first fish on a fly rod?

[jerole1978]

Just curious, how long did it take from the point where you first picked up a fly rod to when you landed your first fish? Trying to see if I'm screwing up or if I'm in the norm

[dude02]

Assuming you mean trout, I caught small rainbows on dries in a small creek in the high country first time out. This creek was not pressured at all and was full of eager native fish. Easy place to cast and did not require great precision. If your describe where, what, and how you are fishing, others might offer some insight. I took a one day free group casting clinic and fished one day with a cousin who knew what he was doing, so that gave me some basics, but I was definitely a poor caster (probably still am!).

I spent LOTS of time getting my butt kicked, so don't give up. I fished dries and dry dropper rigs exclusively for the first five years or so before I ever rigged a nymph setup, which undoubtedly added to fishless days, but it was a good learning experience. Untangling your dropper from your dry/leader all day teaches you to let that backcast get straight before you go forward! You might think of joining a fly fishing club as they typically have casting practice/instruction and fishouts that would be of great use to you at relatively little cost. A half or full day guide would be great if you have some extra cash.

And always lean on your local fly shop (Kiene's). They can show you how to properly rig your gear, give you the right flies, and direct to streams that will hold fish. Kiene's has free videos on their main page that might be of some help. And youtube has a ton of videos that would be helpful as well.

[Tony Buzolich]

I remember going to an outdoor show put on by Bell Lang with my dad when I was 8 or 9 years old. He helped me whip around a fly rod. Shortly after that I tied a string on one of my dad's light rods and that started it with blue gills on some pond somewhere.

On my 10th birthday dad got me a Heddon Tackle Tyer fly tying kit and then it really turned on with flies imitating every kind of bug and minnow imaginable. Besides blue gills everywhere we went, I best remember fly fishing shad on the American below the old Fair Oaks bridge. That was 60 years ago.
Tony

[jerole1978]

Thanks guys I appreciate the stories!!! I have been fly fishing on and off for about a year ( my fiancee and I had our first child in that time so I as the pregnancy got closer tending to her obviously took precedent over me fishing as you could imagine and helping out since then) but I'm just starting to get back into it. Really I've only got to fish the American (I'm sure it doesn't help that we are in a drought ) although I just got up to the lower yuba yesterday and definitely will be going back. I think my casting is halfway decent ( I think haha ) as am able to do a roll cast I would guess 7 times out of 10. Not thinking about giving it up as I do enjoy it more than any other type of fishing I've ever done. Just curious as to how much time most guys put in before catching fish. Oh I'm trout/steelhead fishing although I would like to give the stripers a try also.

[mattv-mcfly]

I started fly fishing about three years ago and learned almost everything fly fishing by watching videos, reading, talking to the local fly shop, and doing it. I can't afford much help being a student and all so I have to figure out a lot of things on my own. It is very frustrating at times but super rewarding when you figure it out.

My first few casts on a fly rod were extremely embarrassing. Pile cast after pile cast, pretty funny when I think about it now. Catching my first fish on a fly was difficult as well because I started in January when most of the easier places to catch fish were closed. I'm pretty sure it took at least a dozen trips before I was able to land my first fish. A Sac Sucker!
Although I hooked a lot of fish on the Yuba at the time I was still an amateur and didn't land my first Yuba bow until April. So my advice is to just keep at it.

I feel like a fly rod is the most versatile tool for catching fish. They're eating on top. Dry fly. They're eating on bottom. Nymphs. They're eating fish. Streamers. Need to go deep? Polyleader.
You just need to learn how to use all these techniques and when to use them. Once you figure it out you'll be catching all kinds of fish in no time.

[jerole1978]

Thank you matt, I appreciate the insight

[joshfish]

I have to agree with the others. It depends on what your fishing for. When I first picked up a fly rod it was for steelhead on the trinity. So for me it was months before I landed my first fish on a fly rod. No it wasn't a steelhead. If I had picked up a rod in the spring and hit ponds or trout streams it probably would have been sooner.

[Bob Loblaw]

The best way to learn, in my opinion, is casting to small fish in small water with dry flies. You'll learn very quickly what a drag free drift looks like, you'll see fish hit your fly, you'll see as many if not more rise and refuse, you'll learn from observing where fish hold and how they feed, and most importantly you'll have fun.

Nymphing sub surface is much more technical and its really hard to see what you're doing wrong if you aren't getting into fish. It takes a while to figure it all out and during that time you'll probably not have much luck.

[Troutstalker55B]

1972 Kunkle reservoir just a few miles down from the house near Paradise. Bluegill and dry flies, and it took hours to perfect the hook set on those fish.. I had the best teacher though, NCFFF 1999 Hall of Famer Bob Baiocchi. He was so good and a great dad - Miss you buddy! - J.

[midger]

Keep at it and you'll start hooking up more often with your increased abilities. Joining a club is a good start where you can meet fellow flyfishers who probably would be more than willing to take you under their wings and help you get better at hooking up.

Another great way to improve is to hire a guide. They make their livings instructing folks and getting them into fish. You'll learn valuable techniques such as how to rig, how to improve your drifts, and how to read water. The ability to read water and to know how to get the proper drift can't be overemphasized. Fish where they are and with the right drift and a reasonable fly representing something looking edible and you'll start catching fish.

As far as when I caught my first fish on a flyrod it was back in 1974 when I first picked up a flyrod, but I'd already had 15 years of fishing for trout using ultralight rods and bait such as crickets, eggs, worms, etc so the transition to highstick nymphing came very naturally and the transition was pretty easy. Throwing streamers was also easy. Toughest for me was dry fly fishing as I wasn't used to getting drag free drifts on the surface. After fishing with friends (with more experience) and a few different guides, that technique was also learned.