What Is Fly Fishing?

If you’re reading this, your interest has been piqued somehow, and you’re probably wondering “What is fly fishing?”  So let me help out by giving you a quick overview of what fly fishing is and how it differs from traditional spin fishing and bait fishing.

Casting

Probably the biggest difference between fly fishing and other types of fishing is the casting. You’ve probably seen fly anglers casting back and forth. You may have even watched A River Runs Through It (which is arguably the biggest unintended fly fishing recruitment tool ever created).

So why all the casting back and forth? Is it some attempt to be artful? Are they trying to imitate a fly buzzing around the air?

The answer is none of the above. The reason for casting back and forth is that the flies, or lures, have very little weight to them. With traditional fishing on a spin rod, the fishing line is extremely light, and the weight of the lure or bait is what carries it over a distance when you cast.

But with fly fishing, it’s the fly line that has weight, and the flies are extremely light. With every cast back and forth, the fly angler is actually letting out more and more line in order to reach farther and farther away.

Fly lines are thicker and weighted to propel the line forward when casting. Many fly lines are made to float on the surface to aid in drift fishing, while others are meant to sink quickly.

The Flies

Fly fishing pretty much exclusively uses artificial flies. I’m not saying that some fly fisherman has never used a worm, but that practice is universally looked down upon by the fly fishing community.

Not only are the flies artificial, but they are usually tied by hand using natural elements like colored thread, feathers, and various types of animal hair. These materials are wrapped and tied around a metal hook in order to imitate something that a fish would eat.

Imitation of Natural Forage

While a bait fisherman will use things like corn, worms, and chicken liver to entice a fish, these things may or may not be something that a fish eats on a regular basis. Fly fishing focuses specifically on figuring out what fish are eating naturally, and using imitations of that insect or baitfish to lure the fish into eating.

Trout can be a very finicky species that key in on a certain insect and will refuse to eat anything else. This is usually because of the way that insect life cycles work on many rivers. 

Certain types of flies lay eggs in the water by the tens of thousands. Because these eggs were laid at the same time, they tend to hatch at the same time. These regular hatches will inundate a river with thousands of these insects within a short period of time. 

These hatches are a feast for trout. And they’re one of the reasons they will hone in on a certain insect species and will eat nothing else. This leads to a famous phrase among the fly fishing community – “Match the hatch”. This refers to fishing a fly that closely resembles what is hatching. If you are able to effectively match the hatch, it can lead to a truly magical experience. You will literally be hooking fish with every other cast.

Drift Fishing

Traditionally, fly fishing has revolved around fishing in rivers for trout, salmon, and other members of the salmonid family. These fish orient themselves facing upstream, and eat various insects as the current carries them past. The food essentially comes to them and they take their pick.

Because of this, most traditional fly fishing methods involve casting a fly upstream. Then, the fly drifts past the fish in the hopes that the fish will eat. The flies are imitating various insects at different stages in their lifecycle. They Imitate everything from dry flies sitting on top of the water, to larva and nymph stages drifting below the surface. 

This differs from traditional spin and bait fishing methods that actively retrieve a moving lure, or sitting bait at the bottom of the pond/lake/river.

Catch And Release

While many spin and bait fishermen eat what that they catch, many fly anglers practice catch and release. Part of the difference comes down to basic motivations.

While the spin fisherman may be looking for a way to easily catch a meal, most people who are fly anglers are searching for a bigger challenge and the satisfaction of catching these fish using fly casting methods.

The difference can also be traced back to fly fishing’s origins chasing trout and salmon. These species are more sensitive to water temps, environmental factors, and are typically more vulnerable to habitat destruction and over-fishing. Whereas bass, catfish, and other species typically targeted by spin and bait fishermen are more resilient. 

One other factor is that a majority of rivers across the country utilize various types of dams that have had a massive impact on trout and salmon populations. Simply put, fly fishermen are generally more concerned about catch and release because the fish they target are more at risk.

This by no means implies that fly fishermen are better than spin or bait fishermen. I’m just explaining the factors that may or may not lead to one group being more concerned about catch and release than others.

The Future – What is fly fishing and where are we going?

So what is fly fishing?

The sport of fly fishing has evolved to the point where fly fishermen use other methods beside drift fishing. Streamer fishing has become very popular by using larger flies to imitate everything from baitfish to mice. Instead of being drifted, these streamers are actively retrieved by stripping line at various speeds and intervals in order to provide a lifelike imitation of the baitfish and small animals that various fish are feeding on. 

And while traditional fly fishing revolved around trout and salmon, fly fishing has grown to become a sport where anglers are pushing the limits to any and all species. While the sport was mostly practiced in freshwater streams, it’s now widely done in saltwater as well.

Whether it’s largemouth bass, Tarpon, Peacock Bass, or even Marlin, there is a fly fisherman somewhere chasing these fish with a fly rod. 

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