Fly Fishing Tips

The Best Fly Fishing Tips

Welcome to Apex Fishing Tips, this section of our website is dedicated to the art of fly fishing and how to catch fish when fly fishing. Fly fishing is a popular method of fishing that uses a fly rod, fly reel and artificial flies. This web page is going to help improve your fly fishing skills and help you catch bigger fish, more often.

Below you'll find 7 fly fishing tips that will help improve your knowledge of fly fishing and your success at catching fish. Fly fishing can be used to catch a wide variety of fish, but it's most popular for catching trout. Fly fishing is more difficult than other traditional fishing methods but it can yield amazing results. Continue down below to learn more about fly fishing.

In addition to 7 fly fishing tips, we have a checklist of all the fishing gear and tackle you'll need to go fly fishing. You'll also find some awesome pictures of other people fly fishing from around the world. If you need more resources and information on fly fishing, you'll find it at the bottom of this web page.



7 Fly Fishing Tips

  1. If this is your first time fly fishing, you're in for some frustration and fun. The techniques for casting and working a fly fishing rod are dramatically different than traditional fishing rods with a reel or bait caster. If you want to become good at fly fishing you should take some lessons with a professional or an experienced friend. Many anglers find it difficult to fly fish until they get the basic techniques, movements and actions down. Trust us, it's worth the time and effort to learn how to fly fish.
  2. You'll only be as successful as your arsenal of artificial flies (fly lures). One of the most common mistakes beginners make is not going out with a wide variety of different flies. The difference been a basket full of fish or getting skunked is defined by your ability to change up strategy and presentation. Additionally, one species of fish may be biting on one type of artificial fly, but the one you really want is biting on another. Don't be afraid to experiment and test different presentation strategies.
  3. The most common sense approach to catching fish while fly fishing is to mimic what fish are currently feeding on. Look around where you're fishing, what type of insects do you see? Look at the water, what type of insect larval do you see swimming around? The more you can mimic whatever fish are feeding on the better chance you have at catching them. Therefore, a wide variety of artificial flies are important.
  4. Understanding the water that you're fly fishing in is almost as important as good technique. A topographical map that contains depth ranges can help you find the best spots for fly fishing. Depths are usually static in lakes and ponds, but they can change during droughts or a heavy rain season. Rivers on the other hand can change both in depth and width many times throughout the year.
  5. A lot of anglers have a bad habit of casting their flies right on top of the fish their trying to catch. Instead, you want to try to cast it so the water carries your fly over it or near it. Yes, some fish will bite on flies dropped right on top of them, but you'll have better success letting the water carry the fly to the fish. Most fish feeding on insects don't go after them the second they hit the water, instead they wait a few moments before they strike. Just watch how the fish naturally feed the next time you go fly fishing and you'll get it.
  6. When fly fishing you'll need to set the hook quickly once a fish has taken your artificial fly. If you don't, they will spit it out. As soon as a fish takes your fly, lift your fly fishing rod over your head to tighten the line between you and the fish. Once you're sure the fish is secured on the hook you can reel it in.
  7. Most successful angers who go fly fishing use waders and/or hip boots to get to the perfect spot. It's important to know that one of water weights over eight pounds. If you slip or get water into your waders or boots it can be extremely difficult to move. In fact, many anglers have drowned while fly fishing because they couldn't get out of the water. Therefore, we recommend you always wear a safety belt when fly fishing and keep a knife handy. A safety belt helps prevent water from getting into your waders or boots. The knife can be used to cut yourself free from waders if water does get into them.


About Fly Fishing

About Fly Fishing

The history of fly fishing goes back about 1,800 years, when Roman author Claudius Aurelianus first recorded how the Macedonians used of artificial flies to catch fish. Fly fishing has involved a lot since then, but the practice is still the same. Fly fishing is the use of an artificial fly, coupled with a fly rod, reel and specialized line to catch fish. Anglers around the world use fly fishing as their primary method of catching fish.

Anglers can catch a wide variety of fish using an artificial fly, but fly fishing is mostly popularized to catch different species of graylings, salmon and trout. Artificial flies are designed to replicate a living organism, like insects and crustaceans. Successful anglers will use artificial flies that replicate whatever fish on feeding on at that time of year, improving their chances at catching more fish.



Fly Fishing Checklist

The below fly fishing checklist has the fishing gear and tackle you might need when you go fly fishing.



Fly Fishing Pictures

Fly fishing in a river

A picture of someone fly fishing in a small river.
(Credit: Bakh World / Flickr)

Fly fishing in the USA

A picture of someone fly fishing on a boat in the USA.
(Credit: USFWS / Flickr)

Fly fishing in Japan

A picture of someone fly fishing for trout in Japan.
(Credit: chin-toy / Flickr)



Fly Fishing Resources