Joined
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3 Posts
Hi all,
I'm new here, just joined this morning, and moved to Ames Lake last fall. I got into Fly Fishing rivers about 20 years ago because a friend's family was big into it. Lost touch with the friend and stopped the hobby but kept all my gear. Now that I can be on the water with less than 5 minutes notice, I'm trying to get back into the hobby. I won't say I was good, or anything above a novice, at the sport when I was younger, but I know absolutely nothing about fly-fishing on a lake. I've caught several trout, blue gill and perch by trolling with a spinner, but I'd really like to be fishing with my fly rod. So far, I've only caught perch by trolling the edges of the lily pads. Easy and fun, but I'd like to do more and trolling with a fly rod just feels wrong.
Anyway, first suggestion is gear. I'm still using my old 9' 5wt Lamiglas. This wasn't bad for the Yakima or Cle Elum, but is that an appropriate rod for a lake? What line should I be using as well? I have no idea what my current sink line is, but I figure the stuff is cheap so I should just toss it get and something new, but I'm not sure what to get. Leaders? I have some 10' 6lb leaders that I'm sure will work for even the biggest trout I can get into (biggest I've caught by trolling was 13-14", neighbor said the biggest he's ever caught was maybe 16") but I'm not sure what to expect if I get into bass or even the land locked salmon a couple of people have suggested exist here.
As for casting... without moving water, what do I aim for? Casing near a shore is tricky with the lily pads so I've tied a few woolly buggers with weed guards and we'll see how effective that is.
Last, fly suggestions. I know I'm supposed to look around for the bugs flying around, but seriously I've never been able to do this. I see tiny little bugs about the size of a gnat and dragon flies. I have no idea how to translate that knowledge into what fly I should be using under the water. I go by trial an error and so far, woolly buggers seem to work.
As for advise level, think of me as a guy who grew up not fishing or camping, then 20 years ago bought some gear and tried fly fishing about a dozen times over a couple of years and then dropped the hobby until now. In those dozen fishing trips I only caught a couple of fish. So, I know the basic components and probably a few bad techniques and won't get offended at extremely basic advise. I'll probably ask some stupid questions as well.
I'm here to learn
Thanks,
Matt
I'm new here, just joined this morning, and moved to Ames Lake last fall. I got into Fly Fishing rivers about 20 years ago because a friend's family was big into it. Lost touch with the friend and stopped the hobby but kept all my gear. Now that I can be on the water with less than 5 minutes notice, I'm trying to get back into the hobby. I won't say I was good, or anything above a novice, at the sport when I was younger, but I know absolutely nothing about fly-fishing on a lake. I've caught several trout, blue gill and perch by trolling with a spinner, but I'd really like to be fishing with my fly rod. So far, I've only caught perch by trolling the edges of the lily pads. Easy and fun, but I'd like to do more and trolling with a fly rod just feels wrong.
Anyway, first suggestion is gear. I'm still using my old 9' 5wt Lamiglas. This wasn't bad for the Yakima or Cle Elum, but is that an appropriate rod for a lake? What line should I be using as well? I have no idea what my current sink line is, but I figure the stuff is cheap so I should just toss it get and something new, but I'm not sure what to get. Leaders? I have some 10' 6lb leaders that I'm sure will work for even the biggest trout I can get into (biggest I've caught by trolling was 13-14", neighbor said the biggest he's ever caught was maybe 16") but I'm not sure what to expect if I get into bass or even the land locked salmon a couple of people have suggested exist here.
As for casting... without moving water, what do I aim for? Casing near a shore is tricky with the lily pads so I've tied a few woolly buggers with weed guards and we'll see how effective that is.
Last, fly suggestions. I know I'm supposed to look around for the bugs flying around, but seriously I've never been able to do this. I see tiny little bugs about the size of a gnat and dragon flies. I have no idea how to translate that knowledge into what fly I should be using under the water. I go by trial an error and so far, woolly buggers seem to work.
As for advise level, think of me as a guy who grew up not fishing or camping, then 20 years ago bought some gear and tried fly fishing about a dozen times over a couple of years and then dropped the hobby until now. In those dozen fishing trips I only caught a couple of fish. So, I know the basic components and probably a few bad techniques and won't get offended at extremely basic advise. I'll probably ask some stupid questions as well.
I'm here to learn
Thanks,
Matt