first fish on the fly

[thedutchtouch]

after a year of owning a fly rod and making excuses to not use it other than practice casts in the back yard (i'm not good enough, it's too hard, all i do is tangle etc...) i finally said the heck with it and took it out to a local pond (Allen Pond) because i had about a half hour to kill before a meeting... it was probably pretty ugly to an experienced flyfisher (i don't think any were watching), but i caught my first two fish on the fly today. the tiny bluegill was first, and i admittedly didn't know it was on until i went to re-cast... the crappie i felt and set the hook so i'll count that one. Anyhow, it was definitely a learning experience, but it was a lot of fun, and perhaps i got lucky, or perhaps the "fishing gods" knew I badly needed a win today, but it was a great 20 min of fishing. thanks for reading.

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edit: photo attach fail, sorry about the sideways pics, not sure what happened they're vertical on my computer.

[thedutchtouch]

this is the fly i used... one of the flies that came with the rod (cabelas prestige kit) erm... i think it's a nymph? but is that right/what is it? (can you tell i don't know what i'm doing?)
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[DanMarino]

Outstanding! It is addictive...especially when you begin catching fish on the flies you tie up yourself.

[belairfishing]

Don't feel bad...the first fish I ever caught on a fly was a 3 inch fallfish, with the line wrapped around my feet! It's a great feeling once you get the hang of it.

That fly is a classic, the Hare's Ear Nymph.

If there are crappie in that pond, try a white wooly bugger streamer, once you find the crappie, they are usually in a crowd!

[thedutchtouch]

Thanks to you both, I can tell I'll enjoy this once I feel a bit less awkward... My brother is a fly Fisher as well, (his dog is named tippet) so getting some good advice from him, looks like my next foray will be tying on some tippet since I've lost a few feet of my tapered leader (he noticed how my cinch knot is almost as big as the fly lol)... I'll keep posting whenever I go. ( May not be that often) if you don't mind shore casting posts from a newbie.

Much appreciated on the fly reccomendation, that's the second time I've found crappie in this lake, strangely nowhere near any structure as far as I could tell, unfortunately I think they are all stunted to about that size but we shall see, I'll take what I can get for a heavily pressured "urban" pond.

I've got so much more respect for those of you that can do this from a kayak, seems like that would be tangles galore, but then again I bring too much junk with me. That was one of the things I liked the most actually, just me, the rod, and a very small bag, (yeah I could use the same mentality with my spinning/casting gear, I'm still in bring everything In a big backpack mode). Ok I'm rambling... thanks!

[Mark]

thedutchtouch,

Congratulations.

I think a bluegill caught while standing on the bank of a pond is the first fish for most flyrod anglers. That was the case for me. And guess what -- I've never grown tired of catching bluegills on the fly.

Also, as I have stated here before, you think you caught a couple of pond fish but it is you that has been caught by a method of fishing that dates back probably 2,000 years.

I envy the novelty of learning a different fishing method you now feel. I hope you grow to enjoy it as much I have.

And if you're ever ready for some pointers on fly fishing from a kayak, let me know.

Good luck to you,

[DanMarino]

This winter we really should do a fly swap. I have made way more flies than I can use up. I'd even be happy to give some of them away to new guys like thedutchtouch.
As far as flies go, I love topwater action. A pink floating foam spider or a small popper is all sorts of fun. I never get tired of bluegills and bass from ponds on topwater flies.

If anyone wants some flies, send me your address in a private message. I'll try to put a few flies in an envelope and mail them out.

[belairfishing]

This winter we really should do a fly swap. I have made way more flies than I can use up. I'd even be happy to give some of them away to new guys like thedutchtouch.
As far as flies go, I love topwater action. A pink floating foam spider or a small popper is all sorts of fun. I never get tired of bluegills and bass from ponds on topwater flies.

If anyone wants some flies, send me your address in a private message. I'll try to put a few flies in an envelope and mail them out.

I agree...I have done fly swaps on other boards, would be great to have one here. My favorite panfish flies are baby buggers and baby clousers, in white and chartreuse!

[clm]

Congrats. You are "hooked" and now one of us. Just got back from NC...my buddy is a serious bass guy...like a tournament guy from way back....he looks back at me and casting the fly rod from the rear of the bass boat...he got skunked and I was slamming all types of panfish...I take the fly rod in the back of the jeep all the time...always hopping out a any community pond I can access....

[DanMarino]

clm,

What type of flies do you like to use the most?

[clm]

I'm mostly hitting small ponds with my gear....wet, slow sinking flies seem to work better for me and my style/locations.