# Newbie has a question



## Georgeforuofu (Sep 19, 2011)

I started fly fishing this year and didnt catch anything.and am going to take a class on fly fishing but what places would you recommend are a must hit? and any advice?


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## cpierce (Dec 2, 2010)

Try some of the community ponds. There isn't going to be much open water for long, soon it will all be ice.


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## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

I self taught myself, a class is nice to get the basics of casting down, but there is no substitute in my opinion for good ole trial and error on the river. Get some books on reading the water, hatches, casting etc and if you go enough things will start to fall into place and make sense. Like anything else, just takes time and practice. Good luck! You'll always remember that first fish on a fly! I prefer our local rivers and streams to still water, Provo, Weber, and the many smaller streams that enter the SLC valley.


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## tye dye twins (Mar 8, 2011)

Try the library for free books on fishing. The main library in SLC has rows of books on any type of fishing. It is a great resource!


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## brfisherman17 (Jan 21, 2011)

Hit anywhere on the Provo. Probably the best trout fly fishing in the state.


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## Jsw (Dec 5, 2010)

Where are you located? I to was self taught, the best place I found to practice and get the feel without hanging up in the bushes is in my backyard on the grass, if it's big enough.


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## trout bum (Oct 5, 2010)

If your going to take a class i hear the guys at Western Rivers in Slc put on a pretty good one. In my opinion, the easiest way for a newby to flyfish comfortably during the winter months is by swinging soft hackle. You can cover a lot of water, keep your hands warm because you can do it with them in your pockets, and you will cut down on the iced up guides due to the fact that you dont have to keep running wet flyline through your guides. If you want to learn let me know. I would be happy to teach you free of charge.

T.B


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## doody (Apr 2, 2009)

+1 for Western Rivers. They're the only place I can walk into and not feel like a customer, they're just plain stoked to get anybody into the game. When I got into tying a few years back I went in with some pretty basic and noobish questions. To my surprise Matt took me into the back, got all his tying gear out, and spent a solid half hour teaching me the basics. We ended up tying a half dozen flies or so and when I asked what I owed him he said "you tied them, they're yours." I don't think I even spent 5 bucks in the shop that day but that enthusiasm for teaching a noob brings nearly all my business their way. You want to learn and get your money's worth? Go to Western Rivers.

And....

+1 for the Provo. Might not be the best river in the state (you'll form your own opinion on that one) but it is one of the easiest places to catch fish. Again, just know what bug you'll need, have a few different flavors, and you'll catch fish. And when all else fails, throw a scud on. Won't take you long to dial that river in. Again, good luck! First fish on a fly is always the hardest...but will always be one of the best!!


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## smoothie (Nov 21, 2011)

It's fun to think back to the early days in one's fly fishing career. I also spent many hours on the river before I started to actually catch fish.

If you're going to fish in the winter, I'd take a nymphing class. One of the best "nyphers" I know is Mike Navidomskis. Here's the info. for his class: http://wildtrouts.com/

I also love the Provo and Weber in the winter. My favorite winter fishery is the Bear (below Oneida Narrows reservoir).

Have fun!


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

If I could offer any kind of advise to any new fly fisher - it would be this:
Don't feel like you need to wave your line around in the air. 
Keep the fly on the water as long as possible.
Don't keep waving the line in the air.
Short accurate casting will out-fish long line casting on most of Utah's streams.
Don't wave the line in the air.
Don't watch "A River Runs Through It" and go out and try casting 90 feet of line. It is never necessary.
Don't wave the line in the air.
See a pattern? I can tell a newbie in the river as I drive by at 60 MPH because they will be waving the line around all the time. Experienced fly fishers keep the fly on/in the water, and methodically work a hole, riffle, pocket, etc... with deliberate casts, allowing the fly to drift and swing out the bottom. And the best fly fishermen can lift the line and cast with a single back cast. Fish are not in the air - so keep the line out of the air. The point of fly casting is to deliver the fly to a specific location for the desired drift. 

So when you practice in the yard, cast to targets - don't just cast. And cast to close targets - 10, 15, 20 feet. When you can do that, you can place the fly where you want it without spooking the fish. And you'll catch more fish.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

My advise is similar to those previous: presentation is the key to catching more fish. If nymphing, learn to cast to the proper spots, get a drag free drift, watch your indicator, lift to set the hook. If dry fly fishing, learn to cast to the proper spots, get a drag free drift, watch your fly, lift to set the hook.

For fun you can learn all about hatches, and patterns, and streamers, and wet flies, and moon phases, and water types, and lakes, and warmwater fishes, and fly tying, and theories of attraction, and what plants bloom when certain bugs are out, and how to distance cast in competition, and how to prepare a streamside lunch, and how to pack enough gear for a day trip that looks like you could stay outdoors for a month, and how to talk the lingo, and how to dress the part, and how to properly handle a fish, and how to take a bathroom break in the woods, and how to braid a leader, and how to make your own rod, and how to use proper etiquette, and how to look down upon bait fisher people, and how to lie, and how to not take it as serious as 99 percent of the dorks out on the water, and how to keep from waving your line in the air--in case that hasn't been mentioned, and how to....

Anyway, its a great pastime or as some like to call it lifestyle.

Having fun will come just stay with it!


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## Jsw (Dec 5, 2010)

Tons of good advice has been given! A good roll cast and learning to cast with a short back cast is always good. I fish the south fork between causy and pineview, also I fish the Ogden river. They aren't the best in the state but they are close for me and I always catch fish, also winter is my favorite time to go cause most people stay home when it gets cold. The only down side is when the eyelets freeze and I've also had ice build up on the fly line that's when ya know it's cold just don't fall in I've done it. I agree though about casting at targets I've used my daughters hoopla hoop a few times it works good.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

Second what GaryFish is saying. Keep your fly in the water as much as possible and cast as little as possible. If you are nymphing, one or two casts is all you need to reposition your fly. You don't need to dry out your nymphs with ten casts in a row...

Put a hare's ear on, it will catch fish anywhere and anytime. Don't worry too much about matching the hatch yet.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

If you need a good read on fly fishing, try any of John Girach's stuff. His writing is more story telling, with lots of fly fishing instruction mixed in the story. I learned a great deal by reading a few of his books, as they are enjoyable and while helping me get the "how to" on fly fishing, they helped me "understand" fly fishing.


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## neverdrawn (Jan 3, 2009)

There are also a lot of good resources right here on the eletronic highway. I've watched several videos on you tube and other fly fishing sites that were very informative. It helps to actually see what needs to be done in real time and some visual instruction of reading water, drifts and so on. Before going after bone fish a couple of years ago I spent countless hours watching video of it on the internet. (Much to my wifes dissatisfaction, she didn't even get to go). It really helped once I was on the flats actually fishing for them. It answered many of the questions I had about how to approach the opportunity without wasting time once I was actually on the water. Without the instruction I believe my catch rate would have been about half of what it was.


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## flyfisher20 (Aug 5, 2011)

Just find someone to go with. That's how I learned. I didn't even really ask a lot of questions, but I just watched my friend and tried to do what he did. Of course, I had him help me with fly selection and gear. Best of luck!


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## JERRY (Sep 30, 2007)

Go with someone that knows. If that requires taking a class. So be it. The instructor should be knowledgeable about all aspects of fly fishing. Entomology may be one of the biggest things. You can throw bugs all day, but if you are not presenting something the fish are keying on or want to eat you are not likely to catch any fish. Someone giving a class should be going over entomology!  Entomology is the enlightenment to fly fishing! Without it you are just throwing bugs in the wind.

Learn, learn, learn. It will get better and easier with time.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

I respectfully disagree with the above post. Bugs are the least of your worry. You can have the right bug on the line but if you don't, or can't present it, you will have limited success. 

When there is an active hatch (above or below) the surface it may be critical to have the right pattern--this happens maybe 10 percent of the time you are on the water. It's really not rocket science. On our local waters you can pretty much predict from year to year what bugs will be hatching and what time of day. 

I know fly anglers who use the same old pattern(s) all year long and have great success. (Hare's Ear, Royal Wulff, Prince Nymph, Elk Hair Caddis.)
When I was younger, I only used one particular style of fly and fished it the same way everytime out. I did that from age 13 to age 26.

One some of the fabled, hard pressured rivers, bug selection and entomology becomes more important, but still, if you don't present it right it gets ignored.

What you have to remember about Utah waters is the fish are plentiful and stunted. They are opportunistic feeders and usually hungry. You can toss a lot of things at them and get results.

Now, you will have some guys come on here and claim that certain patterns work better than others. I can't disagree with that. Some patterns are just buggy and successful.

It would be fun to have a friendly competition and have an expert in presentation using an oddball pattern fish against a guy with a successful pattern, but who doesn't have stream experience, casting or presentation ability, can't read the water, get a good drift, or read any of John Geirach's books. I wonder who would catch the most fish?

One of the things I have done over the last 10 years is throw oddball creations trying to find out just what a hungry trout will not eat. I can assure you they eat some pretty strange creations.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

The last 2 posts were both full of good information. When you have both a good presentation and stream knowledge, you will catch more fish.
I think that both are equally important.
Get opinions from a lot of different people and then make your own decision about what to use and how to present it.
There is no one right way to fly fish.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Funny you mention that HighNDry. Several years ago I was teaching my bro in law to fly fish. He was still in high school in Nebraska, and I was visiting him from Montana in May. We were casting on a local lake to blue gills. now blue gills are a great fish to learn to fly fish, as you can be sloppy with your presentation and still catch fish. They are a great starter fish for that reason. But the one thing you learn with them is timing of your cast and hook set. Anyway, after one evening of success with several flies, we decided we see just how outrageous we could get. So we hit the fly tying vise and cranked out some crazy stuff - the crazier the better - just to add some sport to it and to see what would work. The next day we each brought 100+ to the hand. Bluegill are stupid that way. But the main thing is what you said - the fish were hungry, opportunistic, and would hit any fly if it was presented in a half decent way. It was a great time. Granted, trout are a bit tougher than bluegill in late May, but the principles are true - presentation is everything. 

The more I fly fish, the more I find myself using fewer and fewer fly patterns. When I first started, I bought several books, tied up literally, hundreds of patterns, subscribed to 3 different fly tyer magazines,and was sure to type up every fly of the month. Now, after casting flies for 20+ years, I find I fish elk hair caddis, pheasant tails, woolly buggers, hare's ears, and a few wulff and humpy patterns, with a few variations on those listed. But that does it for me.

But among all the advise and opinions here, there is no substitute for time on the water. Get out and fish. And fish with someone that has fished themselves and would be willing to help you out.


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