Thread: New Fly Rodder

Originally Posted by jeffy

HI YALL,I'M NEW AT FLY FISHING;NEED SOME HELP.DO I NEED BACKING LINE FOR BREAM?HOW DO YOU WORK A WET OR DRY FLY?HOW ABOUT A POPPER?STRIKE INDICATOR?ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

You don't NEED backing for bream or most other freshwater fish, but it will help you if you ever hook something really big. Also, having backing beneath the fly line means the fly line won't be so tightly coiled on the reel. I always use backing for these reasons. If you buy rod and reel together, the reel will always come with backing.

I wouldn't work a dry or popper much at all -- just lightly "pop" the popper occasionally and twitch the dry. I would fish the wet with short, one inch strips.

I don't use strike indicators much for bream, but you can. A good alternative to that is the "popper and dropper" combination. That's where you fish a small popper with a small nymph or wet attached to the hook of the popper with 12"-18" of mono. The popper will act as a strike indicator and you sometimes will get two bream at the same time.

Here's a good DVD:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...006000_175-6-1

Most "beginning fly fishing" DVD's focus on trout. This one is strictly bass, bream, pike, etc. It shows you EVERYTHING you need to know, even how to cast.

Also, check out FAOL:

www.flyanglersonline.com

They have a "Fly Fishing Basics" section, and a "Warmwater" board devoted to bass, bream, crappie, etc.

Good luck!

hi jeff
where are you fishing ,is it open water or are you fishing timber.

Always glad to see someone pick up a fly rod and give it a try. Kevin (deathb4disco) covered your questions pretty good. Only thing I would add is that you try to find someone (preferably a casting instructor) to help you start learning to cast so you don't get frustrated and give up before you even learn to cast. After you learn to cast and control your fly line in the air and on the water, then you can work on manipulating flies. I would strongly recommend that you use at least a hundred yards of backing for freshwater. Carp, Channel Catfish, big Largemouth Bass, Mudfish, Gar, Pickerel, and others can and will take you into the backing and there is always a chance that one of these big bruisers will take your fly. You never know for sure what will take your fly even though you can be "fairly selective" by the fly type and hook size.

Originally Posted by jeffy

HI YALL,I'M NEW AT FLY FISHING;NEED SOME HELP.DO I NEED BACKING LINE FOR BREAM?HOW DO YOU WORK A WET OR DRY FLY?HOW ABOUT A POPPER?STRIKE INDICATOR?ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

You don't "need" backing for most freshwater fly fishing. The purpose of backing is to fill up the spool so that your fly line isn't wound on in tiny circles, which creates nasty memory.

Start out with poppers. Cast them out, pop them once and let them sit. Most strikes take place with the popper is sitting.

With subsurface flies, experiment with retrieves. I find a strike indicator very valuable.

Yes, you can use a popper as a strike indicator.

Thanks For The Help.i Will Be Fishing A Pond With Alot Of Overhanging Brush And Submerged Stumps.later On,i Would Like To Try Flyfishing Out Of My Canoe On The Catawba River.i Have Caught Lots Of Fish Both Places With Rod And Reel.

Originally Posted by jeffy

Thanks For The Help.i Will Be Fishing A Pond With Alot Of Overhanging Brush And Submerged Stumps.later On,i Would Like To Try Flyfishing Out Of My Canoe On The Catawba River.i Have Caught Lots Of Fish Both Places With Rod And Reel.

Good luck! I've found I catch a heckuva lot more fish on fly rod here in Florida than any other method.

I fish most of my bream stuff under football shaped strike indicators. We fish a lot of jig flies for bream and kill the fish on them. They are finally starting to bite here in ARkansas and we get hit with more of the wet stuff. Can't wait for the warm weather and the spawn.

Originally Posted by parrotheadcrb

I fish most of my bream stuff under football shaped strike indicators. We fish a lot of jig flies for bream and kill the fish on them. They are finally starting to bite here in ARkansas and we get hit with more of the wet stuff. Can't wait for the warm weather and the spawn.

Not meaning to highjack the thread, but I've not fly-fished in a LOOOOONG time. What's a jig fly?

Tommy