the_outlaw

i finally got a fly rod...it is a Shakespeare 8' 5/6# rod. got all the line loaded in it...#6 fly line, weight forward. i have been doing some practice casting in the backyard but i have too much stuff in the way. i hope to go out tomorrow to a larger open area and do some more casting. would it be a good idea to have a fly on the line or without while practicing?? i tyed one on today and well the darn thing broke somehow....the eye broke off, no idea how it happened. cant wait to get out and catch the first fish on the fly rod!!

outlaw

Mantis Mayer

To everyone on here seeking info on flyfishing, pay very close attention to the cowboy. It sounds like he knows a thing or two about this subject. And his single hall looks flawless!

Outlaw,

You deffinetly need to tie on a peice of bright color yarn on the end of your leader or better yet, tippit. Without it the line will make a loud cracking or wip noize and that' s not good. It weekens your leader and will brakes it as well. That cracking noize while false casting is a tell-tale sign that you just lost your fly in a tree or a fish. The second reason for wanting a peice of yarn is so that you can put it down on a target and actually see how your doing. Place a hat or hulihoop about 15' in front of you and start off by pulling off 20' of line and place it at your feet. Work out enough of that line into the air and pratice putting the fly in your target. Don' t do alot of false casting, your just picking the fly(yarn) off the target and placing it back down. On your way there stop at the book store and pick up a few books about the sport. If your serious about getting in you will do this alot, I have over 20 books and they are packed with pricless info. Your next step is to find a local flyshop. Stop by and get to know the owner. This guy can help you with much more than I can do typing.

A friend just stopped by and wants me to go look at a big buck he just spotted in a field we have permission to hunt.......A fly shop owner won' t leave you hangin like that......

Keep the questions coming and know that no question is stupid. Matt is a great teacher through this board. I learned so much from him by picking his brain a few years ago.[:-] I' ll try and help as well.

Grizzlybear

Outlaw-

Just jumped back into this thread. Mantis said it well. You should absolutely practice with a leader on the line, and either a bit of bright yarn or a easily visible fly with the hook clipped off tied to the end of the tipped for casting. The " whip-crack" is caused by improper timing of the cast - in other words, starting the forward cast before the back cast has had time to lay completely out behind you. One thing that might help is to cast sidearm, and watch the entire casting cycle. That backcast should lay out nicely flat in the air behind you before you start to bring your rod-arm forward.

stuckinthereeds

Getting help from the pros is a good thing. However, there is nothing that I have found more valuable than getting out and experiancing flyfishing on my own. Learning from my own mistakes and successes has been my best teacher