
when the weather is perfect and you've got everything else you need. Flies are a key part of fly fishing,
after all! Since fly fishing works because the lures mimic the natural prey of fish, you're probably not
going to want to bring something that's supposed to appeal to tuna with you to fish for salmon. Make sure you
check out what kinds of flies you're buying before you actually pick them up -- and make sure you know what
you're fishing for!
Leaders
Leaders are what you attach the flies to, and what you attach to your main line.
They're generally made out of a tapered line that allows your fly to either float on the surface (if it's a dry
fly) or sink down to the appropriate level for whatever kinds of fish you're after.
Of course, these are but a few of the things you need if you’re going to have a
successful fly fishing trip…
Related Articles
|