Fly fishing help?

[Coenen]

Tie your own, see what works best.l

There's no rule in the book about not looking at your back cast. Just as long as your head turn doesn't cause your shoulders to turn.

 

[Meriwether Mike]

Make that leader about 3 foot if you are casting a heavy streamer.

 

[King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah]

Alright, so here's the update after about 2 hours of practice, I have confirmed that I can cast 60-70 feet or so with most small and average size flies. I casted a #4 fish skull bunny streamer a good 50+ feet a couple times. I'm getting better at shooting my line but not anywhere near perfect. I tried using an actual fly leader instead of straight mono and I think that helped my flies turn over. I can cast well enough to get by but still with the larger flies and weighted flies I'm a lot better but still struggling a little. I practiced without a fly at all and that helped me with my timing. Every time I went for a back cast or false cast too early I would hear a loud cracking sound so I waited a second longer and got better loops and control. My double haul is actually pretty okay but shooting my line on the final cast is difficult. There are still minor errors like losing momentum during the cast or the shooting line tangling around my fingers and my leader catching my line in the air and tangling every dozen casts or so. Will continue with practice and see how it goes! I'll be on my way to throwing those #5/0 Streamers at big bass and Stripers in no time!

 

[King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah]

Make that leader about 3 foot if you are casting a heavy streamer.

Will you still get bites with such a short leader? Maybe with sink tip line since the sinking section is black?

 

[Coenen]

Food for thought, a good 30ft shot is almost always going to be better than a mediocre 50ft shot.

 

[F.A.R.R.]

Alright, so here's the update after about 2 hours of practice, I have confirmed that I can cast 60-70 feet or so with most small and average size flies. I casted a #4 fish skull bunny streamer a good 50+ feet a couple times. I'm getting better at shooting my line but not anywhere near perfect. I tried using an actual fly leader instead of straight mono and I think that helped my flies turn over. I can cast well enough to get by but still with the larger flies and weighted flies I'm a lot better but still struggling a little. I practiced without a fly at all and that helped me with my timing. Every time I went for a back cast or false cast too early I would hear a loud cracking sound so I waited a second longer and got better loops and control. My double haul is actually pretty okay but shooting my line on the final cast is difficult. There are still minor errors like losing momentum during the cast or the shooting line tangling around my fingers and my leader catching my line in the air and tangling every dozen casts or so. Will continue with practice and see how it goes! I'll be on my way to throwing those #5/0 Streamers at big bass and Stripers in no time!

Cool-sounds like it will all come together for you with some time and pratice

 

[Meriwether Mike]

Yes the three foot leader is when you are using a sinking tip.

 

[Mexican Squealer]

Make sure your thumb stays “on top” and “into” the backbone all the way through your cast. Being just a little off with your thumb can cause your rod not to load up properly as well as decrease accuracy and distance.

 

[fish hawk]

When i first started getting serious about fly fishing for bass i was getting extremely frustrated with my ability to cast larger flies and poppers for distance,prior fly fishing was casting for bream with 4 and 6 sized poppers on a 5 wt,like you I was casting 60 ft no problem with the lighter bugs.After a lot of on the water trial and error I shortened my leader and finally put it in my mind that I was not going to get that kind of distance with larger flies,I know there are a lot of guys out there that can get 50/60 ft but I'm not one of them,I just started trying to be more stealthy and make shorter more accurate cast.

 

[Jimmy Harris]

You probably don't need to change any of your gear right now. Don't run out and purchase a new rod for casting heavier flies. Get some "in-person" help with your cast. You should be able to cast the rig you have with very little effort. Since you're in Roswell, I would suggest going by Alpharetta Outfitters and ask for some help. Or, schedule a session with Atlanta Fly Fishing School. They're right up the road between Roswell and Cumming. Your practice there will be on the water with a Certified Casting Instructor. It'll be a lot cheaper than buying another outfit.

 

[King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah]

You probably don't need to change any of your gear right now. Don't run out and purchase a new rod for casting heavier flies. Get some "in-person" help with your cast. You should be able to cast the rig you have with very little effort. Since you're in Roswell, I would suggest going by Alpharetta Outfitters and ask for some help. Or, schedule a session with Atlanta Fly Fishing School. They're right up the road between Roswell and Cumming. Your practice there will be on the water with a Certified Casting Instructor. It'll be a lot cheaper than buying another outfit.

I took a fly casting course just for 2 days at Orvis in Buckhead last year and did pretty well they said. I got a ton of stuff from Alpharetta outfitters and the Atlanta fly fishing show about the same time. I've actually had my current setup about 3 years but never caught a trout or bass on the fly, only panfish but I couldn't put the baitcaster down to take fly fishing seriously. I actually live in Woodstock now and found a retired instructor in the area so we'll see how that goes. I only want the bigger outfit because I want my current 8wt with floating and the 9wt with sink tip and I'm looking for bigger fish with bigger streamers on that setup. I don't know if I could reliably cast and catch stripers and bull redfish on a 7 inch streamer with my current setup but it'll do for just learning to cast I guess

 

[615groundpounder]

While big fish often eat big baits... elephants also eat peanuts.
There is a time and place for going big. Also small.
My largest striper on the fly (21.5 pounds) was caught with a 3" clouser. I tend to throw bigger flies in the rivers and smaller in the lakes. Matching the hatch so to speak. When lake striper are feeding on threadfins your bait is around 1.5 -3 inches. Not saying a 9 weight wouldn't be a good setup. The more the merrier. But not all same weight rods are the same. I like TFO's. I have an 8 weight Mangrove that has lots of backbone, casts big flies and I can put a lot of pressure on a fish. I also have an 8 weight BVK that is a lot lighter rod and feels like it would explode if I put the same pressure on as the Mangrove. Both great rods but also very different from each other. Best advise would be to talk to the guys at a shop and cast different setups based on their recommendation. Unicoi, Alpharetta, Fishhawk, Cohutta, Orvis.

 

[King.Of.Anglers.Jeremiah]

While big fish often eat big baits... elephants also eat peanuts.
There is a time and place for going big. Also small.
My largest striper on the fly (21.5 pounds) was caught with a 3" clouser. I tend to throw bigger flies in the rivers and smaller in the lakes. Matching the hatch so to speak. When lake striper are feeding on threadfins your bait is around 1.5 -3 inches. Not saying a 9 weight wouldn't be a good setup. The more the merrier. But not all same weight rods are the same. I like TFO's. I have an 8 weight Mangrove that has lots of backbone, casts big flies and I can put a lot of pressure on a fish. I also have an 8 weight BVK that is a lot lighter rod and feels like it would explode if I put the same pressure on as the Mangrove. Both great rods but also very different from each other. Best advise would be to talk to the guys at a shop and cast different setups based on their recommendation. Unicoi, Alpharetta, Fishhawk, Cohutta, Orvis.

You make a great point sir! I was downright shocked to find out just how tiny the Shad those spots and stripers were eating on Allatoona all year. When you catch them they're still spitting up 2 inchers. I've caught a lot of big fish on small offerings on regular gear. I'm pretty decent with casting the smaller flies. I'm taking the same approach with the next setup that I took with throwing the giant swimbaits for bass a few years ago. I'm eliminating quantity in favor of quality. Lots of fish between 5-9lbs instead of the usual 1-4lbs. There's a whole different class of fish that will come up on a 10 inch bait than a 4 inch. I'm not trying to throw anything massive on the fly rod, just meatier stuff. I will try different companies rods though, like conventional rods I'm sure they vary in stiffness by manufacturer so I'm thinking getting one for saltwater use would be a little stiffer maybe. Not a broomstick like the swimbait rod for example, but more like a heavy instead of a medium heavy you know?