Portrait of Dan Bailey, circa 1970s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If you are considering taking up fly fishing as a hobby then two of the reasons probably include enjoying the beauty of nature and breathing in the beautiful fresh air. Fly fishing is one of the sports where you can truly enjoy the nature around you and experience the calming effect of the water.
There is no speed involved with things flying by you too fast to notice, there is no rush to go anywhere, and there are no guarantees that you will catch any fish.
These attributes of fly fishing make it an ideal weekend or vacation sports if your purpose is to be outside in nature and fully relax far away from the hustle and bustle of normal day to day life.
The fly fishing rod is lighter and shorter than the average rod used for other types of fishing. These rods are on average around 9 feet long with a weight of about 5 ounces. However, the length of the rod will depend on the size of the stream that you want to fish in. Smaller streams will require that you purchase and use a shorter rod.
The fly fishing line is usually heavier than the usual line used for other types of fishing. These lines are manufactured to either float on the surface of the water or to sink into the water.
The fly lure that you choose will depend on the type of fishing that you want to do and the species of fish that you want to catch.
Some fish seek their food from amongst objects that float on the water surface and to catch these fish your lure needs to mimic floating insects. Other fish get their food from objects in the water and to catch those you lure needs to mimic those objects.
The experience fly fisherman always carries a wide selection of fishing lure because what worked yesterday might not necessarily work today.
With fly fishing, the time of the day, the temperature of the water, the glare of the sun on the surface of the water, the speed of the water in the stream, and other factors determine what type of lure will work.
Fly fishing is such an established sport that the fishing lures have been divided into official categories. These are the dry flies and emergers, the nymphs, the streamers, the wet flies, the saltwater flies, the bass and panfish flies, and these salmon and steelhead flies.
Enjoying fly fishing requires a little bit of preparation and knowledge acquisition and thereafter it is learning from experience whilst enjoying the beauty and serenity of nature.