Getting Started With Fly Fishing

Fly fishing is not a rocket science. Although it takes some practice to perfect your casting stroke, some basic knowledge can get you on your way to successful fishing trips. There are many lake in Alberta that provide a fly fishing haven. Most of the lakes around the Edmonton area hold trout, which are primarily what is targeted amongst the fly fishing crowd. We will be focusing on trout in this post. To get started, the basic's you will need is a rod, selection of flies, fly line, leaders. I will go into these in more detail.


Rods: There are many rods in the market these days. Choosing can be a daunting task, if you don't know what to look for. Rods come in many weights, lengths and of course... prices. When fishing for trout around Edmonton, 6 or 5 weight will cover most situations. I prefer 5 weight's as they are light enough to present a #20 Adams, but also hefty enough to chuck Wooly buggers. Stick to company's such as sage, TFO, Redington, st croix, G. Loomis. Sage is my favorite, but they range from 200-800 dollars. Do not let the price of the rod turn you off.  I found in the long run investing on a higher end rod will save you some trips and provide you with years of great days on the lake.

Flies: Flies are categorized in terms of the way that they are fished. Flies are rated in size by numbers, 22 being the smallest and 3 being the largest you will see fished in Alberta. Dry flies, are flies that are fished on the surface or film of the water. I generally use these flies when i see there are ripple's on the surface of the water, this indicates that the trout are fish are feeding on insects trapped in the surface of the water. Wet flies, nymphs and streamers are fished sub surface. Most of the trouts diet consists of sub-aquatic forage, so this category of flies should not be over looked. Good general patterns are Elk hair caddis, Adams, Humpy and Royal coachman's for dries and Mohair leech, Wooly buggers, Hares ears, pheasant tail nymphs for wet flies.

Fly lines/Leaders: Fly lines are rated by weight, number 2 being the lightest going all the way up to 8. These come in many different colors which is not a major factor in catching fish and many different depths that they can go to. Floating lines float and sinking line sink. You will want a good floating line to cover most lakes around Edmonton, such as Rio gold or Rio grand. When picking fly lines, choose the line weight that matches your rod. Leader are rated the opposite way fly lines are.The higher the number the lighter/thinner the line and the lower the number the heavier the line. A good 5-6X leader should cover most trout fishing applications.

 Fly fishing is only as hard as you make it, you don't need a 800 dollar rod to have fun and catch fish. with some basic knowledge of the equipment needed. you will be on the water catching fish in no time.