Flyfishing

Flyfishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting. Fly fishermen use hand tied flies that resemble natural invertebrates or other food organisms, or 'lures' to provoke the fish to strike.

Flyfishingcan be done in fresh or salt water. North Americans usually distinguish freshwater fishing between cold-water species (trout, salmon, steelhead) and warm-water species, notably bass. In Britain, where natural water temperatures vary less, the distinction is between game fishing for trout or salmon and coarse fishing for other species. Techniques for flyfishing also differ with habitat (lakes and ponds, small streams, large rivers, bays and estuarys and open ocean.)

In flyfishing, fish are caught by using Artificial flies that are cast with a fly rod and a fly line. The fly line (today, almost always coated with plastic) is heavy enough to send the fly to the target. The main difference between flyfishing and spin or bait fishing is that in flyfishing the weight of the line carries the hook through the air, whereas in spin and bait fishing the weight of the lure or sinker at the end of the monofilament or braided line gives casting distance. Artificial flies are of several types; some imitating an insect (either flying or swimming), others a bait fish or crustacean, others attractors are known to attract fish although they look like nothing in nature. Flies can be made either to float or sink, and range in size from a few millimeters to 30 cm long; most are between 1 and 5 cm.

Artificial flies are made by fastening hair, fur, feathers, or other materials, both natural and synthetic, onto a hook. The first flies were tied with natural materials, but synthetic materials are now popular and prevalent. Flies are tied in sizes, colors and patterns to match local terrestrial and aquatic insects, baitfish, or other prey attractive to the target fish species.

Flyfishing is most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but it is also used for a wide variety of species including pike, bass, panfish, grayling and carp, as well as marine species, such as redfish, snook, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass. Many fly anglers catch unintended species such as chub, bream and rudd while fishing for 'main target' species such as trout. A growing population of anglers attempt to catch as many different species as possible with the fly. With the advancement of technology and development of stronger rods and reels, larger predatory saltwater species such as wahoo, tuna, marlin and sharks have become target species on fly. Realistically any fish can be targeted and captured on fly as long as the main food source is effectively replicated by the fly itself and suitable gear is used.

Flyfishing methods

Casting

Fly casting, Maramec Spring Branch, Missouri
Unlike other casting methods, flyfishing can be thought of as a method of casting line rather than lure. Non-flyfishing methods rely on a lure's weight to pull line from the reel during the forward motion of a cast. By design, a fly is too light to be cast, and thus simply follows the unfurling of a properly cast fly line, which is heavier and tapered and therefore more castable than lines used in other types of fishing.

Spey Casting

Spey casting is a casting technique used in flyfishing. Spey casting requires a longer, heavier two-handed fly rod, referred to as a Spey rod. Spey casting is essentially a large roll cast, developed on the Scottish River Spey where high banks do not allow space for the usual back cast.
Spey casting is used for fishing large rivers for salmon and large trout such as steelhead and sea trout. Spey technique is also used in saltwater surf casting. All of these situations require the angler to cast larger flies long distances. The two-handed Spey technique allows more powerful casts and avoids obstacles on the shore by keeping most of the line in front of the angler.

Flyfishing for trout Fly angler on the Firehole River, USA

Flyfishing for trout is a very popular sport, which can be done using any of the various methods and any of the general types of flies. Many of the techniques and presentations of flyfishing were first developed in fishing for trout. There is a misconception that all flyfishing for trout is done on the surface of the water with "dry flies." In most places, especially heavily fished trout areas, success usually comes from flyfishing using flies that were designed to drift on the bottom of the water. A trout feeds below the water's surface nearly 90 percent of the time. Trout usually only come to the surface when there is a large bug hatch (when aquatic insects grow wings and leave the water to mate and lay eggs). There are exceptions to this rule, however, particularly during the summer months and on smaller mountain streams

 Flyfishing flies

In broadest terms, in flyfishing, flies are categorized as either imitative or attractive. Imitative flies resemble natural food items. Attractive flies trigger instinctive strikes by employing a range of characteristics that do not necessarily mimic prey items. Flies can be fished floating on the surface (dry flies), partially submerged (emergers), or below the surface (nymphs, streamers, and wet flies). A dry fly is typically thought to represent an insect landing on, falling on (terrestrials), or emerging from, the water's surface as might a grasshopper, dragonfly, mayfly, ant, beetle, stonefly or caddisfly. Other surface flies include poppers and hair bugs that might resemble mice, frogs, etc. Sub-surface flies are designed to resemble a wide variety of prey including aquatic insect larvae, nymphs and pupae, baitfish, crayfish, leeches, worms, etc. Wet flies, known as streamers, are generally thought to imitate minnows, leeches or scuds.

Artificial flies, constructed of furs, feathers, and threads bound on a hook were created by anglers to imitate fish prey during flyfishing. The first known mention of an artificial fly was in 200AD in Macedonia. Most early examples of artificial flies imitated common aquatic insects and baitfish. Today, for flyfishing, artificial flies are tied with a wide variety of natural and synthetic materials (like mylar and rubber) to represent all manner of potential freshwater and saltwater fish prey to include aquatic and terrestrial insects, crustaceans, worms, baitfish, vegetation, flesh, spawn, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds, etc.

Flyfishing tackle

Flyfishing tackle comprises the fishing tackle or equipment typically used by fly anglers.  Flyfishing tackle includes:
-A wide variety of Fly rods of different weights, lengths and material are used to present artificial flies to target species of fish as well as fight and land fish being caught.
-A wide variety of Fly reels are used to store fly line and provide a braking mechanism (drag) for fighting heavy or fast moving fish.
-A wide variety of general use and specialized fly lines are used to cast artificial flies under a wide variety of fresh and saltwater conditions.
-Terminal tackle is used to connect the artificial fly to the fly line and allow the appropriate presentation of the fly to the fish.
-There are a wide variety of accessories—tools, gadgets, clothing and apparel used by the fly angler for maintenance and preparation of tackle, dealing the fish being caught as well as personal comfort and safety while flyfishing includes fly boxes used to store and carry artificial flies.
-Fly rods are typically between 1.8 m (6 ft) long in freshwater fishing and up to 4.5 m (15 ft) long for two-handed fishing for salmon or steelhead, or in tenkara fishing in small streams.
-The average rod for fresh and salt water is around 9 feet (2.7 m) in length and weighs from 3 –5 ounces, though a recent trend has been to lighter, shorter rods for fishing smaller streams. Another trend is to longer rods for small streams. The choice of rod lengths and line weights used varies according to local conditions, types of flies being cast, and/or personal preference.

When actively flyfishing, the angler may want to keep the fly line lightly pressed against the rod handle with the index finger of the casting arm. The free arm is used to pull line from the reel or to retrieve line from the water. If a fish strikes, the angler can pinch the line with the index finger against the rod handle and lift the rod tip, setting the hook.

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