A newbie to fly fishing posted this on the Facebook Fly Fishing Community this morning:"Well I'm usually pretty patient but been 6 weeks now fly fishing and caught nothing. I've got to be doing something wrong."
I laughed, (particularly at some of the sarcastic comments) and then I responded:
"Check out Orvis/Tom Rosenbauer's Fly Fishing 101 videos on Amazon Prime or YouTube. Take a class at your local fly shop, or places like the National Trout Center, environmental education centers, or even colleges. (Look under PE classes or in Community Education catalogs.) TU and BHA chapters offer classes, guidance, and camaraderie. Hire a guide for an afternoon. Read, watch videos, absorb knowledge. Above all, be patient. It took me two years of trying when I re-took up fly fishing in earnest after retiring to catch a fish on a fly...a 4-inch brown trout fingerling. And I agree with what someone posted earlier; if you've been fishing lures and/or bait, it's a whole new way of thinking. I dabbled in fly fishing in college, but let it go after marrying the daughter of a champion bass fisherman. When I had time in the ensuing 40 odd years, I used lures or bait. I'm still relearning 4 years later. One final bit of advice: Don't expect your first fly catch to be the classic western trout leaping from the water to take your fly. Not that it won't happen, but sometimes scuds do better than mayflies."I hope he didn't go out and spend a ton of money on expensive gear just to have it sit in a corner because he didn't land a 24-inch native brookie on his first few trips out. Fly fishing, and often fishing in general, is not an instant gratification sport.
Proceeding on,
Trailpatrol
