WHY A FLY?
In fly fishing, the fly rod casts a weighted line that pulls a virtually weightless leader and fly behind it. Casting such a light fly - an artificial lure that looks like an aquatic insect - is impossible with conventional fishing rods. A fly rod is a superior tool when casting extremely small offerings, such as flies.
Why would people want to fish for flies? The truth is that fly fishermen don't try to catch flies. The name fly fishing comes from the small lures, often resembling flies used in this unique, challenging and incredibly rewarding type of fishing. Fly fishing equipment is quite different than spinning or casting outfits, and casting flies requires some practice. However, anglers who are willing to put in a little time and effort are quite often rewarded with the catch of a lifetime.
Fly rods are generally longer than their spinning and casting counterparts. Fly rods must also be limber enough to flex when casting a line and playing a fish. Most modern rods are made of graphite. Historically, avid fly anglers used bamboo to make their own rods. However modern graphite rods are generally much less expensive to produce and perform as well, if not better than traditional bamboo rods.
Lighter lines are generally used to deliver tiny flies to smaller fish such as panfish, trout and other small fresh and saltwater fish. Larger, heavier lines are used to present bigger flies to massive game fish like tarpon and sharks. Lines can either be floating or sinking depending on what they are designed to be used for. If you were targeting rainbow trout in a small mountain stream using small floating flies, you would most likely choose a small, light weight outfit with floating line. Anglers who target fish who feed below the surface, can choose to use sinking lines that will bring their flies down to where those fish feed.
A fly reel is an essential piece of equipment in fly fishing; however it is not as specialized as the rod or the line. The size of the reel should be dictated by the weight of the line you are using. When using light lines, a small reel will match quite nicely with the smaller rod used to cast such light line. When pursuing large game fish with fly tackle, such as billfish or large salmon, the type and quality of fly reel becomes more important because a larger fish necessitates reels with high quality drag systems.
When the rod, reel and line are correctly matched to handle a given weight fly, they are considered balanced. Fly fishing equipment that is correctly balanced allows the angler to deliver the fly with accuracy within a desired distance. It is important to put together a balanced fly fishing outfit that is appropriate for the fish you are pursuing.
Flies vary by which species you are pursuing. The most important thing to remember when choosing which fly to use is that you must "match the hatch." This means that your fly has to resemble the size and shape of the prey of the fish you are targeting. This can range from flies tied to imitate caddis flies used to catch trout in mountain streams, to flies that look like small tuna to catch large black marlin in the open ocean.
