Fly fishing

Fly fishing is a distinct and ancient angling method, most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but today is used for many other species such as pike, bass, and carp, as well as a wide range of saltwater marine species, such as tarpon and bonefish. Artificial flies are constructed — "tied" onto a hook with thread, fur, feathers and other materials — in sizes and colours to match naturally occurring food or simply to excite a fish. Compared to other types of fishing rods, fly rods are relatively long, limber, and lightweight, while the lines are relatively heavy, which provides the weight necessary to cast tiny flies. Lines may be tapered or straight, of differing densities (to make them float or sink), and are matched to the rod according to weight. The fly itself can weigh very little and is normally attached to the line by a 2-3 meter leader which may taper to a very fine line at the tip end, also called the tippet. In fact, the main practical difference between fly fishing and casting is that in casting, you are using the weight of the lure to "throw" it out (much like throwing a baseball). In fact, a fly line can be "cast" without any fly or lure on it at all, a feat impossible with a typical spinning or casting rod and reel. The point is that a fly can be presented gently and under the control of the angler instead of plopping down with a big splash. Stealth is often critical in fly fishing.

There are two basic forms of fly fishing, dry and wet. Dry flies are coated with a floatant and sit on the surface of the water. They are mostly cast upstream in moving water when fishing for trout. Wet flies are subdivided into other types such as nymphs, streamers, emergers, terrestrials, and true wet flies, but they are all fished beneath the surface of the water.

History

The use of an artificial fly lure was first recorded by the Roman Claudius Aelianus near the end of the 2nd century. He described the practice of Macedonian anglers on the Astraeus River:

...they have planned a snare for the fish, and get the better of them by their fisherman's craft. . . . They fasten red . . . wool round a hook, and fit on to the wool two feathers which grow under a cock's wattles, and which in color are like wax.Their rod is six feet long, and their line is the same length. Then they throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the colour, comes straight at it, thinking from the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful; when, however, it opens its jaws, it is caught by the hook, and enjoys a bitter repast, a captive.

Modern fly fishing originated on the fast, rocky rivers of Scotland and Northern England. The first detailed writing about the sport comes in two chapters of Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler which were actually written by his friend Charles Cotton and described the fishing in the Derbyshire Wye.

British fly-fishing was further developed in the 19th Century, with the emergence of fly fishing clubs, along with the appearance of several books on the subject of fly tying and fly fishing techniques. In southern England, dry-fly fishing became the preferred method for fishing the slower, clearer rivers of the south such as the River Test and the other 'chalk streams' concentrated in Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset and Berkshire (see Southern England Chalk Formation for the geological specifics). The weed in these rich rivers tends to grow very close to the surface, so that traditional wet fly fishing is impossible: the fly would snag in weed long before it reached a trout. So it was necessary to develop new techniques that would keep the fly and the line floating on the surface. These became the foundation of all later dry-fly developments. In contrast, conditions in the north of England and Scotland favored the development of wet-fly fishing, where the technique was also practiced most intensely. One of Scotland’s leading proponents of the nymph and wet fly fishing in the early-to-mid 19th century was W.C. Stewart, who published "The Practical Angler" in 1857. Both types of angling were further modified and practiced in other countries, notably Scandinavia and the United States.

Lines made of silk, instead of horse-hair, were heavy enough to be cast in the modern style. Cotton and his predecessors fished their flies with long rods, and light lines allowing the wind to do most of the work of getting the fly out to the fish. But the use of new woods in fly rods, first Greenheart, then bamboo, made it possible to cast flies into the wind on silk lines.

American rod builders such as Hiram Leonard developed superior techniques for making bamboo rods: thin strips were cut from the cane, planed into shape, and then glued together to form light, strong, hexagonal rods with a solid core that were superior to anything developed before.

In the late 19th century, anglers, such as Ray Bergman, in the Catskill Mountains of New York began using the fly to fish the region’s many trout-rich streams such as the Beaverkill and Willowemoc Creek. Many of them also wrote about the practice and invented new flies, drawing yet more anglers to the region, which is still considered the birthplace of American dry-fly fishing. The Junction Pool in Roscoe, where the Willowemoc flows into the Beaver Kill, is the center of an almost ritual pilgrimage every April 1, when the season begins.

Participation in flyfishing peaked in the early 1920's in the eastern states of Maine and Vermont and in the midwest in the spring creeks of Wisconsin. Ernest Hemingway helped to popularize fly fishing, along with deep-sea fishing, through his works of fiction, including The Sun Also Rises. But it was the development of inexpensive fiberglass rods, synthetic fly lines, and monofilament leaders in the early 1950s that revived the popularity of fly fishing, especially in the United States.

In recent years, interest in flyfishing has surged as baby boomers have discovered the sport. Movies such as A River Runs Through It starring Brad Pitt, cable fishing shows, and the emergence of a competitive fly casting circuit have also added to the sport's recent resurgence.

Popular locations

Freshwater fly fishing is practiced throughout the United States, with the greatest number of fly fisherman located in the northern United States and Canada, especially the Rocky Mountain States of Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, California, Alaska, and the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. The city of Calgary, Alberta holds the distinction of having one of the world's best trout rivers. West Yellowstone is arguably the hub for fly fishing in North America, though the wild waters of Alaska almost certainly surpass any of the lower 48 states for size and number of fish caught. Famous North American waters include the Henrys Fork (home to Mike Lawson) and Silver Creek (Ernest Hemingway's favorite haunt) in Idaho, the Yellowstone and the Blackfoot & Madison in Montana, the Kenai River in Alaska, the Deschutes, the Nueces and the Guadalupe River of Texas, the North Umpqua and the Rogue rivers in Oregon, the Pitt, Hat Creek, the Owens and the East Walker in California, Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River in Arizona, the San Juan in New Mexico, the Upper Delaware and the Green River in Utah, and the Arkansas, the Frying Pan, the South Platte and the Blue River in Colorado, the Tellico River in North Carolina, and the White River in Arkansas.

The Golden Triangle of flyfishing is a geographic area described by an equilateral triangle with Glacier National Park as the apex and the lower corners encompassing Yellowstone Park and much of eastern Idaho.

Other popular fly fishing destinations include the Canadian Maritime provinces and Newfoundland and Labrador, the upper Great Lakes region, New England. Most of the Appalachian corridor also offers abundant opportunities for fly fishing, both for trout and for smallmouth bass. Many of the traditional “Holy Waters” of North American fly fishing can be found in these areas: New York’s Beaverkill, Michigan’s AuSable and Two Hearted (the latter made famous by Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” although there is widespread agreement that internal evidence in the story suggests he was actually describing the nearby Fox river), Wisconsin’s Bois Brule, Pennsylvania’s Letort, Penns Creek, and numerous others. There are also tens of thousands of miles lesser known but very worthwhile streams.

In addition to River Test, River Itchen, the Kennet, the Lambourn, and the Avon in the same area of southern England may also be considered legendary. Along with the River Don and the River Dee, Scotland boasts the River Spey after which an entire genre of two-handed fly rods and casting techniques is named.

Also in Europe the Alps region is popular for fly fishing, for example in Austria, Italy, Germany for grayling, brown, and rainbow trout.

On the other side of the globe, the active geothermal area around Lake Taupo on the North Island of New Zealand is another world-famous trout destination, particularly the Tongariro River near Turangi. Australia also has many fly fishing destinations, especially in the South-Eastern states of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. The central highland region of Tasmania has built a reputation for providing exceptional lake fly fishing oppurtunities.

Salt-water fly fishing has rapidly expanded in popularity, especially along the Gulf Coast and the Florida Keys for such species as bonefish, tarpon, redfish, and permit, and along the mid-Atlantic and Northeast coasts for bluefish and striped bass. The Bahamas and Belize also provide outstanding opportunities for salt-water fly angling. Christmas Island in the Pacific is famous for bonefish, and various parts of coastal Australia offer a wide variety of saltwater sport fish.

In recent years, more exotic locations for reaching native populations of species have become popularized such as Mongolia ( for the largest Salmonid species in the world, the taimen ), and the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, where many believe holds the largest runs of salmon species in the world.

How to

The fly angler uses a rod longer and lighter than those used for cast and spin fishing. Fly fishing rods can be as short as 2m (6 ft) long in freshwater fishing and up to 4 m (14 ft) long for saltwater or spey rod fishing. The average freshwater rod is around 8 to 9 feet in length and weighs between 2 and 5 ounces, though a recent trend has been to lighter, shorter rods for fishing smaller streams.

There are several types of casts in fly fishing that are used in a variety of situations. The most common cast is when the angler whisks the fly rod forward and back using primarily the forearm and upper arm, using the wrist to soften the motion. Generally, the rod is moved from the 10 o'clock position to the 2 o'clock position without letting the line touch the water or ground. The objective of this motion is to "load" the rod tip with energy and allow the energy to travel the length of the fly line creating distance and control. This motion, known as 'false casting', can be used to pay out line, dry a soaked fly, reposition a cast, or show off one's casting abilities. False casting continues until the desired amount of fly line is airborne: perhaps as little as 3m (roughly 10 feet) for small streams, but averaging around 10m (30 feet) in most freshwater conditions. Anything over 18m (60 feet) in freshwater is likely to impress fellow anglers more than the fish, but many saltwater situations call for casts well beyond 25m (82 feet).

When a 'false cast' is 'released' the line floats gently down to the water. Casts are made to an area of the stream represented by a "bioenergetics model". This model represents where a fish in a stream can maximize its food intake while minimizing its energy output. Once on the water, the fly may either float or sink, depending on the type of fly and the style of fishing. This presentation of the fly onto the water is one of fly-fishing's most difficult aspects, because the angler is attempting to cast in such a way that the line lands smoothly on the water's surface and the fly appears as natural as possible. After several moments the angler withdraws the fly by pulling in a small portion of line by hand (this is called 'tending' the line), then lifting the tip of the rod. The angler then makes another presentation, perhaps after a few false casts. If a fish strikes, the angler pulls in line while raising the rod tip. This sets the hook in the fish's mouth. The fish is then 'played' either by hand, where the angler continues to hold the fly line in his hand to control the tension applied to the fish, or he eliminates the slack in the line to get the fish 'on the reel' in order to use the reel's mechanism ('drag') to slow the fish's runs.

Another aspect of fly fishing is choosing the appropriate 'fly'. While flies originally were made to imitate flying insects, they have evolved to match the diets and stimulants of the targeted species. These can be: aquatic larva and pupae, fish, eggs, worms, grasshoppers, crawfish, mice, frogs, leeches, etc. Other types of flies are simply 'stimulators' which are used to anger or trigger a natural aggressive response from species such as spawning salmon. Another type of fly fishing utilizes a long fly called a streamer to simulate minnow prey.

Fly fishing for trout, panfish, or bass can be done in rivers, small streams, creeks, lakes, or even ponds - though the basics are the same, methods and fly patterns vary according to the species sought and the environment. Tactics also vary substantially across regions and countries. The UK, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Tasmania, Patagonia and parts of Europe are probably the most common destinations for freshwater trout fishing. World destinations include parts of South America on the Amazon as well as the Patagonia region.

Fly Rods

As stated, most fly fishing rods vary between 2m (6 feet) and 4m (14 feet) in length. The earliest fly rods were made from greenheart, a tropical wood, and later bamboo originating in the Tonkin area of Guangdong Province in China. The mystical appeal of handmade split-cane rods has endured despite the emergence over the last 50 years of rod-making materials that offer more durability and performance: fiberglass and graphite.

Split-cane bamboo fly rods combine sport, history and art. It may take well over 100 hours of labor to select and split the raw cane, then cure, flame, plane, file, taper, glue, wrap and finish each rod. Quality rods made by the famous masters (Leonard, Dickerson and Winston to name but three) in good condition may fetch prices well over US$2,000, and new rods from competent contemporary builders may bring nearly that much. These rods offer grace, form, and, with their solid mass, surprising strength. Bamboo generally demands a 'slow' or 'soft' casting style that is more suited to refined, leisurely fishing. In competent hands, they provide more than adequate performance in most freshwater trout fishing situations.

On the other hand, fly rods made from man-made materials generally offer greater versatility, stiffness, power, and performance than bamboo, and they require less maintenance. Fiberglass rods became popular in the years following World War II, but by the late 1980s, graphite rods had emerged as the material of choice for that mass market. Graphite is especially suited to the construction of multi-piece, takedown 'travel' rods, as the joints or ferrules used in their construction do not significantly affect overall flex or rod action. Some makers are currently experimenting with new technologies and high-performance materials such as boron, but graphite rods still cover the broadest range of fly rods for all purposes, from 'ultralight' to two-handed spey rods to serious saltwater rods built to cast exceptionally long distances and deal with strong winds.

References

External links

Directory of fly fishing links

Recreational fishing