Most river fishermen have great expectations of catching a large trout on a fly. The expectations may be great but catching one fly fishing is not all that easy. Relax a little and enjoy a nice cool breeze and the beautiful scenery. River trout fishing can be challenging so it is a good idea to use a few good tips in order to bring home a nice trout dinner.
A double taper fly line is an excellent line for a beginner to start with. This fly line will not tangle so easily and will glide through the rods eyelets much easier. The back cast is probably the most important thing to master. It is the beginning of a good cast and provides the basis for shooting the fly line forward again. I should tell you now that casting a fly onto the water with a fly rod and fly line is not like casting a lure with a spinning rod because you are casting the fly line and not the fly and the fly goes along for the ride. You do not have to be in a river to learn fly casting. It is much easier to start learning on a nice big lawn. Work out about 30 feet of line in front of you and let it lay there. With the rod pointed straight out from you bring the rod up and back to about one o'clock with a smooth strong motion and stop at about one o'clock. That will pick the line off the grass and it will go over and behind you. Let the line straighten out behind you before your forward cast then with quite a bit of force bring the rod forward to about three o'clock and this will shoot the line forward and let it settle to the ground. Try this a few times or until you get the feel of it and it will be no time and you will be a very good fly caster. Later on you can learn other types of casting such as roll casting, which is good for windy conditions, but learn basic fly casting first. Once you get the hang of this, which will be very quick, you can try river trout fishing on the water.
False casting is another technique that is used to change directions of the fly line. In my early days of fly fishing we used this cast to dry our flys because we did not have the silicons and such to keep our flys float-able. This cast is simple because it is normal fly casting in which you pick your line off the water with your back cast and with your forward cast you do not let the line touch the water , then repeat this until you are ready to put the line onto the water again
To make your fly line work best for you it is best to keep it clean and use a fly line dressing to keep it lubricated in order for it to slide through the rod guides smoothly. Dressing your line will make it perform better and it will last a lot longer besides making it float better. Don't get hasty and take it slowly and you will become a river trout fishing fly fisher-man or fisher-woman in no time at all.
Eugene Killian
