Do Things Differently And Catch That First Trout

I took up fly fishing some four years ago. I had always been a keen fisherman, mostly course fishing on rivers, but I wanted a change. I was getting bored for some reason, and as I get older feel less inclined to sit and wait for hours on end!

I visited a trout fishery to take a look. The fishery, near where I lived is a very pretty private fishery with two 2 acre lakes. The water is quite deep, 18 feet in places and the banks have trees and undergrowth making fishing a bit of a challenge.

The place was so beautiful, full of wildlife and trees, that I decided to make this my fishing "home" for the foreseeable future, and this is the basis for my first bit of advice:

1. Find somewhere that is pleasant to visit as a fishing venue.

When I started fly fishing, I never thought I'd catch anything. I had been several times and always enjoyed it, probably because of tip 1 above.

You can also get very frustrated if you are finding casting difficult.

Tip 2. Get yourself some lessons in casting.

Even if you have been a lifelong fisher, casting a fly is almost the opposite of any sort of casting you have done before. It's fairly easy to get to grips with, but if you are serious about taking up this type of fishing it's a very good idea to have some casting lessons. That way you know what you should be doing, even if it takes a little time to get it right!

I had some lessons, (2) and they were invaluable, so even though it took me some time to catch my first trout, all the time my casting was improving, which added to my confidence. I also recommend my third tip:

Tip 3. Talk to the other fishermen.

Most fly fishers are friendly sorts. If you see someone catching a fish, go and talk to them and ask them what sort of fly they are using and at what depth they caught the fish. People are only too happy to talk about their success!

This way you can learn what methods they use and try them for yourself.

One thing you must never do though is:

Tip 4. Persevere

Never do this. No matter how many tangles and how many times you get caught in a tree behind you, just enjoy the day and keep at it. As you improve these things, whilst they will always happen, will not happen so often!

Finally, there is no right or wrong way to fly fish for trout, and this takes me to my final tip:

Tip 5. Change the way you do things.

What I mean is this, by doing things differently you can reap big rewards. For example, most people think they have to cast out as far as possible to reach the fish, and a long cast is definitely an advantage for that reason. However, the opposite is also true. Instead of casting out to where everyone else casts, try fishing close in along the bank. This has paid dividends for me in the past as very few people fish close in.

My first trout was caught on a floating line with a short leader and a bright orange fritz fly. No problem with that, except that it was a freezing cold day, very overcast and dark, conditions which anyone will tell you suit a sinking line and long leader, and a dark fly!

Doing things a little differently can often pay off big time!