Flyfishing Fishing

In the broadest sense, fly fishing is angling with flycasting tackle (see). One of the oldest forms of angling, fly fishing is most commonly associated with casting lightweight objects via a heavy line, which therefore distinguishes it from all other forms of angling in which weighted objects carry lightweight line. There are exceptions to this, because not all lightweight objects are actually cast with flycasting tackle (they may be trolled or dapped, for example), and some of the objects used are bulky if not weighty (such as saltwater streamers).

To traditionalists, fly fishing strictly connotes the physical act of casting with a fly rod to present conventional flies that imitate natural insects; this narrow view is derived from English sporting traditions for stream trout and salmon. Since the 1960s, however, increased knowledge of fish and fishing techniques, enormously better equipment, and expanded angling interests have led to a much wider view of the scope of fly fishing. Today an extremely wide array of lightweight natural food imitations are employed in fly fishing for diverse species in all areas of freshwater and saltwater.

Avid and overzealous fly anglers often attest that fishing with flycasting tackle is more fun, more productive, or more challenging than fishing with other types of equipment or methods. Such broad testimonials, however, do a disservice to other types of fishing, which, in fact, are far more popular with the majority of anglers and clearly provide high levels of fun, productivity, and challenge. They also ignore the fact that using flycasting tackle is one of many ways to sportfish and that it, like the others, has particular advantages and disadvantages.

While the tackle and technique components of fly fishing are discussed in detail elsewhere, it is helpful to understand the principles and underpinnings of fly fishing, since it differs in a significant way from other forms of fishing and because misconceptions still persist about it to this day.

In general terms, more fly fishing is done in freshwater than in saltwater, although the bounds of saltwater fly fishing have been greatly expanded since the 1980s. Most fly fishing in freshwater is done for trout in streams, but fly fishing for panfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, salmon in streams, and some trout in still-waters has devotees. Other freshwater species can be caught on flycasting tackle, but many of them, for various reasons, are seldom pursued with this equipment. In saltwater, most fly fishing occurs in inshore environs and tidal rivers and estuaries for striped bass, bonefish, tarpon, bluefish, redfish, seatrout, snook, and mackerel, plus some other species. Pelagic fish, especially sailfish and smaller marlin, are caught with specialized techniques in offshore environs. With all of these fish, except for trout in streams and Atlantic salmon, fly fishing as a method constitutes a minority of fishing effort overall.

Principle

With the exception of fishing with live or dead natural bait, every type of fishing is an effort to entice fish to strike an object that is meant to represent food. Some of those objects closely resemble food in the way that they swim or are retrieved, some by virtue of their physical appearance, and some by both. Today, plastic, wood, and other materials are fashioned into objects that very closely represent food consumed by various predatory fish; many plastic worms, for example, are nearly indistinguishable from a natural earthworm. Before there were food imitations made from metal, wood, rubber, plastic, or other synthetics, anglers used artificial flies—small hooks dressed with fur and feathers to imitate an aquatic or terrestrial insect. These were used for catching fish, such as trout, that feed on insects. Thus, fly fishing as a method of angling is derived from the creation and use of featherweight artificial flies.

As already noted, an artificial fly today may imitate various types of food, from an insect to a crustacean to baitfish, in appearance as well as in the way it is fished. In some instances, it does this better than other objects that also represent natural food. The fly is carried to its destination by the casting of heavy line that is connected to a leader, which in turn is attached to the fly.

To the uninitiated angler, the mechanics of casting an artificial fly and a large weighty fly line appear difficult. In fact, many aspects of fly fishing can seem complicated if you read one of the many ad-vanced books that are devoted to fly fishing and if you review the thousands of fly patterns and involved esoterica of the activity. In truth, casting an artificial fly is no more, and no less, complicated than other types of fishing, all of which can be taken to extreme levels of involvement by those who desire.

The casting hurdle, however, is a large one to overcome, because if you can’t get your offering to the fish, you’re completely lost. Despite what many proponents of fly fishing say, it is not simple to learn flycasting, but it is not exceedingly difficult either; flycasting invokes a different principle than casting with spinning, spincasting, or baitcasting tackle, and is a little more involved (which is why fly fishing schools spend a lot of time on casting instruction). Once this is overcome, however, the fact that fly fishing is fun and effective in many situations becomes apparent. For some anglers, it will be the only way that they choose to fish; for others, it will be one of the many ways that they choose to fish. Like all types of fishing, fly fishing can be enjoyed by anyone, with no gender limitations and few physical ones.

Pros and cons

Besides the casting difference, there are some things that are possible in fly fishing that aren’t possible when using other fishing tackle. Precise placement of small flies, for example, is not possible with other tackle choices without the use of casting aids. Likewise, when using flies it’s possible to precisely match many food items, especially insects, that some fish eat; this ability can be essential when they are exclusively consuming specific insects. Natural movements and actions of insects are also easily imitated through proper manipu-lation of the tackle. Furthermore, the ease and quickness of making repeat presentations, espe- cially when using a floating line—since it usually isn’t necessary to retrieve all of the line to recast—is often a benefit that is unmatched with other tackle, not to mention that the art of flycasting in itself can be an enjoyable activity. In addition, fly fishing offers a complete package of natural imitation and selectivity, which makes many practitioners more observant in the outdoors.

On the downside, although there are quick, deep-sinking fly lines, fly fishing is often an inefficient method of angling for fish in deep water, especially in large bodies of water and in really turbulent flows. This applies to fish that cruise deep midlevel water as well as those that reside on the bottom. The difficulty is not that you can’t get deep enough but that you need time to do so, and also more time to retrieve the line, and these are problems when you’re drifting or when there is current.

Also, casting in open environs, such as flats and big rivers, when the wind is blowing hard, is a problem for many anglers, and it hampers their effectiveness; other types of tackle handle this common situation better for the average angler. Likewise, achieving significant distance is difficult with flycasting tackle for all but the most proficient casters, although distance is not a necessity in many angling situations.

See: Dry Fly; Flycasting Tackle; Nymph; Streamer Fly; Wet Fly.