fly fishing | SouthernPaddler.com

fly fishing

funbun

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2007
214
1
Alabama
Any of you guys fly fish (freshwater)? I'm interested, but no one around here fishes like this. Where do I go to get started in fly fishing. How expensive is it to get started?

I'm mostly interested in fishing for bluegill.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
I fished for fly's one time and caught a lot more then I wanted. In fact when I got home the wife would not let me in the house. :lol:

OK, On the serious side. We have a lot of folks on here that will offer a ton of information about your question.

The best thing is a fly rod , light weight and about 8 feet , a simple reel to hold the line with the leader and some flys to use.

I have found that here in Florida a spider or bumblebee is the best , the spider will get the gills and the bumblebee will get both bass and bream.

Believe it or not , I have bone fishing reels and rods for salt water and some for trout in the mountain streams. While poking around in wally world I located a light action fly rod for $20.00 and it is what I use for sunfish on the local river and lakes. A reel (not an expensive one ) will be about the same. The thing that will cost is the fly line , I like the forward taper ones , they make it easy to cast.

I would say for about $100.00 you can get the basic outfit ( rod , reel , fly line , leaders ) including some flys to use.

Personally I like tying my own , they cost a lot less after the initial purchase of the equipment and are a fun hobby to create when the weather outside is miserable.

Chuck.
For gills the foam spiders are deadly , they love them. Just flip them out by a illy pad , let it sit for a minute and then give it a slight twitch and look out , the water will explode.
 

FlaMike

Well-Known Member
Jun 20, 2007
624
2
Spring Hill, FL
www.ptponds.com
Despite what some have said about them in the past, I also bought that Shakespeare "starter" fly rod kit from Wally World.

First thing I did was to replace that 5/6 level fly line that came with it, with a weight forward floating 5 wt. line. I added some backing to the reel first, mostly so when the fly line was spooled on, it filled the spool close to the rim.

For panfish and not-too-big bass, that inexpensive rod & reel works just great! :D

Like boat building, fly tying can also be addictive! Some of the best are also some of the easiest to tie. So far, for panfish like bluegill, I've had the most luck with a "cap spider," that I tied.

Launch027.JPG


Info on that fly and others, plus freshwater fly fishing in general, look in this same section of the Forum for a post titled "Warm Fly."

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
Friend funbun,

How good are ya at truth stretchin'? That seems ta come first. If ya need ta work on that, ya sho come ta the rite spot. Keep an eye out fer Truthful Jack. Him 'n the High Sheriff (Ole Sparkler) are the big daddy dip dog funky monkeys of tall tale tellin'. oldyaker iz a natural. We had a BS detector on here. oldyaker had jest posted a whopper of a pile when it broke....some of us even seen the smoke come off our screens. The spellin' helper aint worked rite since either.

regards
bearridge
bodine college
jack webb award

Overgrown military establishments are, under any form of government, inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.  George Washington
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
bearridge said:
Friend funbun,

How good are ya at truth stretchin'? That seems ta come first. If ya need ta work on that, ya sho come ta the rite spot. Keep an eye out fer Truthful Jack. Him 'n the High Sheriff (Ole Sparkler) are the big daddy dip dog funky monkeys of tall tale tellin'. oldyaker iz a natural. We had a BS detector on here. oldyaker had jest posted a whopper of a pile when it broke....some of us even seen the smoke come off our screens. The spellin' helper aint worked rite since either.

regards
bearridge

Yep ... Trust a lawyer ( Retarded ... Oooop's Retired one for the truth) that don't fish like normal folks he uses a big ole net. :lol: :lol: :lol:

In a little while the truth shall prevail on here , much against my better judgment and several others on here we have agreed to take him camping in some far off mountains way back in the sticks so he can't post anything on here during that time.

"O" the sacrifices some of us have to make to keep any form of honesty on here. :roll:

But after checking with our head shriekers they say we should not have any permenant damage by doing that , just some short term matters that we can shirk off in a week or two.

Chuck
 

laflyfisher

Active Member
Jul 30, 2006
32
0
Louisiana
www.warmfly.com
funbun said:
Any of you guys fly fish (freshwater)? I'm interested, but no one around here fishes like this. Where do I go to get started in fly fishing. How expensive is it to get started?

I'm mostly interested in fishing for bluegill.

I would purchase an 8’ to 9’ rod in a 4 to 6 wt range. Make sure the rod has a guide for every foot of rod plus the tip top. (Ex: A 9’ rod should have 9 guides plus the tip top). If the rod has less it will be difficult to cast. You don’t need an expensive reel if you’re fishing for bluegill/bream. Just something to hold your line… Flies I use are Jitterbees, Cap Spiders, Wooly Boogers and Popping Bugs. Do check out my website for more information… www.warmfly.com.

Some of my gill photos…

editedfish-1.jpg


cropbluegill.jpg


IMG_1732.jpg


IMG_1724.jpg


IMG_1016.jpg
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Noticed a couple of good cats in this picture.

IMG_1732.jpg


If you got them on the fly rod , you had a good battle. I like to fish for them , just use a small hook and put a worm on it , flip it out (gently) and get ready for a good fight.
"O" have plenty of room they will use every foot of it. :D

Chuck.