Fly Fishing Beginer - few questions

draku007 · Jun 8, 2009

Hello everyone,
Just like the subject says I'm a fly fishing newbie who switch from spinning to fly. I first try fishing with flies but had no luck, didn't know how to cast and where to look for a fish. Moved to fly-rod with worms and had some luck. Upgraded to fly+nymph setup and had some luck mostly catching fish on a nymph (got only 1 brown on a fly using fly+nymph setup). The one brown was caught on adam's fly and it was by far the most exciting fly fishing experience so far. Watching the fish going for my fly and making a splash... ohh yeah.
I think I already have the basics and I know where to look for a fish but I haven't had much luck fishing with floating flies. So here are few questions I have for you:
1. Is using fly+nymph setup common practice or would that be considered "cheating"?
2. If a fish is biting a nymph on a given day, will the fish also go for a floating fly and it's all about the correct fly pattern?
3. Is nymph that much better than floating flies or is it just what I got used to and what I "mastered"?
4. Several times I saw a fish going after my fly and turning back. Is there a simple answer to it? Should I change my fly at this point?

I'm fishing mostly on Pequannock river as it's my local water.

Thanks for all your help,
Jim

PS: I lost a nymph on Saturday morning after my first cast. After further inspection I noticed that the nymph has untied (need to work on my tying skills). I went to the same place on Sunday evening and pull out a rainbow with my Saturday's nymph in his mouth.

PRomano · Jun 9, 2009

Welcome to the addiction. Hope you take the next step and practice catch and release.

1. Is using fly+nymph setup common practice or would that be considered "cheating"?
This is a common practice and very effective.

2. If a fish is biting a nymph on a given day, will the fish also go for a floating fly and it's all about the correct fly pattern?

Yes.
3. Is nymph that much better than floating flies or is it just what I got used to and what I "mastered"?
Trout feed on nymphs most of the time so generally you will catch more when fishing nymphs.

4. Several times I saw a fish going after my fly and turning back. Is there a simple answer to it? Should I change my fly at this point?
Change your fly. Usually a smaller pattern will get the fish to strike.

I'm fishing mostly on Pequannock river as it's my local water.

The Pequannock is also my home water and I fish it often. It could be a great trout stream if only more people would practice catch and release.
Good luck!

Fishin Technician · Jun 9, 2009

A few recommendations, read and read more on flyfishing. ask questions, use light tippets (4x max). Keep your casts short (25-30 feet) and accurate. Walk upstream from access points 15 minutes at least if possible before fishing.........observe stream for 10 minutes before fishing, and do not wade like a water buffalo use the walk on eggs approach. Nymphs and wets are not considered cheating, 90% of the feeding occurs underwater, 10% on the surface. Darker and larger flies early season and lighter in color and smaller as the season progresses. I am sure others will give you advice also. Good luck. F/T.

[FONT=Frutiger SBIN Bd v.1]Today is the Tomorrow that you were so worried about Yesterday.[/FONT]

Ryan R · Jun 9, 2009

PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION. If you're casting dries and not having much success it could be that you're getting alot of drag from your line and the drift doesn't not appear natural to the trout. If you're still realtively new to flyfishing and flycasting in general I'll bet you're still struggling with the drag-free drift when dryfly fishing. Like the Fishin Technician said: Observe before fishing, make short accurate casts, and wade carefully and only when necessary.

Probably at least 80% of the time trout will be feeding subsurface. Doesn't mean that some will also come up for dry fly presented on a drag-free drift. The fly+dropper rig is an excellent way to cover more of the water column at one time. An Adams is one of the best dry flies to use when you'er first starting out. Floats well, is a good attractor pattern, and depending upon what size it also mimics several mayflies that hatch in this region as well. A #14 Adams trailed by a #16 or #18 Pheasant tail nymph or Gold-ribbed Hare's Ear nymph is good combo. Another deadly on that I'm doing particularly well with right now is a #14 tan elkhair caddis trailed by a #16 tan caddis emerger. As we get into summer Hopper-dropper rigs can be excellent too. Use foam hopper patterns or big foam Chernobyll ant patterns.

BIGBOW · Jun 9, 2009

As the Fishin Technician posted, get a good book and start reading. You'll find this site has tons of info, but you'll be better off with a good book at first. Try a search in our "search" box to see previous discussions on a topic.. most questions have been answered already. My go-to book is the Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing. Costs 20-25 bucks at Barnes and Nobles and has everything you need to know. Watch other people casting and maybe take a class or two to get the hang of it. I'd look at the Pequest Hatchery's calender to see if they have any free classes coming up.

mbwmn · Jun 9, 2009

the double-fly setup is VERY effective. you can even try it w/ 2 nymphs...HOWEVER...take it from another beginer- casting a 2-fly setup is like casting a hair net. i recently put my wife into her first 3 on a fly by having her go back to a single fly (wooley bugger). her casting improved dramatically immediately after she landed the 1st fish!

you might contact Rusty Spinner through a PM. he's having a 2 hour event this saturday on the Musky near Hackettstown. there may be an open spot. i'll be attending w/ the wife, and perhaps a neighbor...it's kind of an intro to flyfishing i think...
Good Luck!

draku007 · Jun 9, 2009

Thank you all for your input and sharing your knowledge with me.

One last question I have is what happens to the trout over the summer? Are they hiding in deep cold holes or they are dying due to high water temperature? Sorry is I'm asking a dumb question but just trying to get to know my new friends - trouts.

Thanks,
Jim

CTobias · Jun 9, 2009

draku007 said:
Thank you all for your input and sharing your knowledge with me.

One last question I have is what happens to the trout over the summer? Are they hiding in deep cold holes or they are dying due to high water temperature? Sorry is I'm asking a dumb question but just trying to get to know my new friends - trouts.

Thanks,
Jim

They don't die in the summer. They look for cooler water like you stated. The rainbows will sit in the faster water where there is more oxygen, and browns will tend to look for deeper holes and cover (under cut banks). I fished dries yesterday in the upper fly zone and was hammering them in the faster water. Best bet is to crawl before you walk. Reading water is a skill that is learned over time. Look for the bubble lines or hard seams. Most fish will sit right on the edge of the seams waiting for food. A seam is where slower water meets faster water. Also, many fish that are rising will hang out at the tail out of a run right before it dumps back into faster water. Look for underwater structuer (i.e. big boulders that create current breaks/ seams under water. The water on top is always faster than the water on the bottom. Tight lines and screaming reels. Also, if you are fishing dries, try to catch what is hatching so you can match colors and size as close as you can.

PRomano · Jun 9, 2009

draku007 said:
Thank you all for your input and sharing your knowledge with me.

One last question I have is what happens to the trout over the summer? Are they hiding in deep cold holes or they are dying due to high water temperature? Sorry is I'm asking a dumb question but just trying to get to know my new friends - trouts.

Thanks,
Jim

That's not a dumb question at all; in fact it's a very good one. The fish will hold in deeper pools fed by cold springs and tributaries. The Pequannock does suffer from low flows over the summer, but trout do survive and hold over in certain spots. Part of the game is finding those spots.

draku007 · Jun 9, 2009

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ther; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> PRomano, speaking of Pequannock river - "The Pequannock is also my home water and I fish it often. It could be a great trout stream if only more people would practice catch and release." I saw a guy in Riverdale (right off rt 287) pulling out all trouts from the deep hole there with a net. When I got there, there were at least a dozen trouts already dead laying on the rocks where his friends and family were taking them to the picnic tables for barbeque. He let all other fish go when he saw me coming with my rod but the damage was already done.

PRomano · Jun 9, 2009

That's terrible! You should have called the police.:guns:
There are some questionable people that hang in that area so be careful.

Hllywd76 · Jun 9, 2009

Another easy answer. Go to Matt Groberts presentation at the Hacklebarney TU meeting. Bring a blank book and start writing. You will learn more in 90 minutes than 90 minutes of fishing.

Hllywd

Hllywd76 · Jun 9, 2009

PRomano said:
That's terrible! You should have called the police.:guns:
There are some questionable people that hang in that area so be careful.

Call the police for sure. if they had them on the Barbi. and the police showed if the had no licenses and fishing equipment thats a double whammy on them. the fine is per fish they take.

Hllywd

draku007 · Jun 9, 2009

I would have scratches all over my car. They were latinos and there were a lot of them...

NJDrew · Jun 19, 2009

draku007 said:
I would have scratches all over my car. They were latinos and there were a lot of them...

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing." paraphrase of Edmund Burke

You cant complain about something taking place, when you are fully capable of stopping it.

Drew's .02

DAG_NJFISHING · Jun 19, 2009

draku007 said:
i would have scratches all over my car. They were latinos and there were a lot of them...

so because they were latinos you didn't call the cops? So, i guess if they were white you would have call the cops? Stop with the stereotypes/prejudice because white/black/asian/etc everyone does stupid sh#t and people from different races can be just as bad.

draku007 · Jun 19, 2009

I wasn't going to comment on this but I guess I will...
#1 I don't care where you're from and what color you are. However, the facts are that those people were latinos, there were about 20 of them, it was getting dark and I fish there a lot.

DAG_NJFISHING · Jun 19, 2009

draku007 said:
I wasn't going to comment on this but I guess I will...
#1 I don't care where you're from and what color you are. However, the facts are that those people were latinos, there were about 20 of them, it was getting dark and I fish there a lot.

Well the fact that you said scratches on my car...followed by latinos did not sound to good, but just be mindful that this country is a melting pot and there are many people you can offend with comments like that, whether you mean them or not.

BTW don't be scared of latinos at night be scared of us all the time, LOL!!

term · Jun 21, 2009

its trout not trouts..

CTobias · Jun 23, 2009

draku007 said:
I would have scratches all over my car. They were latinos and there were a lot of them...

then call INS next time.

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