A Fledgling Fly Fisher

Being a lifelong sea, coarse and pike fisherman I’ve always considered myself to be reasonably proficient with a fishing rod – that was until I picked up a fly rod! I’ve been fishing as long as I can remember. Whether it’s a day on a boat in the Bristol Channel or English Channel, a night spent beach fishing, or a misty morning beside a West-country canal or river, I usually feel within my comfort zone. Put a fly rod in my hand and the dynamics change completely.

So this fly fishing lark – how hard can it be? Turns out it’s a whole different kettle of fish.

The simplicity and elegance of fly fishing has a certain appeal and being about the only type of fishing that I hadn’t tried or don’t regularly dabble in meant it was only a matter of time before I felt I should ‘give it a go’. Having hit my 40’s, I’ve had plenty of practice at handling ‘normal’ fishing rods, and feel I have a respectable level of skill and general fishing knowledge (to my mind at least). So given all the other branches of fishing that I do, why take up a side of the sport that was completely alien to me? I can’t pinpoint exactly when or why I felt the need to take up fly fishing, but having started, now realise how dreadfully inept I am at it. When you see someone who can fly fish well, it all looks so elegant and effortless. Unfortunately, that may not be the best description of my own technique…

Given my background in sea and coarse fishing, targeting bass & pollack or rudd, pike, perch & carp on the fly rod seems the most natural choice. Although i have to admit, the thought of chasing wild brown trout in meandering wild streams has got to be something to aim for ultimately!

I thought I’d write this blog to chart my progress into the world of fly fishing. Maybe at some point I’ll look back and see just how far I’ve progressed….