A Warm Welcome to Get Fly Fishing, my name is Adam Harvey and I created this website to share my passion of Fly Fishing with you and for it to be a resource of information to new and experienced fly fishers.
My aim is to provide you with a variety of information on both Freshwater and Saltwater Fly Fishing which is what ive been doing for the past 18 years and loved every minute of it!
Whether you are just getting started with fly fishing , learning the basics (Read Beginners Guides) or looking for some answers to your questions, I hope that I will be able to pass on my experience to you as my Father did to me way back when I was 12 years old!
Fly Fishing for me has been a great way to relax and experience nature and get away from the everyday circus we find ourselves living in these days and I love being outdoors more than anything else!
Throughout the website you will find different categories of information on all aspects of Fly Fishing from tips and tricks to tackle reviews and also my blog that I am sure you will find useful and informative in case you are in the process of purchasing some new tackle.
FLY RODS
You dont need to spend a fortune when starting out , there are a plenty of reasonably priced fly rod brands, such as Reddington which I believe is an ideal starter as well as a mid range brand that will suffice most fly fishing situations.
Higher priced reputable brands such as Thomas & Thomas, Hatch, Orvis, TFO and Sage have been manufacturing Top Quality Tackle for years.
Fly rods are rated by the weight, and what is meant by weight is what weight fly reel and fly line you woud need to accompany the fly rod.
For example a 5 weight forward freshwater fly rod would ideally be paired with a 5 weight forward floating or sinking fly line and a 5 weight fly reel.
Personally I prefer to take one weight up as my casting style allows me with that extra one weight up in fly line to punch the line when I cast which in turn allows me a little more distance.
1-3 weight rods would be ideal for small streams and rivers , 5-7 weight rods would be ideal for small to medium sized ponds and lakes and 8 to 12 weight rods would be ideal for much larger waters.
Read about my Fly Fishing trips
Now that weve covered rod weights, its also good to know that rods are also measured in lengths and they also come in a number of pieces ie a 2 or 3 piece fly rod, 4 piece (usually for travelling) and so on. On average you will find most rods are between 6ft to 10ft in length.
FLY FISHING LINES
A Fly Fishing line is an important part of your tackle and they come in different weights to match the rod and reel and also come in either a floating or sinking format. The purpose of the fly line is to act as the carrier to cast your fly through the air towards your target fish.
As a Fly doesn’t really weigh very much, its important to master the art of fly casting not just to get distance but also to ensure that you present the fly onto the target fish in the most natural way possible, this helps avoid big splashes and not spook the fish when the fly hits the water.
Fly Fishing lines are generally produced in the follwoing options:Floating, Sinking and Sink Tip.
FLOATING FLY LINES
Floating lines are designed to keep the fly as the name says, floating on the surface of the water. These types of lines allow the fly to float and target fish that are mainly feeding on the surface of the water.
SINKING FLY LINES
Sinking lines are opposite to floating line ie they are designed to sink the fly below the surface of the water to certain depths where the target fish is feeding. They come in different levels of sinking depths and sinking speeds.
This type of line is perfect when the fish are not surface feeding and you need to reach them at different depths of the water where they are hiding out.
SINK TIP FLY LINE
Sink Tip Fly lines are a combination of a floating fly line and sinking line. The majority of the fly line is a floating line and the last section of the line closest to the fly ie the tip would be the sinking part of the Sink Tip Fly line, and on average the sinking tip is 6- 15 feet in length.
Sink Tip fly lines also come in a variety of sinking speeds ie slow, intermediate and fast sinking.
Fly Fishing Reels
A Fly Reel is also an important part of your tackle and don’t let anybody tell you that it is just there to hold a fly line.
The Fly Reel comes in different weights to suit the Fly line it will carry and Fly Rod it will be paired and attached to. If the fly reel is to large a weight vs the rod or reel, it will be out of sink when you come to cast and you will feel this if you were to try casting it.
To recap, a 5 weight reel would be paired with a 5 weight fly rod and 5 weight forward fly line.
Fly reels also have a drag system, similar to a brake on a car that when a fish strikes and decides to run, the drag can be tightened or loosened to allow the fish to run and be slowed down and reeled back in.
A good reel should have a sealed drag which helps to protect it from outside harm such as dirt, grit or salt if you are saltwater fly fishing.
Another thing to mention about fly reels is they are manufactured to suit both right and left handed casters usually with a reversible handle to suit. As well as casting, right or left handers would also need to reel in and retrieve the fly line with a right or left hand, this is where the reversible element of the reel comes into play as your natural grip would be accommodated.
As well as the Fly Reel, on the reel where the line is held is known as a “spool”, most fly reel manufacturers also provide spare spools when you purchase a fly reel and these are ideal so you can have one spool with your floating fly line on and another with a sinking fly line on.
This makes for ease of changing up fly lines when you see the fish are either feeding on the surface of below surface and need to change your fishing tactics.
Flies
Fly Fishing Flies come in many shapes and forms and tied on a fly fishing vise and are usually made up from a combination of materials ranging from feathers, thread, cotton and other fly tying materials.
Its worth noting that depending on the type of fly fishing you are focusing on either freshwater or saltwater, there are different flies to suit the purpose and the fish species you are targeting.
Trout for example eat different flies to say a Saltwater Dorado and it’s important to do some further research on the type of flies you will need based on the species of fish you wish to target
TIME TO START FLY FISHING
I hope the above has given you some further insight into the Fly Fishing World and what kind of tackle you should consider purchasing when you are ready to start.
Wishing you all the very best on your Fly Fishing Journey and as we say:
TIGHT LINES & SCREAMING REELS…!
>> More on Fly Fishing Tackle set up tips
>> Fly Fishing Trips Blog
>> Read more on How to tie a leader to a tippet
>> How to use a Fly Reel
Adam Harvey
Website Editor
