A Guide to Fly Fishing Flies for Novices
Traditionally, fly fishing has been used to catch salmon and trout, but today fly fishing can catch a variety of other fish species from smallmouth and largemouth bass, to your larger saltwater fish species, such as marlin and tarpon. Fly fishing differs from bait fishing as artificial fly fishing flies are used instead of live bait to catch fish. The equipment used for fly fishing also differs from fishing equipment used for bait fishing. Besides selecting the correct fly rod, fly reel, and fly line for fly fishing, it is of paramount importance to select the correct fly fishing flies for the fish species you intend to catch.
An Introduction to Fly Fishing Flies
Artificial fly fishing flies are commonly used in fly fishing. Artificial fly fishing flies are available all over the world, and many companies produce fly fishing flies. Fly fishing flies come in great varieties with respect to size, shape and even color. Fly fishing flies are made from materials such as fur, feathers, hairs and other materials. These materials can either be natural or synthetic. Some fly fishing flies don’t imitate anything in nature, whilst other fly fishing flies imitate the food that a fish may eat.
Fly fishing flies are made with the aquatic appearance of local fish and insects in mind. The artificial fly fishing flies that you use must normally match the food that the fish species eat for the specific location that you are fishing in. You can also change the patterns and colors of fly fishing flies that you purchase so that these flies are a more suitable match for the particular location you are fishing in. Many fly fishermen make their own fly fishing flies for fishing or as a hobby. Gifted experts are employed all over the world to create artificial fly fishing flies which meet the required specifications of many fly fishing applications worldwide. As a hobby, hand-crafting artificial fly fishing flies is an exciting and pleasurable pastime. Synthetic materials are more popular when it comes to creating flies.
If you are looking to purchase a quality fly fishing rod, check out the guide to Sage fly rod models.
Categories of Fly Fishing Flies
There is an incredible variety of fly fishing flies that are available. Fly fishing flies can be broken down into the following categories:
- Dry Flies – Designed to float on the water surface and imitate the adult stage of aquatic insects, or land-based insects that have fallen into the water (such as ants or beetles).
- Wet Flies – Designed to float just below the surface of the water and imitate immature aquatic insects, or drowned insects.
- Nymphs – A type of wet fly that imitates the larval form of aquatic insects.
- Streamers – A type of wet fly that imitates minnows or small fish which are the prey of larger fish.
- Surface Lures – These fly fishing flies imitate frogs or mice. Surface lures are normally extremely colorful, and are used to create a disturbance on the surface of the water to attract the larger predatory fish species.
If you are looking to purchase a fly fishing float tube, check out the guide to buying an Outcast float tube.
For more information about saltwater fly fishing gear, take a look at the news feed for Fly Fishing Elite (Feedest.com).
Fly Fishing Lessons – Part 19