I find it is a good idea to check through all your fly fishing equipment in the month or two before the fishing season starts.

There’s nothing worse than turning up for your first day’s fishing to find that something is missing, or the floating line is sinking, or the flies are mixed up or the wrong size, or the reel has jammed up; need I go on.

I am sure these and many more problems have happened to us all at some time or another so let’s see what we can do to make to our fishing go smoothly throughout the coming year.

The list I set out below could be set up on XL spreadsheet so you can tick off the items as you have done them.

Fly Fishing Equipment Pre Season Check List

	RODS Check the joints for cracks and re-whip if necessary, or if you are not happy with the section, send it back to the manufacturer for a replacement (that’s if you have a lifetime guarantee) as the spigot joints might need a dressing. When dressing, I use a mixture of deer fat and candle grease, particularly on salmon rods. This works well and you don’t have the same problems as when you use candle wax alone. Clean the rings and check for damage. Replace if necessary.
	REELS Clean the cage and remove any grit or dirt Check the mechanisms and oil only as advised by the manufacturer Check springs and pawls
	LINES Wind the lines and backing off the reel onto a line winder. The winders are available from Sportfish or Carrilon UK for a small sum and are well worth the investment. Once you have the line and the backing, you can re-wind, checking the backing for rot or damage as you go. Now check the connection to the line. I use an improved Albright Knot – if in doubt re-do the connection. Before you start to wind the line onto the reel clean the line; a soft cloth, soap and water is all you need. Please use ordinary soap! Do not use detergents like washing up liquid as these tend to damage the line. Run the line through the soft, soapy cloth to the end and rinse through the cloth in clean water by winding it back again. Treat your floating line with silicone to improve its performance. Check the braided leader loop for wear and check that the line has not cracked where it joins it. If in doubt, replace the loop.  I prefer to make my own loops at the end of the line either by welding a loop in the line or by needle knotting a short piece of 20lb nylon to the line ending in a perfection loop on the end. Check your shooting head lines for wear where it joins the running line.
	LEADERS Replace all the leaders with new ones. I like to use tapered leaders and add tippets to suit the length I want to fish. Check out your leader wallet and re- stock with new leaders.
	FLY BOXES Tidy flies Remove used and rusty flies Tie up flies or buy in replacements
	FISHING BAG Empty out and check tools, priest, temperature gauge, marrow spoon, scales, de-barb pliers and any other bits and pieces you take with you.
	FISHING VEST Empty all pockets and remove dross Check:  zingers, nippers, scissors and knot tying tools if you have them Replace flies in fly boxes Check sunglasses for damage and clean
	LANDING NET Check for holes and repair or replace Check the net release if you use one
	WADERS & BOOTS Check for waders for leaks and repair or replace as necessary Clean waders Check boot soles and heels are not loose – replace if necessary Clean boots
	WET WEATHER GEAR Make sure it is waterproof and check for holes or tears – repair or replace if necessary.
	WADING STAFF Check the lanyard attachment and the rubber shoe at the base.
	BOAT SEAT Check fastenings and swivel.

…FISHING LICENSE

……* Buy online or visit your nearest Post Office in England & Wales.

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If there is anything I’ve left out, be my guest and leave a comment below; this is a resource for everyone to use and I’d be more than happy to revise the list with your suggestions. Until next time, happy fishing!

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In Fly Fishing Basics part 2 we take a look at the two building blocks of fly fishing:

The Roll Cast and The Overhead Cast

The Roll Cast

Watch the video

• We use ‘clock face principal’ where your rod tip is pointing to the water at 8 o’clock and pointing vertically at 12 o’clock

• Grip the rod as if you are shaking hands with someone

• Start with the rod tip at the water (8 0′clock)

• Lift your rod to the 12 o’clock position with your thumb, pointing vertically, just off your right eye (assuming you are right handed; obviously reverse this if you are using your left hand)

• The line should now form a loop behind your shoulder (D loop) with the rest of the line still on the water in front of you (the anchor point)

• Now accelerate your hand forward, stopping firmly at 11 o’clock. The line should now straighten and flow out over the water

That’s it! Congratulations, you’ve just made your first roll cast.
 

The Overhead Cast

Watch the video

• Again using the clock face principal, start with the line straight on the water with the rod tip pointing to the water at 8 0′clock

• Lift the rod slowly and as you get to 10 o’clock start to speed up to a firm stop at 12 o’clock

• Pause and count one, two while allowing the line to straighten

• Now accelerate forward to a firm stop at 11 o’clock

• The line will flow out over the water so follow the line down with the rod to water level

Congratulations, you’re now ready to catch a trout!
 

Roll Cast & Overhead Cast Video

If you found this information useful or you’d like me to cover anything in a future tutorial please feel free to comment below – your comments are always appreciated.

Visit the homepage of the main site here or contact me here to arrange a lesson, course or a fly fishing trip.

‘Til next time, happy fly fishing.

These fly fishing basics are part 1 of a series which I will do my best to update as often as possible.  In the video below, I give you some basic tips on rods and reels and I also talk a little about fly fishing vests. In this post, however, I will go into a little more detail about your basic fly fishing outfit.

I’m putting these basic tips together really for anyone contemplating taking up fly fishing and who might be wondering what outfit to buy.

I know it can be very confusing wading through catalogues and browsing the Internet for the vast array of outfits offered by the numerous retailers out there. However, my advice is to avoid buying anything at all until you have at least spoken to, or preferably had a lesson or two with, a qualified game angling instructor.

If they know their stuff, your instructor should be able to offer you excellent, nonbiased recommendations just to get you started. They could save you a fortune in the long run.

As most people start by fishing for trout I tend to recommend the following

Basic Fly Fishing Equipment:

• Fishing Rod:  this should be 9’ long with a #6 line rating – (don’t worry I will explain the rating in a minute).

• A Reel, with spare spools.

• Floating weight forward line, to match the rod; in this case a 6 weight forward.

• Tapered nylon leaders or a spool of 10lb nylon

• Wool – to tie on the end of the leader instead of a hook

• Hat – head protection whilst practicing casting

• Sunglasses – to protect your eyes whilst you are practicing

• Sun cream  – even in winter, this is a good idea to help protect yourself from skin cancer.

How To Put  Your Fishing Gear Together

The Fishing Rod:

Most rods these days come in either 3 or 4 sections packed in a rod bag inside a cordura tube. Take the sections out of the rod bag and join them to each other as follows:

Starting with the butt section (the bit with the cork handle) to the next bigger section, push the two sections together with the rings off centre, then twist so that the rings are in line. Repeat this with all the sections. Check after the final section is fitted that all the rings are in line. If not, adjust accordingly. Don’t forget to put your rod bag in the rod tube so you won’t lose it!

Next, attach the reel to the rod. This is fixed to the reel seat found at the bottom of the handle.  I would suggest that if you are right handed you should set up the reel to wind in with your left hand.

Pull off, about 15ft of line and double the end line over to from a loop, take this through each ring in turn to the top of the rod and pull all the slack out of the top ring. The end of the line will have a braided loop attached to it and all you need to do now is fasten your nylon leader to this with a loop-to-loop connection. At the end of the nylon leader, you need to tie on a small bunch of wool.

It is very important to have a balanced outfit: the balance is at the front of the cork handle and this should be level. If it tips either way, up or down, it won’t help your casting at all. See diagram and images below:

When balanced on the hand at the front of the cork handle the rod should not tip up or down, it should remain level.

A this rod is perfectly BALANCED

B this rod has too light a reel; the rod tip drops down    - UNBALANCED

C this rod has too heavy a reel; the rod tip is forced up – UNBALANCED

How your fishing rod should be balanced.

Perfectly Balanced Rod

Unbalanced! - Reel Too Light.

Unbalanced! - Reel Too Heavy.

What Do All Those Numbers Mean?

On your rod butt you will see numbers such as these:  SwiftMk2, 9’ or #6, sometimes AFTM or perhaps Hardy UNIQUA 15′ #10 as in the image below.  But what does it all mean?

Hardy Uniqua 15' #10

Generally:

• Swift Mk2 is the name of the rod.
• 9’ is the length of the rod.
• #6 is the line rating for the rod.
• AFTM (see lines/ratings below)

However, there are some variations to these markings: sometimes you will get a line rating just like this: # 5/6, which means it will take a # 5 double taper line or 6wt weight forward line (see line profiles below).

You may also find, mainly on the budget end of the market: 5/6/7

Personally, I would avoid these as they may prove to be confusing to use;

the length of the rod may be in metric, for example: 2.70 meters or 3 meters.

Line Profiles

There are several different line profiles used in fly fishing. For now, I will cover three of these as they are the most widely used.

• Double Taper lines: These have a taper at each end and thick line in between.

• Weight Forward lines: These have a taper at the front followed by a thick line that thins down to a thinner running line after approximately 30 to 40 ft.

• Shooting Head lines: These have a heavy short tapered line of about 20ft  attached to thin running line.

Line Ratings/Weights

All lines come in different ratings/weights to suit a wide range of different fly fishing activities. They range from 0 weight to 17 weight and higher in some circumstances. What does this mean in simple terms?

Quite simply, it is the weight of line outside the rod tip that loads the rod on both the forward and back cast most efficiently.

The international standard for this loading was set by the Association of Fishing Tackle Manufacturers (AFTM).

This standard was set when the modern coated lines were introduced. It is based on two parameters: the length of line outside the rod tip, 9.1 meters (30ft) and the weight of that length which is weighed in grains.

Final Cunning Tip For Now

When you get your outfit set up, pull off 30ft of line measured from the tip of the rod to where the line joins the nylon leader. Next, mark around 4 inches of the line with an indelible marker. That way, when you are casting you will be able to judge how the rod is loading by using the marker in or about the rod tip.

I do hope this information is useful to you. As usual, your comments or questions are most welcome.

Until next time.

Enjoy your fishing.