Archive for October, 2006
How to Flyfish and Catch Trout | Let the Fly Look Like Food
30 October 2006You can have the best rod, the most expensive titanium engineered reel in the world and Mr and Mrs Trout will not be impressed. Spending a fortune on fly fishing equipment to catch trout is not what’s important. However one of the real secrets on how to flyfish and catch trout is knowing a bit about flies. That piece of fur or feather at the far end of the expensive or cheap rod and reel is what truly matters and most people get it wrong.
This article is about the most important aspect in terms of how to trout fish well by concentrating upon the bit that matters most … the fly or food source. Much of this site is about flies and their use and appeal to trout so take this page as an introduction. Almost everything else you will read in terms of learning how to catch trout will come back to using flies that fit the basic descriptions below.
On other pages I’ve used Datus Proper’s approach to explain that fly fishing success is based ultimately upon whether the trout believes your fly is imitating a real food source or not. It is not what you or I think about a fly that matters. Knowing how to flyfish and catch trout is therefore knowing about flies.
In his book What the Trout Said
The points below are statements that will be elaborated upon in other sections …
Flies are needed that fairly represent the sizes of living creatures (food) that form part of the day to day diet of the trout be they in moving or still water. Invariably flies used are too big and I’m never too sure why people continue to use large flies in abundance.
People who want to know how to catch trout in South Africa need to consider dry fly and nymph techniques more often using “natural” imitations in terms of appearance and size.
In general smaller flies on lighter hooks will outfish larger heavier flies that are over-dressed. This is especially true for dry fly and nymph fishing.
Flies sold in South Africa are almost always over-dressed I presume because they look to be of greater value for money.
Certain parts of a fly need to be exagerated at times. In particular when fishing during a mayfly type hatch (ie upwinged fly) it will help greatly assuming you’re trying to imitate the dun as it lifts off the water surface that the upright wings be a bit longer than normal (refer to fascinating studies by Goddard and Clarke) … longer wings also have the advantage of being easier to see for people like me. It doesn’t to help to fish an unbalanced upwing fly that does not land upright. If the fly does not land in the correct elevation change it or modify it.
