Introduction to Fly Fishing

20
Apr
2009

Fly fishing is an ancient pursuit, thought to have first been practised by the Roman poet Martial, who reportedly used a feathered hook to capture a saltwater fish.

History documents Aelian, another Roman, observing Macedonian fishermen catching trout on artificial flies a hundred years later. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, references are made to the imitation of artificial flies when fishing for trout. The early fly-fishers surely did not think of themselves as sportsmen; they were deceiving trout for more pragmatic reasons. Small natural flies do not stay on the hook very well, nor do they retain their lifelike qualities after being impaled. The early fly-fishers were using bait that would last for dozens of fish without falling off the hook.

Fly fishing is most commonly associated with trout and salmon in rivers; in some cases it is the only type of fishing allowed by law.

In coarse and sea fishing, it is common to have a weight close to the hook which makes casting easier, but in fly fishing, the almost weightless object is presented at distance without the aid of the weight on the end of the line.

However, to successfully cast a fly, some sort of weight is required, and this comes in the form of the fly line. Here the weight is spread over the length of the line, rather than concentrated at one point, as with a weight.

This peculiarity initially makes casting a fly difficult, but the art of casting in itself can be very satisfying and can even become an obsession.

Fly casting makes it possible to deliver a relatively weightless lure or imitation of a living creature on target, using the weight of the line to create momentum. So using a fly rod you can catch fish with an artificial lure that can’t be presented by any other means; successfully fooling a trout that feeds on tiny insects less than an eighth of an inch long.

Fly fishing tackle has changed considerably over the years. The early fly-fishers had no fly line and instead fished with long rods, sometimes over twenty feet long. Using a technique called ‘dapping’ - which suspends the fly over the fish - they would tease it into taking the bait. Reels were non-existent, and the line was tied to the end of the rod.

Today’s fly fisherman relies on a weighted line to deliver the fly. The line may float or sink when it hits the water, but it has enough weight to deliver the fly over a hundred feet away, although the average cast is around thirty feet.

The thick fly line is separated from the fly by a leader of tapered nylon monofilament; basically the same material the spin fisherman’s entire line.

The leader provides a flexible, almost invisible connection between the fly line and the fly. It makes the fly appear lifelike and unattached on the water, and its lack of air resistance allows the fly to settle gently on the water’s surface, and beguile the unsuspecting fish.