Fly-Fish-BC Gear
Basic Fly Fishing Gear
Basic fly fishing gear...Just like any other sport or pastime, fly fishing is no different. You're gonna have to get some basic fly fishing gear to get started. You can relax though, you don't need to spend a fortune or have a garage full of gear to go out and enjoy some fly fishing. What you are going to need is a rod, reel, line, leader, tippet, polarized sun glasses, nail clippers, some flies and a fishing license.
That doesn't sound too bad does it, and what's even better is that if you take good care of your equipment it will last for many, many years.
The Fly Rod
This piece of basic fly fishing gear is usually made out of fiberglass, bamboo or most commonly graphite. In knowing what rod to pick you have to ask yourself a few questions first like...
What type of fishing am I going to do? Small, medium or large fish.
What type of fly rod action? Slow...Good for small fish, small casts, and smaller streams. Medium...Most popular choice as can fish a wide variety of conditions. Fast...Good for long casts and windy conditions.
What length. Generally small fly rods (7-7.5ft) work well on small rivers or mountain streams. If you are fishing medium sized rivers a 9ft rod would be good. Longer rods are good for large rivers or lakes where longer casts are needed.
What type of fly line do you intend to use? Just remember you have to match the weight of the line to the weight of the rod. For example, if you are using a 5-weight line you would use a 5-weight rod. (Jim's note: I actually use a 1-wt-heavier line than the wt of my rods but either is okay)
TIP: Fly Line Weight = Fly Reel Weight = Fly Rod Weight
Basic Fly Fishing Gear: Reel
The fly fishing reel does more than just hold the line it provides the proper amount of drag or resistance to a fish from pulling your line out. If you have your drag set too loose the fish will easily strip your line out possible coming off due to some slack in the line, if you have it set to tight you will break line when the fish strikes or fights hard. Disk drag fly fishing reels seem to be the most popular and most dependable. The are some other attributes to the fly fishing reel but this is a section on basic fly fishing gear so we don't want information overload. Just remember
Fly Line Weight = Fly Reel Weight = Fly Rod Weight when choosing a reel.
Backing
Backing is what connects the fly line to the reel. It is usually made out of strong braided Dacron material. It is used to give the fly line more length. The larger the reel the more backing needed.
Basic Fly Fishing Gear: Fly Fishing Line
Fly fishing line comes in a variety of colors, weights, tapers and floating or sinking line. Remember Fly Line Weight = Fly Reel Weight = Fly Rod Weight.
1-3 weight is good for small trout.
4 weight is good for small to medium sized trout.
5-6 weight is a good all around line and is used for most sizes of fish. Also good for short or long casts.
7-8 weight is for large trout and longer casts.
9 and up for extremely large trout and very long casts.
You should also try and match the line color to the color of the water so it will be hard for the fish to see.
Another aspect of this basic fly fishing equipment is whether the line is floating, sinking, or sinking tip. Floating line is good for the beginner and is the most popular.
The taper of a fly line allows the line to be cast more efficiently in different situations, there are 4 types of tapers: Weight Forward Taper, Double Taper, Level Taper, and Shooting Taper.
Basic Fly Fishing Gear: Leaders and Tippets
The leader is just a section of tapered monofilament that is tied to the fly line. The tippet is thin monofilament. One end is tied to the fly line and the other to your fly. Tippets are good as your leader remains intact when changing flies. When your tippet gets too short just tie on a new one to your leader. Your leader should be about 9 or 10 feet depending on what type of fishing you are doing..
Flies
Knowing what flies to get is really simple. Just go to your fishing spot and look at what bugs are flying or crawling around. Check out the entomology section so you will know what you're looking at. Go to the fly patterns page and match the bugs to the flies. Use the recipes to tie your own or purchase at a local fly shop.
Sunglasses
I included Polarized Sunglasses here as the first time I went out fly fishing I nearly fried my eyes from the constant glare off the water not to mention the splitting headache I had once I got home. These glasses also help you see into the water better. Be sure and pick a pair up. Believe me you will be glad you did. Check out our affiliate Fish Gillz who offer floatable polarized sunglasses at very reasonable prices.
Basic Fly Fishing Gear: Nail Clippers
You might be laughing now but these work great when trimming excess off knots or removing a fly from your tippet.
Haemostats: These work great for extracting flies from the mouths of trout and more toothy predator fish like pike or walleye.
The above basic fly fishing gear is really all you need to get started, you can add more equipment later or when need arises.
Also if you don't want to purchase everything one at a time. You can get what's called a beginner fly fishing outfit. You can find them at Basspro.com or Orvis. It includes everything you need to get started, all matched to work together for one price.
So now lets put our gear together: click below and Shane will show you how to assemble all your gear - it's actually more complicated than you think.