continued……..

Looking at important considerations of rod length and line size.

As we said in the first part of this beginners guide, first decide on the budget.

Once you have decided on your budget you can then start to look at the tackle required for your introduction to fly fishing.

What to consider when choosing your outfit:

Where do I live?

Where you live and where you work will have a big influence on where you actually fish, at the risk of sounding blindingly obvious.

Many new anglers take up the sport with a sort of idealized version of themselves booming a long line out across the tropical beaches fishing for Bonefish or something equally exotic.  However, the reality may be snatching a couple of hours on the local stream on the way home from work. The tackle requirements would be very different in the real world in these two cases.

In this mini-series we will be looking at a Stillwater outfit as that is where most beginners start.

How long a rod?

The rod length and the size of line for a first rod has been the source of many a pundits first attempts at writing for the angling press and I will not cover these subjects in too much depth in this article because there is already enough information around to confuse and mystify the average newcomer, but it is a big and important subject and has to be looked at so here goes…

Something you can pretty much take as a rule

A really useful rod length for Stillwater use is around nine and a half feet long and a really useful line size to match that length would be a size seven line.

There are good reasons for this rod length and line size being the UK’s number one selling outfit for Stillwater use year after year after year.

This length is long enough to give a bit of room behind when bank fishing and the line size (or weight) is man enough to boss a fair length of leader and fairly chunky fly around in a fairly stiff breeze.

Having written this, I have to say I often use lighter and shorter tackle than this for my own satisfaction and because I often use small flies for Stillwater fishing.  I can personally cast almost as far with a nine foot rod and five weight line for example but I am a reasonably good caster with a trout line despite being a little bloke !

When I travel to waters of say five acres and upwards I always take a nine foot six #7 outfit with me.

Arguments for a longer rod revolve around the fact that when we use a longer rod we can maybe cast a little bit further and we can fish a longer leader allowing us to gain a bit more control when swinging nymphs across a breezy corner for example. Another argument is for the undoubted fact that if we sit down to fish on a boat, the added reach of the ten foot is handy.

All these are good reasons for the ten foot choice, but and it is a big but, the ten foot rod will exert more pressure on a novice caster than a shorter one does. The additional effort needed to control a longer rod/heavier line can and does overwhelm novice casting techniques fairly quickly.

A word of warning

Of course with the birth of the internet and forums come people who like to share their view on such matters.  I read only recently the advice that a fast actioned nine foot rod was suitable for fishing a well known small steam in South Yorkshire.  I passed this gem of information on to a good angler who has been fishing this particular stream since the 60’s and he fell about laughing.  The voice on the internet site also advised the hapless beginner that such a weapon could be “got from the usa at a very reasonable price”. 

Do be aware that the loudest or the most penetrating voice is not always the best for taking advice from.

Some well meaning anglers are competent enough on their on their own patch of fishing, and good luck to them. However, they may actually only string a rod together a handful of times a year and thus may have six or seven experiences repeated twenty times over as the basis of their proffered advice.

To be continued…….

Choosing your first fly fishing outfit can be a daunting task.  With so many maufacturers to choose from, each of them preaching that their equipment will help you cast further, become a better fisherman and put more fish on the bank, it’s easy to see how the wrong choice can be made.  Not only can it be a costly mistake, it can also detract from the enjoyment of the sport.  Hopefully this mini-series will help make the decision of purchasing your first outfit easier.  It’s not a hard sell from us, just honest advice from a couple of guys who enjoy fishing and passing on their knowledge to other like minded individuals.

Lets’s talk about money (It’s a dirty word)

Most advice on your first rod revolves around rod length, line size, action etc..

We have plenty to say about those subject, but in this New Year the dominant question in many people’s lives is money, so let’s tackle that subject head on.

The standard advice is to usually go for the best you can afford because “It will pay in the long run. “

This advice is still true, but the fact of the matter is fishing gear has improved so much over the last few years the gap between the lower and high end fly rods has narrowed considerably and a reasonably priced rod can be had for a lot less money in comparative terms and in real money than used to be the case.

So how much to spend then?  Obviously this depends on your income and lifestyle, but you also need to take into account how often you plan to go fishing and whether you are serious about the sport or if it’s something you just want to try, and see how you get on.

It may be blindingly obvious but if it looks like fishing with a fly rod is going to happen twice a year when the in laws come visiting then look towards the lower end of the budget.

If you enjoy fishing and plan to do a fair amount then look to the higher end of your budget but don’t go over the top!

If you have some spare change it is better spent on casting and fishing lessons and the fishing itself rather than something you may not have the experience to appreciate. And of course you will need some other stuff as well.

Consider also the possibility of an outfit deal within your price range , if the outfit is from a reputable manufacturer they can be perfectly good value for starter outfits.

Two secrets to tell:

• Reputable manufacturers that make half decent usable stuff are not always the ones with the largest advertising budget.
• There have been lots of “new kids on the block” over the years offering the latest and cheapest tackle range.  Some of these companies are set up by people who merely fancy the idea of being a tackler dealer and/or need to move an ISA or two around “for tax purposes” or something.  There are some tackle dealers in the world who do not actually fish!
• There are some retail outfits which have large advertising budgets and very large stocks of stuff at the lower end of the market. A fair amount of the stuff they stock is aimed at the very lower end of the market and is not actually very good.
• If a deal being offered by the latest player on the scene or maybe by a very large dealer seems a bit too good to be true, it often is.

Actually that was four secrets, not two.

Earlier we mentioned the idea of an outfit because the cost of a fly reel and a fly line needs to be considered. Don’t run away with the idea of a reel and fly line costing huge amounts of money though.

You can purchase a basic fly reel with some confidence nowadays for around £30 to £40 and have something which will be around for years if you want it to be.

The first fly line you purchase should be a floating line and it should possibly be priced around the same sort of money as the fly reel.

So £50 to £60 on reel and line combined, (you will need some backing line too, not expensive) 

If purchasing separate items, one of the things to watch out for is to get the proportions of the outfit right.  We don’t mean the length of the rod etc.. that will be covered at length and depth under another heading.  We mean the proportion in cost.

Imagine a £50 rod and a £65 fly line and a £99 reel.  These proportions would be wrong.  The proportions would be better £99 rod and total around £65 on a more economy reel and mid-priced fly line.

We have just told you some secrets but it may be that you may well have figured them out for yourself as they say.

Here’s another secret. When we at Bakewell tell you that something is “alright” we mean it.

“Alright” does not sound as good as “Unparalleled power and accuracy combined with a delicate touch hitherto unobtainable at this price level”, but it may amount to the same thing.  Alright?

We do have a couple of outfits in which we like at around £100 all in. We have some more coming through in the New Year at around £150. We have had a little play with them and we think that they are alright. We trust the makers of these outfits and we hope you will in turn trust us…

If this sort of money is beyond you at the moment it may be that you are very young or very skint.  Santa or the birthday elf may help out in the first instance.

In the second instance, you have our sympathies, however if you do decide to take up the sport it can be a real joy to get away from it all, I personally have rarely had a great days fishing when beset with problems but the act of fishing itself has at least taken the mind off them for a while. And every little helps as they say. Good luck to you.

Alright?

To be continued……………..

When it is sunny, the reflection from the tip or any part of a rod can be very off-putting to any fish, especially game fish in fairly shallow water. This can be a real problem at any time of year, but is especially noticeable in winter when the low sun reflects of the snowy bank side and with the common use of longer rods for “fishing short range nymph or “bugging “as it is now widely known the problem is magnified

Solution

Cut down on the glare by using “mud” to camouflage the upper portions “Rambo” style.

The soft texture does not appear to harm the rod or the fly line, but more importantly it can give a bit of confidence in the fact we are thinking about our approach and not blindly flailing away hoping to get lucky once in awhile.

As the nights draw in and the days get colder a lot of Stillwater fisherman stay away from the water thinking that the fishing season is over.  Far from it.  In fact some of the best Stillwater fishing of the season can be had from now until December.  It’s at this time of year the big Rainbows and Browns in our reservoirs start feeding on the fry that are required to keep them going through the winter.

If you’ve never fished during the fry feeding period then you’re missing a treat.  The sight of a big fish slicing through a shoal of fry is a sight to be seen as the fry scatter across the surface trying to escape the powerful jaws of a hungry trout.   Probably the best local waters to fish for fry feeders are the larger reservoirs such as Foremark and Carsington.  Further afield Rutland and Grafham are renowned for the excellent sport that can be had with fry feeding trout.

Firstly let’s start off with talking about tackle.  One thing you will need when fishing at this time of year is strong tackle.  Fry feeding fish tend to be of a bigger size than average and most fish tend to have already spent at least one winter in the water and therefore will be in much better condition than a freshly stocked fish.  A rod of around 9’6” in length is ideal combined with weight forward 7 or 8 weight floating line.  Make sure you have a good quality reel with plenty of backing.  It’s not uncommon for fish to take you onto the backing so make sure have plenty of it and that your knots are good.  I check all my knots on a regular basis to make sure there are no weak points.  Leaders should be strong with a flourocarbon tippet of around 10lb breaking strain.  Your leader doesn’t need to be too long.  I prefer an overall length of around 9-10 feet.  With regards to flies, Zonkers, boobies and any other fry imitation patterns work well at this time of year.  Also, pearl thorax pheasant tail nymphs are very effective at this time of year but we will come back to those later.

Most fry feeders tend to feed close in and in most cases long casts are not needed.  Casting parallel to the bank is a good technique to start with.  Fry like to feel safe so they tend to congregate where there are features.  Dam walls, valve towers, boat jetties and structures such as fences that go into the water are all great places where fry like to hang about.  If you can locate the fry then the trout won’t be far away.

Once you have located feeding fish I would always start with a floating fry pattern fished static.  This is because when a trout hits a shoal of fry it aims to stun the baitfish and then return to mop up the pickings with ease.  Most anglers would expect takes to be very savage, and indeed some can be however more often than not the trout will take the floating fry with a sip, almost as if it was taking a dry fly so it pays to be extra vigilant.  An excellent technique when this happens is to fish a pearl thorax pheasant tail nymph in conjunction with a floating fry.  You can fish the fry pattern on a dropper with the PTN on the point but my favourite method is to fish the PTN New Zealand style.  This is where you tie the PTN to the bend of the floating fry pattern with a short piece of fluorocarbon about 12 inches in length.  This way you can keep the PTN in the feeding zone.

In deeper water you may not have the visual aid of seeing fry scatter on the surface.  The only give away that fish are feeding is an occasional boil mark on the surface.  In these instances a clouser minnow can work very well.  Don’t be afraid to fish a big fly either, remember we are trying to catch big fish.  I regularly use a fry pattern tied on a size 2 or 4 hook.

It pays at this time of year to keep on the move therefore keep tackle down to a minimum.  Bank fishing can be very good at this time of the year with the fish feeding so close in.  If you have a boat then this will help you cover more water.

As a rule this type of fishing doesn’t lend itself to catching in large numbers, but what it lacks in quantity it certainly makes up for in quality.  Provided you have the adequate tackle and are prepared to put the work in then this is the perfect time of year to catch that fish of a lifetime.

Tight Lines