FLy Fishing Info

Common fly fishing techniques

There’s a lot of different techniques and methods of fly fishing. This is a very simple overview of the most popular ways to catch trout on a fly rod.

Nymphing: This is one of the most popular forms of fly fishing and for good reason. This is where you are imitating the bug’s sub-surface and often trying to put those flies near the bottom where trout are holding. You will often see people fish 2 flies 12-18 inches apart with a strike indicator (fancy word for bobber) above it. 

Euro-Nymphing: Most commonly used in competitive fly fishing, this technique is arguably the most effective way to catch fish. Generally, you will see this set up on a very long leader (18-30 feet) without an indicator. The angler dictates the depth by how much of their leader is out of their rod and how high or low the angler keeps the rod off of the water. With no true indicator, you have a color change on your leader called a “sighter” that allows you to detect strikes. This rig will allow you to fish varying depths accurately and achieve the natural speed of water without any impeding from an indicator or line dragging.

Dry Fly Fishing: In dry fly fishing, you are imitating flies on the surface of the water. You will see people rig 1 or 2 dry flies 12-18 apart, but more important than that is fly selection. Fish rising for dry flies are often looking for a particular bug that is hatching that time of year.

Streamer Fishing: This could be considered the closest thing to spin fishing. You are retrieving a pattern that imitates bait fish, little trout, sculpin, etc. across the river in order to trigger an eat.

fly fishing lingo

Don’t be discouraged by all the info out there! It’s as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Important thing is to have fun and get out there!

Fly Line: This is the colored line and long part of your setup that attaches to the backing within your reel. This is usually around 90 feet long and is weighted differently depending on the fishing you do. Despite you casting the rod, the line is what actually assists in loading the rod and shooting the flies into a desired location.

Leader: From your fly line, you attach your leader. This is a tapered section of monofilament or fluorocarbon that can be anywhere from 4 feet to 15 feet. Leaders vary in length and pound test depending on where you fish.

Tippet: This allows you to taper further off of your leader if desired as well as attaching 2 flies or more together off of your line to get your desired fly selection and distance.

False Casting: false casting is the act of casting a line back and forth in the air without it touching the water, often to get more fly line out and cast longer distances.

Match the Hatch: this phrase refers to the act of closely imitating a hatching species. Bugs hatch seasonally, and therefore it’s essential to fish flies that trout expect to see that time of year.

Swinging: a different technique to fishing often used with soft hackle flies or emergers where you cast flies at a downstream angle and let them swing through a riffle or main part of a run.

Mending: In presenting the proper dead drift, a mend is re-orienting your line downstream or upstream in order to maintain a natural drift with the water if your line lies in varying currents.

Dead Drift: this is the act of presenting your flies as if they are moving freely with the current of the river.

Tension Cast: a tension cast is using the tension of water downstream to load the rod and cast upstream again. A very effective cast to avoid tangles and when you can’t back cast due to overhang or trees.

Roll Cast: keeping the line in front of you, one raises their rod tip and draws the line through the water to create tension before quickly snapping their rod back towards the water creating a roll through the line as it goes back upstream. Another useful cast for tight spaces when obstacles are to your back. 

Bow and Arrow Cast: this cast requires grabbing your flies or tail end of the fly line in one hand and drawing them back like a bow until the rod is bent. Upon release, the line will shoot in the direction that your rod tip finishes. one of the most stealthy casts available for VERY tight spaces.

Riffle: A riffle is a descriptor of a type of hole or a run. Generally, shallow water moves quickly with small, choppy waves. Fish the riffles!

Common Fly Types

These are a FEW of MILLIONS of species of bugs and other aquatic bug life that fish like to feast on. It’s a whole other world down there but this will get you going with the basics!

Caddis: one of the most widespread flies imitated in the fly fishing world. It is often imitated in several stages: larvae, pupa, and adult. This fly hatches throughout spring and summer depending on the location but is most commonly known in our area on the Watauga river for the Mother’s Day caddis hatch.

Mayfly: another one of the cornerstone flies of fly fishing, this bug is imitated in its nymph and adult form. It has literally millions of subspecies, but some of the most common ones we imitate in the southeast are Blue Winged Olive’s and Sulfur’s (or Pale Morning Duns). We see Sulfur’s predominantly through our summer months, hitting their peak in June. While BWO’s can be found more so year round with major hatches in spring, fall, and also winter.

Midge: midges are another major category of flies to imitate with a vast array of subspecies. They are most easily categorized by their size, being very small in nature. They hatch in many places year-round.

Stonefly: a terrestrial bug that crawls out of the river and sheds its nymph layer, usually on a nearby rock or log, before entering adulthood. This is traditionally a larger insect and a widespread choice to trick a trout into looking for a bigger meal.

Terrestrial: in fly fishing language, this relates to insects and bugs that trout eat but are most known for their lives off of the water. As opposed to mayflies or caddis (aquatic insects), this pertains to critters such as stoneflies or grasshoppers.

Emerger: this is the in-between stage a variety of aquatic insects take when they are leaving their subsurface, nymph stage and headed to the surface to hatch and become adults. When trout are keyed in on eating in this stage, the swinging technique discussed above is an effective way to fool them.