I love fishing and fished using a spinning rod for 30 years before I learned about fly fishing, but once I learned how to cast using a fly rod I was hooked, as they say.
It was about 10 or 15 minutes with my brother-in-law showing me how to cast using a fly rod. Next he took me Atlantic salmon fishing on Salmon river near St. Martins New Brunswick.
We were with a dozen other people fly fishing this spot and I was extremely nervous but not one person said anything negative and even tried to help me. I did get a lot teasing after a huge Atlantic salmon leaped from the water and just missed going down my wader. It went right between my legs.
So I know from personal experience that learning how to cast using a fly fishing rod and artificial fly can be taught in just a few minutes and you can be casting for fish.
I didn’t get a salmon that day, but then again no one did so I didn’t feel bad. Actually I felt terrific and went out immediately and purchased my first fly rod and reel. Then I went brook trout fishing on the fly and had a blast.
I would likely have bought my first fly rod and fly fishing reelseparately but money was a real issue at the time as I didn’t have a job yet, after just moving to New Brunswick. So instead I bought a fly rod and reel combo
for less than $30.00 and still have that same setup today, about 30 years later.
I didn’t limit my fly fishing to Atlantic salmon and brook trout, not when there are smallmouth bass and chain pickerel that fight like champions.
Note: Most of my readers are American so my links usually are as well, but I am a proud Canadian so I have included links for us below:
Fly Fishing Reels – Fly Fishing Rods
– Fly Fishing Combos
My first chain pickerel fishing trip was to Penobsquis New Brunswick. There was a little lake or pond we passed on the way to a few places we fly fish for brookies and always wondered what was in it. A few times we stopped and watched to see if we would see any trout jumping.
One day the three of us, Roland, Paulie and myself, stopped and launched our float tubes and started fishing. Didn’t catch anything for an hour as we moved across the water to the furthest spot from where we launched. We figured there would have been less pressure there as it had no roads or paths we could see.
As soon as I got close the the weeds on the far side I make a cast with a little trout dry fly and it got smacked by a 15” chain pickerel. That was a huge surprise as we usually used a steel leader when fishing pickerel as their razor sharp teeth can but the line in an instant.
When I landed the pickerel the fly was right in the end of it’s mouth and the fly line was intact, so I cast it out again. We fished there for hours catching one after the other and never lost any to our line being cut by their teeth. It was a blast to say the least.
Fishing buddy Kerry and I have done a lot of fly fishing for smallmouth bass on places like Lake George and it’s so much fun, especially from the float tubes as they will pull you around in circles.
Learn How To Cast A Fly
If you haven’t tried your hand at fly fishing and you love fishing you don’t know what you’re missing so what are you waiting for? If it’s about the money don’t fret. You can buy an inexpensive fly rod and reel combination.
I don’t remember the exact price I paid for my fly rod and reel but it wasn’t any more than $30.00 and I still use it today more than 30 years later. And like I said above I have caught large numbers of fish over the years and have battled some big Atlantic salmon.
I learned to fly cast in just a few moments, enough that I was able to go out by myself and catch fish. Of course I have improved over the years and can cast further with more accuracy but my fishing started just minutes after I learned to fly cast.
Watch the video below to see how easy it can be and if you need more be sure to check out other videos on Youtube.
I didn’t have any flies when I first learned and borrowed a few from Joe but before long I was eager to try tying my own brook trout and Atlantic salmon flies.
The same as learning to fly cast on a NON windy day I learned to tie simple to tie artificial flies first and gradually moved into a few tougher to tie flies.
I started with trout flies and later found that I could catch all kinds of species with my trout flies. I love the top water action so I tend to tie flies that float on the surface. I even use trout flies to catch Atlantic salmon.
Not ready to tie yet well don’t let that stop you from learning to fly fish. I have friends that don’t tie their own and they like to see what kind of trout flies they can get on eBay.
