Why Fly Fishing?

Why Fly Fishing?

By Rod Woten

There’s just something about fly fishing. It’s really hard for me to put my finger on just one reason that I love fly fishing so much. As a fly fishing guide, one of my favorite kinds of trips are with someone who has never fly fished before but is willing to give it a go. I know that if I can get them past their initial fear of casting there’s a pretty good chance they are addicted to fly fishing before their trip is done. While it is hard for me to pin down any ONE thing that makes fly fishing so appealing, here is a list of most of the top things that make it so special to me.

Fly fishing is not as hard as you think
Probably the biggest barrier to more people giving fly fishing a try is their fear of not being able to cast. We can thank Brad Pitt for that. The grandiose overhead casts that were on display in A River Runs Through It are synonymous with fly fishing for many. To many movie-goers, those casts are also so beautiful that they look nearly impossible for the average joe to perform. Truthfully, for most of the fly fishing you will do in Iowa, whether for trout or for a warm-water species, you will rarely ever need a large looping overhead cast like we see in the movie. I stress this to any of my clients that are fly casting for the first time. For 90% or more of the fly fishing we do in Iowa a simple roll cast will effectively get the job done. Fortunately, the roll cast is also something I can teach them in about 15 minutes at the start of their trip. Now don’t let me discourage anyone from trying to learn the overhead cast. If you are serious about fly fishing, it should definitely be something you need to know how to do. But if you are someone contemplating fly fishing but reluctant to make the jump because of the casting, stop contemplating and start roll casting!

When you get to the point that you want to start developing your overhead cast, find your local fly club or Trout Unlimited (TU) chapter and learn from an experienced caster. Most fly casters worth their salt will know one of a couple of techniques to make the casting stroke more natural to any beginner. They will also know many of the typical spots to watch for poor form that can ruin a good cast and how to coach you to eliminate those breaks in form. Most of the people I know that fear fly casting, have tried to teach themselves and have failed miserably. Once they reach the point of total frustration, they give up and just assume that they are incapable of fly casting. Learning from someone that understands the mechanics of a cast and the motions to go through to maximize the distance and accuracy of your cast can make all the difference in the world. Bottom line is don’t fear the cast. Keep it simple at the start with roll casting and develop your overhead cast as you become more proficient with the fly rod. Learn to walk before you run.

Fly-fishing is not as expensive as you think
Another thing that frightens many away from fly fishing is the cost. Can it be an expensive pursuit? You bet it can! Is it possible to spend thousands of dollars on one or two setups? It sure is! Do you need a thousand dollar setup to start fly fishing? ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, most beginning fly casters won’t have the skills yet to even take advantage of some of the things that make high-end fly gear so expensive. It is entirely possible to spend $200 to $300 and have a very nice and very CAPABLE fly fishing setup. One thing to keep in mind is that the longer a fly rod is, the easier it will be to cast….to a point. An 8-1/2 to 9-foot-long fly rod in a 5 weight (5wt) is about perfect for beginning fly casters. That length is long enough to load and cast very efficiently, but not so long that it is unwieldy to a beginner. Rather than focusing on buying the most expensive rod you can find, look for a more moderately priced graphite rod in that length range. As you become a more skilled fly caster, you may want shorter or longer rods for certain specific fishing conditions, but both ends of the length spectrum can be much more challenging to cast so they are less than ideal for someone just learning to cast.
Another thing that most beginning fly anglers don’t realize is that the most important ingredient of the entire fly-casting formula is the fly line. If you’re going to spend more money to get the highest quality on any single component in your entire setup, then spend it on your fly line. I recommend a floating “weight-forward” (WF) taper which puts the bulk of the mass of the fly line in the front segment to carry the fly forward. If your rod is a 5wt, then you would buy a weight-forward 5wt floating line (WF5F). The 5wt is the Swiss Army knife of the fly fishing world and is perfect for just about everything you can catch in Iowa. It has the backbone to handle good sized bass but also the finesse to present dry flies to finicky trout and land feisty bluegills. The 5wt is equally at home tossing streamers, indicator fishing with nymphs or presenting tiny dry flies. Berkley builds several very affordable rods that perfectly fit this bill as do many of the fly rods offered by White River Fly Shop, which is Bass Pro Shops’ the fly fishing brand.

Fly-fishing is not just for trout
While fly fishing was developed FOR trout, it is most definitely not restricted to trout. It’s hard to beat the excitement of catching bluegill or largemouth bass on floating “popper” flies. Smallmouth bass also make an ideal fly rod species. Truthfully, if you can catch it with hook and line, you can catch it on a fly rod. Walleye? Yup, been there and done that. Catfish? You betcha! Crappie, perch, bluegill, pike, muskie and carp are all very catchable on a fly rod. What about saltwater, you ask? How about tarpon, permit, bonefish, rooster fish, dorado and sailfish? These are just a few examples of the saltwater species that are very popular with fly anglers. Not exotic enough for you? How about peacock bass in the Amazon? All that being said, trout is the ULTIMATE fly rod species, as far as I’m concerned. Fly fishing is at its best when you’re shin-deep in a gently flowing spring creek tossing dry flies to rising trout. If you intend to take up fly fishing in our great state, you owe it to yourself to put Northeast Iowa spring-creek trout at the top of your bucket list.

Fly-fishing is a great way to catch a trophy fish
Fly fishing is a great way to catch a trophy-class fish of many species. For many species like panfish and trout, the tiny flies are dead ringers for what those fish actually eat so those bigger and smarter trophy sized fish are much more willing to eat them. Many times with trout they key in on a specific food source. That means a trophy-sized trout that is selectively feeding on a specific mayfly will ONLY eat that mayfly. That means you could throw every spinner, Rapala or streamer to that fish, but until you drift a replica of the exact mayfly that fish is eating past it, you don’t have a prayer of catching it. For some of the other species that fly anglers typically chase a fly is not a presentation they are used to seeing. That means these fish are much more willing to take a fly than they are to take any of the numerous presentations they have been conditioned to ignore over time. Fly anglers also typically fish much slower and more methodically than other types of anglers or in spots that other anglers often overlook, so many times they catch some of the bigger fish that the other anglers have completely missed.

Fly-fishing is therapeutic
Fly fishing is typically slower paced than most other types of fishing. It is more thoughtful, deliberate and methodical. Instead of casting 30 or 40 yards, we are casting to fish that are as close as 6 or 8 feet away. Oftentimes we can see the fish we’re casting to. Fly fishing forces you to focus not only on the fish, but also on making the correct cast to that fish; how to best present the fly to that fish. All these combined make fly fishing very therapeutic to me. If I need to clear my head or put some problems out of my mind for a while, fly fishing fits that bill.

Fly fishing for any species is therapeutic for me but fly fishing for trout is even more soothing. It is often said that trout don’t live in ugly places, and it’s when I’m in these beautiful places chasing trout that I feel the most relaxed. The babbling of the brook, the beautiful limestone bluffs in front of me and an eagle soaring overhead as a mink scurries along the bank are very typical of the sights and sounds that you can experience when you hike far enough away from the access that you have a section of the stream to yourself. These are also the scenes that I crave when life gets a little too hectic. The hustle and bustle of everyday life melts away and the clock becomes irrelevant. It’s hard to get better therapy than that!

Fly-fishing is a gateway hobby
Within fly fishing are several specific disciplines like dry fly fishing, Euro-nymphing, streamer fishing, spey-rod fishing, center-pin fishing and Tenakra, just to name a few. It’s very rare for fly anglers to not explore many or most of these specialties as they become more proficient at fly fishing. Right now I am doing a lot more Tenkara and euro-nymphing than I am traditional fly fishing. For most, picking up a fly rod for the first time is just a gateway to many different ways to fly fish. Don’t forget about fly tying either. Many fly anglers begin tying their own flies and becoming consumed with it. Some tie flies more than they actually fly fish. For some fly tying evolves into art as they attempt to tie absolutely perfect specimens that they have no intention of ever fishing with. There are even competitions for these works of art and the entries are completely perfect and way too beautiful to ever see the water. In most cases, calling something a “gateway” has very negative connotations, but I think in this case, being a gateway is a good thing, because it allows fly anglers to broaden their horizons and enjoy all that this great sport has to offer.

If you’ve ever thought about giving fly fishing a try, but were hesitant for any reason, I would encourage you to give it a try. Don’t fear fly casting. Instead, learn the roll cast and get out there and catch some fish with it. The overhead cast is a very natural evolution of the roll cast and before too long, you’ll find yourself beginning to cast quite efficiently. Chase several different species, decide which ones you like the most and devote your efforts towards perfecting your fly fishing for them. Experiment with gear and techniques, learn as much as you can about them and practice, practice, practice them. Fly fishing is such an amazing sport for so many reasons, so grab a rod and decide which ones make fly fishing special for you.