Fly Fishing For Beginners | Common Fly Fishing Mistakes

Learning from your mistakes will only make you a better fly fisherman. Far too often I've stood along side a steam watching a beginner fly fisherman creating so many mistakes they have no chance of catching a fish. You can have the best fly fishing gear in the world but if you don't know how and where to fish your just kidding yourself.

Common fly fishing mistakes:

1. Standing where you should be fishing- many beginners at the art of fly fishing think they need to wade deep into a stream to catch a trout. I cringe every time I see a fly fisherman enter a stream without looking first. My son was guilty of this the first time I took him out. I told him to wait for me and I would show him how to read the stream and locate prime fishing spots. Did he wait? Heck no he plunged into the water in his new waders cut across stream thinking he had to get out into the middle. Little did he know he pretty much ruined that spot I saw several skittish trout dart for cover never to be seen again. Take your time on the banks scouting the stream before you jump in and scare every living thing away.

2. Forcing the cast. Casting a fly rod takes finesse not brute strength. You cant force a fly cast. You have to lift the line , let the rod load , begin your forward cast and the line will carry the proper distance. Trying to gain distance in a cast by brute strength is just going to cause you frustration. Take the time necessary to practice proper casting techniques in your back yard before wasting your time in a stream.

3. Beating the water into a froth. Have you ever seen a fly or other insect fall into the water from a tree or the air. Usually once they hit the water they freeze for a second, flutter lightly and then drift away with the current. Many times I watch new fly fisherman so excited they learned to cast that they never give the fly time to attract a fish. Its funny sometimes you see a trout rise to take their fly and before it can get there they rip their line back out of the water to cast again. Fly fishing takes patience and observation. Take some time to observe how insects and other prey react in the water. You want your fly presentation to imitate life as much as possible.

4. Not fishing area thorough enough. Many times a beginning fly-fisherman will make just one or two casts to an area that looks prime for holding fish. Reading a stream and spotting trout takes experience. If your instincts are right chances are you picked a spot holding fish. Make sure to take enough time to completely cover the area. I'm not talking about beating the hole to death with your fly and scaring everything, but make several well placed casts not just one or two. If this doesn't result in a fish, pick another area and come back to that spot a bit later. It will really make you mad if you leave a hole and another fly fisherman comes in right behind you and lands a nice 19" brown trout. I must admit Its happened to me more than once.

I know this post was a bit long, but I was out this weekend scouting out a new stream and watching a few new fly fisherman. As I watch I just kept wondering to myself if they realized they were pretty much wasting their time, unless their goal was a good workout for their arm. Anyway hope you beginner fly fisherman find this helpful.