There’s much more to fly fishing than tying on a fly and whipping your line around a pond. Casting, hook setting and reeling all demand a level of finesse that goes beyond what anglers experience when spin fishing. Learning how to fly fish takes practice, but with time, you’ll eventually learn what it feels like to master it. Well, at least be sufficient at it; I would argue mastery takes decades.
For those looking to break into the dry fly scene, prepare yourself to enjoy a steep yet rewarding learning curve. Below, I’ve condensed the basics of fly fishing into five important tips, each one building on the one before it to help you master the basics. Practice at your local pond or even in the backyard when you’ve got a few spare minutes, and soon enough, you’ll cast and catch with ease.
The writer lifts up a chum salmon she caught on the fly in Alaska.
Learning fly fishing basics (and acquiring the gear to do so) is no small feat. However, if you find equipment that matches your fishing style and practice casting before hitting the water you’ll, set yourself up for success. Here’s what you need to know.
Step 1: Find A Fly Rod That Fits Your Needs
Like any piece of outdoor equipment, fly rodsfly rods vary widely in price. You can pick up a used one for a few bucks at a thrift shop or online, or you can invest in a new Sage rod and reel setup for as much as a roundtrip flight overseas. But before you go shopping, identify your needs.
What kinds of fish do you plan to target? Will you fish Rocky Mountain streams or Texas’s Gulf Coast? How much are you willing to spend on a fly rod setup? The answers to these questions dictate the cost, length, weight and action type of the rod you need.
Orvis
Orvis Clearwater Fly Rod Outfit
“,”instagramHandle”:”gabriela.zaldumbide”,”linkedIn”:”https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriela-zaldumbide-a47182ba/”,”metaDescription”:”Gabriela Zaldumbide is a writer, editor, and outdoorswoman living in western Colorado. She’s a self-taught hunter and angler and holds a degree in wildlife ecology and a master’s in public land management. Her work has appeared in Wide Open Spaces, Project Upland Magazine, Hunting Dog Confidential, Backcountry Journal, The Wildlife Professional, Bugle, Hook & Barrel, Gunnison Country Times, and more. Follow her on IG @gabriela.zaldumbide and on Substack.”,”name”:”Gabriela Zaldumbide”,”primaryBlogNaturalId”:”blogAuthorId/blog/author/blog-4983″,”primaryChannel”:{“id”:”channel_94″,”channelId”:”channel_94″,”channelName”:”Forbes Vetted”,”url”:”/vetted”,”showAds”:false,”showLicenseOptions”:false,”showSpreadsheetButton”:false,”enableComments”:false,”badges”: [],”hexValue”:”#eb6262″,”secondaryHexValue”:”#ffa0a0″,”showQotd”:false},”primaryChannelId”:”channel_94″,”profileUrl”:”/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/people/gabrielazaldumbide/”,”slug”:”gabrielazaldumbide”,”timestamp”: 1721774983678,”type”:”Contributor”,”url”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/people/gabrielazaldumbide/”,”webSite”:”https://parttimecowgirl.substack.com/”,”division”:”FC”,”shortBio”:”A writer, editor, and outdoorswoman living in western Colorado.”,”mediumAvatar”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66a031bbc44e5a7d3dd9c36b/62×0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=636&cropY1=16&cropY2=652″,”largestAvatar”:”https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/66a031bbc44e5a7d3dd9c36b/400×0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=636&cropY1=16&cropY2=652″,”displayType”:”Contributor”,”chanSecColor”:”#eb6262″,”showAuthorTypeDisclaimer”:true},”publication”:{“naturalId”:”blogAuthorId/blog/author/blog-4983″,”allowEmail”:false,”authorType”:”vetted”,”avatars”: [{“size”:136,”image”:”https://blogs-images.forbes.com/assets/images/avatars/blog-4983_136_6a35ad1b7db9ce9ac885b5f2de5c6338.jpg”},{“size”:40,”image”:”https://blogs-images.forbes.com/assets/images/avatars/blog-4983_40_6a35ad1b7db9ce9ac885b5f2de5c6338.jpg”},{“size”:400,”image”:”https://blogs-images.forbes.com/assets/images/avatars/blog-4983_400_6a35ad1b7db9ce9ac885b5f2de5c6338.jpg”},{“size”:62,”image”:”https://blogs-images.forbes.com/assets/images/avatars/blog-4983_62_6a35ad1b7db9ce9ac885b5f2de5c6338.jpg”}],”bvProgramTypes”: [],”contributorSince”: 1493323500000,”description”:”Our recommendations for products and services are the result of careful, thorough research from our team of writers, experienced consumer advocates and subject matter experts. Each product we feature is doubly vetted by our staff editors to ensure that only the best advice reaches our readers.”,”disableCanonical”:false,”disableDigest”:false,”displayChannel”:”shopping”,”displaySection”:”shopping”,”embargo”:false,”enableContribContact”:false,”enableTwitterFeed”:false,”inactive”:false,”metaDescription”:”Our recommendations for products and services are the result of careful, thorough research from our team of writers, experienced consumer advocates and subject matter experts. Each product we feature is doubly vetted by our staff editors to ensure that only the best advice reaches our readers.”,”name”:”Forbes Vetted”,”primaryBlogNaturalId”:”blogAuthorId/blog/author/blog-4983″,”primaryChannel”:{“id”:”channel_94″,”channelId”:”channel_94″,”channelName”:”Forbes Vetted”,”url”:”/vetted”,”showAds”:false,”showLicenseOptions”:false,”showSpreadsheetButton”:false,”enableComments”:false,”badges”: [],”hexValue”:”#eb6262″,”secondaryHexValue”:”#ffa0a0″,”showQotd”:false},”primaryChannelId”:”channel_94″,”profileUrl”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper”,”shortUri”:”http://bit.ly/34Yfr26″,”showNoVestPocket”:false,”slug”:”forbes-personal-shopper”,”tagName”:”Taking the guesswork out of online shopping”,”timestamp”: 1721314909900,”type”:”Forbes Vetted”,”url”:”https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/”,”authors”: [“5003017″,”5002868″,”5002819″,”5003949″,”5003948″,”5000663″,”5000908″,”5000781″,”1128960″,”5000578″,”5004846″,”5003401″,”5004335″,”5004491″,”5003517″,”5003480″,”5000543″,”5000956″,”5000648″,”2793518″,”5000664″,”5004336″,”5003572″,”907104″,”5001316″,”5000919″,”3338017″,”3337934″,”5000661″,”5000929″,”5000961″,”1862296″,”5003050″,”3299803″,”5003632″,”5004731″,”5004732″,”5004733″,”5004849″,”2914864″,”5004903″,”5005033″,”5005072″,”5005370″,”5002224″,”5005745″,”5005631″,”5005727″,”5006355″,”5006369″,”5006457″,”5006565″,”5006787″,”5006788″,”5006789″,”5006785″,”5006766″,”5006937″,”5007009″,”5007031″,”5007392″,”5007492″,”5007529″,”5008153″,”5008460″,”5008478″,”5008489″,”5008490″,”5008525″,”5008600″,”5008601″,”5008618″,”5008910″,”5008911″,”5008912″,”5008946″,”5009023″,”5009080″,”5009082″,”5009191″,”5009240″,”5009241″,”5009242″,”5009338″,”5009404″,”5009451″,”5009583″,”5000492″,”5009669″,”5009681″,”5009714″,”5009732″,”5009735″,”5009789″,”5009790″,”5009791″,”5009781″,”5009798″,”5009803″,”5009807″,”5009813″,”5009821″,”5009850″,”5009903″,”5009945″,”3337134″,”5010016″,”3340238″,”5010037″,”5009853″,”5010011″,”5010066″,”5010158″,”5009784″,”5010174″,”5010214″,”5009898″,”5010321″,”5010372″,”5010365″,”5009783″,”5010206″,”5010295″,”5008612″,”5008320″,”5010470″,”5010502″,”5010525″,”5010614″,”5010619″,”5010623″,”5009854″,”5010616″,”5010737″,”5010738″,”5010739″,”5010791″,”5010837″,”5010853″,”5009679″,”5011028″,”5011035″,”5011042″,”5010416″,”5011048″,”5011049″,”5011082″,”5011099″,”5011126″,”5009697″,”5011156″,”5011157″,”5011286″,”5011324″,”5011297″,”5011298″,”5011221″,”5011220″,”5011116″,”5011469″,”5011648″,”5011696″,”5011718″,”5011733″,”5007465″,”7236096″,”7236201″,”7236253″,”7236269″,”5011480″,”7236286″,”7236325″,”7236362″,”7236437″,”7236444″,”7236521″,”5002077″,”7236525″,”7236577″,”7236738″,”7236771″,”7236813″,”7236812″,”7236862″,”7237008″,”7237010″,”5010736″,”7237012″,”7237014″,”7237020″,”7237095″,”7237097″,”7237040″,”7237230″,”7237261″,”7237264″,”7237330″,”7237411″,”7237548″,”7237586″,”7236363″,”7237722″,”7237762″,”7237764″,”7237784″,”7237785″,”7237791″,”7237792″,”7237794″,”7237806″,”7237824″,”7237847″,”7237853″,”7237854″,”7237865″,”7237870″,”7237911″,”7237990″,”7237991″,”7237994″,”7237889″,”7238008″,”7238009″,”7238017″,”7238067″,”7238115″,”7238136″,”7238137″,”7238177″,”7237814″,”7238270″,”7238383″,”7238394″,”3342057″,”7238198″,”7238491″,”7238535″,”7238590″,”7238401″,”7238603″,”5011626″,”7238765″,”7238774″,”7238776″,”7238828″,”5007437″,”7238933″,”7238950″,”5000168″,”7239044″,”7238996″,”7239184″,”7239186″,”7239247″,”7239249″,”7239326″,”7239288″,”7239460″,”7239504″,”7239675″,”7239681″,”7239733″,”7239734″,”7239745″,”7239763″,”7239919″,”7239913″,”7239978″,”7239980″,”7239994″,”7239995″,”7240062″,”7240265″,”7240151″,”7240323″,”7240338″,”7240378″],”availableChanSecs”:[“channel_106″,”channel_106section_2014″,”channel_106section_2015″,”channel_106section_2017″,”channel_106section_2231″,”channel_106section_2016″,”channel_106section_2013″,”channel_106section_2230″,”channel_102″,”channel_102section_1991″,”channel_102section_2040″,”channel_102section_1975″,”channel_102section_1992″,”channel_102section_1993″,”channel_102section_2041″,”channel_102section_2042″,”channel_102section_2038″,”channel_102section_2043″,”channel_102section_2470″,”channel_102section_2354″,”channel_102section_2417″,”channel_102section_1994″,”channel_102section_2355″,”channel_107″,”channel_107section_2214″,”channel_107section_2018″,”channel_107section_2232″,”channel_107section_2216″,”channel_107section_2022″,”channel_107section_2024″,”channel_107section_2019″,”channel_107section_2217″,”channel_107section_2020″,”channel_107section_2023″,”channel_94section_2353″,”channel_108″,”channel_108section_2340″,”channel_108section_2034″,”channel_108section_2025″,”channel_108section_2341″,”channel_108section_2347″,”channel_108section_2243″,”channel_108section_2028″,”channel_108section_2344″,”channel_108section_2343″,”channel_108section_2342″,”channel_108section_2345″,”channel_108section_2026″,”channel_108section_2346″,”channel_108section_2027″,”channel_110″,”channel_110section_2386″,”channel_110section_2388″,”channel_110section_2387″,”channel_110section_2389″,”channel_110section_1987″,”channel_110section_1988″,”channel_110section_1989″,”channel_110section_1986″,”channel_110section_1985″,”channel_110section_1990″,”channel_104″,”channel_104section_1999″,”channel_104section_2007″,”channel_104section_1998″,”channel_104section_1997″,”channel_104section_2008″,”channel_104section_2006″,”channel_104section_2036″,”channel_104section_2002″,”channel_104section_2005”,”channel_10