Sometimes life gets in the way of what we would like to be doing, forcing us to temporarily stop or completely abandon an activity that we enjoy. Well, I’m officially coming off of a 5+ year hiatus from fly fishing, of which was initially induced due to school – I just didn’t have the time and resources to go fishing, let alone fly fishing. I use to tie my own flies, make my own rods, be a part of online fly fishing communities, and more. It’s officially time to dive back in.
First, let us talk about my fly rod. As mentioned, I used to be pretty active on an online fly tying community. There was one day that I posted about getting my first fly rod, and asked for recommendations. Well, I was confronted by a gentleman who offered to make me a custom fly rod, better than anything I could get in stores at the same price point. He offered this, fly line, leaders, and a fly box for only $100. I was skeptical, to say the least. Why would someone do this? Making a moderate-quality fly rod would cost him anywhere between $50 and $100, so his profit would be small or nonexistent. I asked him questions to try to determine if he was a fake, and also did research on him. The thing was that I couldn’t find a bad thing or negative comment about the guy. He was genuinely trying to do a good thing for a beginner. So, I took him up on his offer. About 3-4 weeks later, the rod and gear items were at my house. To that gentleman (I can’t remember his name), if you’re reading this, I say thank you.
The rod itself was a 5 weight, and 8’6” in length. I wanted to error on the smaller side for length, as some of the northern AZ streams are limited with casting space. It was completed with stainless steel snake guides, along with red wraps with metallic silver accents. It also has a mahogany real seat with chrome hardware and a half-wells cork handle. Who makes the rod? I’m not sure, as he left off that info from the rod while making it. Who knows, it could be a St.Croix.
My venture into fly fishing was sort of backwards. I first started tying flies before I ever started fishing with flies. I learned the ins and outs of tying flies, and I was pretty dang good back in the day. I had a large inventory of materials, ranging from a variety of pheasant tails, varying types and colors of dubbing, hackle to fit size 18 hooks, and much more.
My old Woolly Bugger fly box.
Following my hiatus, I wanted to get back into fly tying as well. I fetched my old tying materials and found that many of my items had been destroyed by insects over the years, particularly the feathers. Luckily, my expensive hackles and such were still in good shape, along with some of my exotic tying materials.
I always would just use Mustad fly hooks to tie my flies, as they were cheaper than any other hooks. Well, I decided that this would be no longer, as I wanted nothing but high quality hooks. Something my recent fishing experiences have taught me is that high quality, sharp hooks are a must. Want to lose fish on an often basis? Then use cheap hooks, but I won’t.
Perhaps one of my favorite ways to fly fish is using a foam hopper pattern as an indicator, followed by a dropper fly that is tied to the hopper. The hopper essentially works as both a bobber and a working fly. I’ll generally use something like a size 8 hopper, followed by a size 16 nymph or midge pattern.
I broke my hiatus a week or two ago on my usual local pond. Using the same mentioned method above, I managed to land quite a few bluegill and tilapia, though nothing with size. I should also mention that this isn’t the preferable pond-fishing method with flies, but it’s what I decided to use, and it worked.
I’m excited to get back on the water with my fly rod. I’m no great fly fisherman by any means, but fishing with a fly is just so different from casting/spinning fishing. The added aspects of fly fishing introduce more of a sense of accomplishment with each fish, even if they’re small. I’ll be sure to take you all along with me through my new fly fishing journey, so stay tuned.