Fly fishing in a stream, nothing can compare to this, nothing. I have been out in the middle of the ocean deep sea fishing, on a quiet lake on a boat trying to hook up with a bass while the fog is blocking the sunset, all great, but fly fishing in a stream is untouchable. Now not all streams are the same, but they are all something that you have to appreciate, kind of like water falls, which are apart of many streams. One fly fishing tip for the beginner, if you see some one fishing a spot in the stream, you need to respect that. Do not just creep up next to him and try to take his glory, especially if they are catching fish, that is just rude and inconsiderate.

When they are done and move on, then yes you could take up their spot. Another thing about stream fly fisherman is be respectful to the other fly fisherman that are around, it will pay off, especially if you are a beginner. Many expert fly fisherman love to share fly fishing tips with those that are just learning, and the only way to learn how to fish a certain stream is to ask the person that you just seen land that 10 pound trout, they will give you much better advice than I can or the internet can as all streams are different.

Now let’s get down to some tips to find trout in a stream and how you can hook up with them. First off trout do not like to swim against current, if they did they would be super strong, but they tire just like every thing else that is living on the planet earth. So if you find an obstruction such as a falling tree or some rocks that are slowing down a point of the current, then there are more than likely some trout nearby, and they are probably resting and hungry.

This is why casting is so important as in time you will learn where you have to cast, and you will also learn which rocks have the trout hiding behind them and which ones don’t. Remember all streams are different, these are just some of the basics that you should know when you are fly fishing in a stream. As trout will also be where they cannot be easily caught by predators, such as birds. If you are a fisherman you know that birds are some of the best at catching fish, mostly because they can cover more ground than we can and they have way better vision than we do. So we know that the trout are going to try and stay deep and away from the current, where they will also be able to access food.

As  I had stated in the post earlier that there are literally thousands of places that you can enjoy fly fishing through out the globe, and there are just as many right here inside of the United States. That is why I wanted to continue from the last post about some of the fly fishing hot spots that you may want to look into visiting. I will only be giving you some of the highlights and the locations, if you need further information on them they are just a search query away from your favorite search engine, or you can find them at your local book store.

Start off with northeast Michigan, at the Au Sable River. In this river you will find a lot of types of trout, from brown to rainbow. There is also plenty of ground for you to cover and plenty of spots that you can test your luck at as this river goes for almost 200 miles. So there will be plenty of trout for you to try and catch there.

Head on over to Wyoming at the Wind River Range. You are sure to never run out of places to fish here as they have over 700 lakes that you can get all sorts of trout from. Not only that, if you want to take a break from fishing, you can do some hiking as most of these lakes are in the mountains, and some of these lakes you just may have to hike to

Another popular spot is Utah’s Green River, which is located in North East Utah. The Green River is also full of huge trout, and it is highly populated with tourist fishermen during the warmer months. If you want less competition and more trout, then head on over here during some of the cooler months such as winter, and there should be plenty of rainbow trout for you to fly fish for.

Head on down south to Georgia’s Jacks which flows into the Conasauga River which is right by the state line of Tennessee. Here you will find golden trout, rainbow and brown. Although there are a lot of hikers around in this area, there is also a lot of fishing to be done and very popular among fly fisherman.
If you want to stay south where it is fairly warm and head west a little bit you can check out San Juan River which is located in New Mexico. Here it is fairly warm year round, and the fly fishing here is also consistent year round. This place is really populated with trout, there are literally thousands of fish for every mile of river there is, if you have the money and the will to find some great fly fishing in the United States, then you should definitely check this place out.

As you can see there are plenty of places to fly fish in the United States, as this is the second post that I had to make and there will more than likely be another as there are so many hot spots that are in the U.S. to fly fish.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of types of flies that are used out there. But if you want some easy fly fishing tips, then you should know what fly it is you are going to be using for what type of fish you are going for. This can be broken down from the thousand we may have, to just 2 main categories, these are dry and wet. It is little fly fishing tips like knowing if you are using the right fly or not, and this is especially for beginners, as if you have been doing this for more than a few years then this should be natural for you.

Remember the main purpose of flies is to act like an insect skipping across the water, or sinking just below the water. So with that being said the first type is very common and know as wet flies. Actually most of the flies that are out there are known as wet flies, which are imitating insects that are either in the water, drowning in the water, or just sinking in the water, and they do a great job of tricking fish into hitting them and going in for the bite.

The other main category of flies are dry flies. A dry fly is not really dry, but they do stay above, or just float on the water. I use these types of flies when I am fishing in calm stream waters for trout. To me it is really a personal preference but no matter who you ask, all fishermen will have a different opinion about the matter. Here’s another fly fishing tip, listen to the fishermen that actually catch fish, and not those that think they know how to catch the fish.

To me the most popular dry fly’s are those of insects that live on land, the ones that I use a lot are the ant and the grasshopper. Of course there are many other types of dry flies that are out there used in fly fishing, but these are two of the most common ones in my opinion. Let me get back to talking a little more about wet flies, as this area is a lot more open to variety.

Nymphs are becoming incredibly popular these days when it comes to fly fishing, and they have really gained my attention and I have been using them a lot lately. A nymph fly resembles something between an insect egg to a developing insect that is just hanging out under the water. In most cases these will be hit without the fish breaking the water.

Some traditional types of wet ones that are used are streamers and bucktails. Streamers are not really imitating insects though, more of a minnow. Some of them are even tied with feathers, and though buck tails are a little bit different, they can be tied with hair. I will get into the tying of flies a little bit later, as that is more than a science. That is why there are literally hundreds of different fly fishing flies that you can use. I hope that these fly fishing tips were of some use to you, and as I said, this is very basic knowledge that every fly fisherman should know, it gets a lot more deeper than this.

The single most important tool that you have when you are fly fishing is the rod itself. The rod is the base of everything, and the typical fly rod is a lot longer than a traditional fishing pole, this is to aid in the casting part. Now there are many types of fly rods that are out there available, and sometimes it can be a pain in the neck to pick one out. Most fly rods that you see in stores are made from some type of graphite, and when you are choosing to buy one, you will want to know what kind of fish you are going to be going after.

This is essential because many of the rods come in different weights. This is one philosophy that I have always lived by when it comes to buying a rod, is to get what you can afford, save your money if you have too. You know that saying, “you get what you pay for?”, well this is even more essential when it comes to fly fishing. If you go out and spend 25 dollars on a new rod, and it breaks after a couple of fishing trips to the local stream, there is no reason that you should be getting upset. Durable fly rods take time to make, and usually use more durable materials, thus making the rod a lot more expensive.

As I had mentioned in a previous post, that in my opinion those that are made out of bamboo are the most durable and will last you the longest. Be warned though, unless you are filthy rich, or if you have the passion that I have for fly fishing, you really do not need to get one that is made out of bamboo. The reason is that you can expect to pay over a grand for one. Sure I am sure you can find some out there for cheaper, but if they are there is usually a reason for it.

See these days there is a better advantage to buying a fly rod, as I did not have the luxury of shopping for one while in my home. At that you can even shop for one on your phone these days. Online is the place to go, even if you do not want to enter your credit card details online, you can get an idea of what the prices are, not only that you can read reviews from other fly fishermen.

If you want to go used and get a good deal once you do your research, you can try online auction sites such as eBay, which usually always has a large amount of inventory for you to browse through. If you want to stay local and do not want to deal with shipping and all of that, you can go to your local Craigslist, which you can find deals as I got a fly fishing rod the other day off of there.

Not only do I like to take part in the ever growing sport of fly fishing, I also love to read about it. I read all of the magazines and I stop by a lot of the other blogs that are on the internet from the ones that are mentioned by espn to the little one that are on the net. I have found, or it is guessed that this sport has been around before BC. So there are many types of cultures that have taken this sport into their own and made everything they can out of it.

I remember when I was younger my dad and I lived up in the mountains and for my 12th birthday he had got me a bamboo fly rod. It had to have cost a couple hundred bucks or more, but I still have it to this day. That day we went out fishing for dinner and it was one of the best days that I have ever experienced. We left the cabin at dusk and did not return until the sun went down. We were fishing for sport, for the love, but also we needed to get some food on the table so we were fishing for dinner also. We brought back about 10 trout that day, and they were all great size.

Of course we caught a lot more than that but we let all of the small ones go, so that we could catch them maybe a year or two down the road when they are much bigger. I still have that rod that my dad bought me and it has almost been thirty years. Another reason why I think that bamboo is the material there is to make a fly rod out of, although it is also probably the most expensive. I have been through several different reels for the rod but the pole is still holding up like it was brand new, all I have to do is apply a little bit of maintenance to it every couple of years.

Now this is a very important part of fly fishing if you are wading. If you do not know what wading is, it is basically when you are in the water, usually about knee deep give or take a little bit, and you are fishing. This is extremely popular among fly fisherman that are trying to go for some trout. Wading can be done in saltwater, rivers or streams, or even off a freshwater beach. The key to this is to have all of the accessories out there with you so you are not having to go back to shore to retie a fly, or if you need something else.

Before you go out wading you will need the proper clothing, such as waders. Over the waders you will want to wear a fly fishing vest, which should have plenty of large pockets because we will be filling these up with other fly fishing accessories. You may want to take a fly box out there with you, or just have one on your vest. This way you know you are lessoning the chances of you loosing the flies.

One tool that works wonders for fly fishing, or in that case any kind of fishing, is a Gerber all in one tool. The ones that have the knife, pliers, mini measuring stick, screw driver along with many other useful tools that can be used to cut line when tying knots, or remove a hook from the fishes mouth.

When you are fly fishing and you are looking for the fish, one accessory that will greatly help you in spotting them are a pair of polarized sun glasses. They block out the glare and will able you to see the fish in the water more clear than if you did not have any glasses on at all, not only that they protect your eyes from the sun. You should also always have a pair of gloves handy in your fly vest, and a rag for multiple reasons. The biggest one is so that you can grip the fish and not stab yourself when you are trying to de-hook them.

These are the accessories that I always bring with me when I go on my fly fishing trips. Some other optional accessories you could bring if you are fishing for food are a cooler with ice, and a sharp fillet knife so that you can clean the fish, or you can just wait until you get back home to clean the fish. You may also want to bring a net with you, this makes it a lot easier when you are trying to bring the fish in. Now depending on where you are these will vary, some may bring insect repellent with them, although I usually do not as they seem not to like my blood, than goodness.

The most important thing when it comes to fly fishing is the casting. This is the part that will take you a while to get the hang of and master. Everything must be timed perfect, and you can basically break the procedure down into three steps. These are the loading, the momentum of the swing, and of course the pause, where you let the line fly and hope that the fly lands where you were aiming for. See in regular fishing with a spinning rod you are using in most cases, the weights on the line, or the lure itself to cast out.

But fly fishing you are using the line it self to cast, and there is a lot more to it than just swinging the rod back and swinging the rod forward and releasing. Also, you do not use the reel for casting when you are using a fly rod, the reel is for when the line is already in the water. So let me go over some of the types of casting that we can do with a fly rod, starting with the easiest.

The easiest  is called the basic cast, and if you have watched any types of movies or videos then you more than likely seen them doing the basic cast. This is more like tossing the rod and line straight back and forth and then the release. There is another type of cast that is called the False Cast, this is a little more complicated than the basic cast, as you build up more momentum when you are doing this type of cast as you go back and forth a lot more, while still keeping the line above the water before you release it to cast.

If you are wanting to get the line out there a little bit more you could choose to use the double haul cast. In order to do this though you will have a have a little bit of a lighter line, and it is more difficult to do than the basic cast. With practice though it can be easily mastered. When you are learning how to cast a fly rod my suggestion would be to watch some videos that are on the internet, there are plenty of them that are available for free and they are just a search a way.

Also you do not have to be in the water to practice you casting, you can practice right in your own back yard and I highly recommend it. More than likely you are not going to learn this over night, it may take weeks or even months, but once you master the art of fly casting you will greatly increase the odds of catching fish as where the fly lands is very important no matter what kind of water it is you are in.

Of course there are hundreds of spots that you can go to fly fish if you are a traveler, but I will only be going over a handful of my favorite spots and they are all located in the United States. One that may catch you by surprise is Sitka, Alaska. Sitka is located in the Southeastern part of Alaska and there are many rivers and streams that are not fished that much due to the number of them and fishermen that go there. What you can expect in just about all of them are Steelhead. You can also expect to get some Salmon and Trout. Best time to go in my opinion is the end of Spring or the beginning of Summer.

If you like to fish for rainbow trout, which are absolutely delicious, then you may want to fish the Colorado river that is located in Arizona. The best thing about fly fishing here is that you can do it year round as the temperature of the water stays just right for the Rainbow Trout, meaning they really have no reason to migrate north or south or to warmer or cooler waters unlike many other parts of the United States. The river is about 15 miles long and stretches from the upper end of the Grand Canyon down to Lake Powell. They are real big on fly fishing around there and there is loads of information available, and also many fishing charters that will be glad to make sure you catch fish, if the price is right of course.

The Driftless Area in Wisconsin also offers many fishing spots for the fly fisherman as there are almost a hundred streams that are full of game. The Driftless Area is mainly in Wisconsin but it also is a part of Minnesota too. If you want to see some beautiful scenery and try for some brown trout, then this would be an ideal place for you. Another huge place on fly fishing, you will have no problem finding guides or more information if you choose to go here.

If you want to get a fly fishing experience of a life time then get on a plane and head to Kauai, Hawaii. They have ponds there that are loaded with small mouth and large mouth bass. But the most challenging type of fly fishing that I have done to date is going after bonefish. Bone fish are extremely fast and you may have to cast hundreds of times before you get them to bite, and there are plenty of them in the saltwaters of Kauai, Hawaii. I promise you if you hook up with a bonefish you will know what I mean and know why so many people fly into the middle of the Pacific Ocean to try and catch them. If you are into bonefishing and do not want to go that far you may want to try some of the islands in the Bahamas.

There are literally thousands of fly fishing hot spots that are around the world that offer you great fishing. These are just a few that I have visited personally. Sometimes when I get bored I get on the internet and just start browsing around and try to plan my next vacation, the hardest part is deciding where to go, and for me it is always some place that is different and I haven’t been too before.

There are many types of fishing that are out there, but the one that stands out to me the most is fly fishing. I do not know what it is that got me hooked on this sport, but I have been doing it since I was a little kid and I have had the same passion about it ever since. I love to fly fish just about anywhere and in the past 20 years I have made trips all across the United States, and even to other countries just to get the experience to fly fish somewhere else than what I call home, which is Florida. Do not get me wrong I love all types of fishing. For instance I am a certified diver.

Every summer for a weekend or two I will go down to the Florida keys and I will get all of my scuba gear ready. This is another type of fishing where we dive and get fish with the spear gun. You have to be careful though as you are only allowed to catch certain types of fish this way. Another type of fishing that I love to do is with the cast net. This was extremely challenging for me at first, especially when I had to throw the 12 foot net it took me quite a long time to master the art. But once you get this down and now how to look for mullet, then it is very possible to land 20 or more on one cast, as I said though this takes a bit of practice to get down and master.

Another type of fishing I have been doing is deep sea saltwater fishing. I go with a couple of  my cousins, and they think I am crazy when I am on the bow of the boat swinging back and forth this 10 foot pole and casting off. But when they see me hook up with some big fish like a barracuda, they are just amazed. Let me tell you fighting fish with a fly rod is a lot more fun in my opinion, especially if the fish is big. The advantage of the length of the rod lets you have more control over the fish though, which helps a lot when they get to be over 10 pounds or so.

But all in all my favorite, my zen, my piece of mind is being by myself up at a stream, with my pocket tackle box, my little box of flies, and a fly fishing rod. Trying to get those trout, those bass, just trying to get a great fight, and maybe even put a little bit of fresh dinner on the table. Nothing in the world tastes better than a fresh trout that was caught fly fishing, and yes the taste does increase because it was caught with a fly