How To Catch Trout - Ten Tips for the Fly Fishing Beginner

Does this sound like you?
It’s a hot July afternoon. Stoked to catch some fish you thrash through the willows by a trout creek with a glittering array of flies and your gleaming new fly fishing rig. You fish all day... but all you get for your trouble are some scratches, mosquito bites and... hey is that tree over there wearing all your new flies? I’d say you’ve got a bad case of trout fever.

I know, that was me my first season of fly fishing. If only someone had sped up my learning curve with the information I’m about to give you! Believe me, I’ve learned through trial and error. Now that I’ve got the ground rules down I catch fish more often than not and so will you if you just follow these ten tips. They will make a difference for you every time you go fishing.

Fish where the fish are. This first one may sound a bit silly, but every place I have ever caught a fish was, in fact, a place where there was a fish. Spend the time to find where the fish are first and then cast to them. Learning to spot fish without spooking them is an art. Look for their outlines or fish shaped shadows moving side to side in the current. Polarized sunglasses are essential to cut the glare and make it easier to spot them along with a high vantage point. Try from the road, a bridge or a tall rock. It also takes some training and observation skills to see them or recognize when the fish are “rising” to feed at the surface.

Be stealthy. Fish survive by being wary of predators. To a fish, a guy with a Simm’s hat and a rod is a predator and thousands of years of evolution have given them keen eyesight overhead, and sensitive organs along the sides of their bodies that allow them to detect vibrations. So, the best way to avoid watching the fish scurry away is to stay low when approaching the bank and be very stealthy - think ninja. Crawling on hands and knees and hiding behind bushes is recommended. Keep in mind if you can see the fish, they may have already seen you.

Fish at dawn and dusk. One hour of fishing right at sunset can be more productive than the entire rest of the day. Insects hatch most frequently at dawn and dusk because the lower light levels make them less vulnerable to predators - like fish. Some insects do hatch at other times of the day, so if you are lucky enough to hit a hatch - great! However, most anybody can find the fish out and actively feeding as the sunlight comes and goes. Warm cloudy days can also be a productive time due to the lower light levels.

Cast up stream. Casting up stream enables you to present your fly without drag - drag on your line makes your fly look funny to a fish. Casting gently up stream into slower moving water will give you a drag free drift.

Properly tie your knots. You’re not going catch a fish if your hook comes off your line. If your line breaks at the hook or has a little pig tail in it when it breaks this is a sure sign of a poor knot. Learn the Clinch and Surgeon knots cold so that you can tie them confidently on the finest tippet. Always wet your knot with spit before tightening to prevent it from burning the nylon and weakening it. Finally, test your knot by pulling on it strongly to make sure it’s solid.

Learn to read the water. Fish like to hang out where the current isn’t too strong. However, they also like to be where food is going by. Trout can be found in the boundary between fast and slow water, in front of or behind rocks, on the sides of rocks, in eddies or at the tail of a pool. Look for a moderate current where little foam bubbles ride - that’s often where insects collect and the fish will be feeding. Although there are no absolute rules in fishing, most of the time it makes sense to avoid turbulent water such as high rapids or waterfalls.

Carry a lot of the basic time proven flies. Walking into a fly shop and seeing hundreds upon hundreds of flies on display can be daunting. If you’re only going to buy one fly make it a Parachute Adams. This fly will catch more fish on more rivers than almost all other flies put together. Another “go-to” fly is the Elk Hair Caddis. The hot flies vary depending on region, so this is a great thing to ask about when you go to the local fly shop. As you start out you may catch a lot of rocks, sticks and bushes, so start out with more flies than you think you’re going to need and double or triple up on the “go-to” flies.

Try fishing nymphs. Contrary to the popular image of fly fishing that involves lofting a dry fly to an eager trout, fish eat more insects under the water than on the surface. Fishing a nymph or wet fly that rides below the surface can improve your odds tremendously. Nymphs come in two forms: bead head and no bead head. I recommend the bead head which will keep your fly deeper in the water. These are usually fished with an indicator that floats on the surface. The indicator should be placed 1.5 - 2 times the depth of where you want your nymph to ride, which is dependant upon where you see the fish hanging out. An even more effective combination is use a dry fly such as an Orange Stimulator as your indicator and then tie your nymph off the bend of the hook. This is usually called a dry-dropper rig and allows you to fish the surface as well as the depths.

Fish where there are NOT other fisherman. Look for the out of the way spots. If you go where everyone else is fishing the fish are usually already spooked or savvy to flies no matter how tasty they look. Often it can be as simple as walking a short distance from the parking. Try fishing below a bridge if the easy path leads above the bridge. My favorite strategy is to head up into the high mountains. Fish that live in high altitude lakes and streams can’t be as selective because there simply isn’t as much food available.

Don’t be afraid to get wet. If you don’t have waders (garbage bags and old wet suits don’t count) you may be tempted to stay on the bank. There are a lot of down sides to that. It can be awkward to cast directly upstream when you have bushes and trees next to you. If it’s warm enough wade and the stream is safe, getting in the water allows you to cast to more areas. Also, if you are right handed, moving to the left side of the stream gives you more room to cast your rod because it can move freely above the stream in the middle of the creek.

Lastly - be a good outdoor steward and pack out your tippet, snack garbage, PBR can or anything else you brought with you. Enjoy and focus on the fishing, not on the catching (although who are we kidding - catching rules!!) Release those fish gently folks. Hang out in your local fly shop.Watch lots of fly fishing videos. Read books. Ask questions.

Recommended reading:
Curtis Creek Manifesto by Sheridan Anderson
Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Fishing by Tom Rosenbauer