Getting People into Fly Fishing

Getting people “into” Fly Fishing or “sharing” fly fishing with someone in your life can be a great experience. As guides many of us have seen this go well, and go poorly. I can think of many examples of both in my life and career as a fly-fishing guide. I have seen a father bring his 14 year old son who has never set foot on a river, let alone on a boat, try to make the sale of how great fly fishing is on an incredibly technical trout fishery. Where every cast with 3 nymphs, and indicator and split shot on 5-6X is met with tangles and even the rare hook up is short lived as the heavy hand of a beginner results in a lost rig to an unseen fish. I have also had the good client who brings his buddy who has “fished a few times” out striper fishing during the roasting heat of July and expects him to cast a shooting head, lead eye fly, on a 9wt like a champ because he fished once a few years ago on a small stream in the sierras.

I have always said it is hard to find the perfect beginner trip for everyone… kid, adult, son, daughter, grandchild, buddy, brother, sister, etc. The one thing that most people have in common is that they want the other person to have a fun experience, so they want them to come back again. That usually means catching fish and being comfortable in my experience.

As we enter into our spring season here in California I want to lay out a plan for people that are thinking of sharing the sport of fly fishing with someone…aka taking some one new to the sport fishing. First off, if you only do one thing I recommend make it booking a guide. Booking a guided trip and making the day all about the person you are taking is important. Make sure the fishery is one that they can have success on, and get some confidence… yes you personally may want to go do one thing or really enjoy one style of fishing but if the chances are they wont have a fun time doing it, DON’T DO IT!

I have over the last few years come to believe that there is no better first trip for beginners than going out on one of our many bass lakes and fishing using the float’n fly technique during the late winter or spring. Winter and Spring on lakes like Shasta, Oroville, Englebright, Bullards, Collins, Berryessa, and MANY MANY more can be down right silly. Double digit days and even triple digit days can be had on a fairly routine basis.

What makes these lakes and this technique so good for beginners is most anglers can have good success casting, hooking, and landing bass on the fly in the lakes during these months. The Float’n Fly rig is simple – a bobber and ONE fly – no split shot or multiple fly rigs. The drop from the bobber to the one fly can be set at a depth that is comfortable for all casters which really eliminates bad tangles and their frustration. The fishing is done on large 20+’ boats, up high off the water, so water loading casts are very easy and most people can figure out how to lob the rig back and forth pretty quickly.

Furthermore, the casts can be 10’ to 70’ – basically the boat can be positioned in various areas to gear the presentation to what is possible for the caster. There are also no trees, bushes, or moving water in most cases to contend with, so if the angler muffs a cast just try again…it is a lake and the boat has a motor – there is no such thing as a missed opportunity… AND once the rig gets it out there, relax there is no need to cast again unless the guide tells you to or you need to. The guide can fish a section as fast or as slow as needed making as many or as few casts as the angler can handle.

Once the bobber goes down, side ways, or swims away just lift the rod and strip the line… most times sense the water is flat there is no need to fish with slack and a good rod lift will set the hook. STRIP hard and most times the fish will bull dog straight down into the depths but there is rarely snags or structure to wrap around so the angler can learn the give and take of fighting a fish…. AND sense most of the flies are large barbed bass jigs fished on 8-14lb test there is little chance of “pulling” the hook or “breaking” the fish off.

While this style of fishing can be incredibly easy it can also be incredibly technical and challenging so anglers of all varieties can enjoy it and have fun doing it! Most days on the lake start early but that can be adjusted for those teenagers that want to sleep in and being in a motorboat for the day can be done when it needs to be.

For most of my life I would tell people that floating the lower sac for trout is the best first day on the water and while it is still hard to beat. The cramped quarters of a drift boat, the big 3 fly indicator rigs of the Sac, and big ripping rainbow trout can be a challenge for the beginning angler. I usually tell people book a day of float’n fly fishing in Feb/March/April and follow up with a Lower Sac day in March/April/May/June and then a ground and pound trout day on your own with your new fishing buddy in June/July/August and if they have any propensity to get into the sport they should be hooked.

Getting a day of float’n fly fishing under a new anglers belt and then heading out on the Sac will make that day on the Sac a truly special experience. The skills of lobbing an indicator, setting the hook, and the give and take of a fish will all increase in their degree of difficulty, but at a rate that most anglers can hit the ground running after a brief boat ramp crash course and run or two. Then with the concept of fighting fish, managing line, basic casting, and such… a day of walk and wade fishing is a good experience and your new fishing buddy can really decide what they like best after that.

Hogan’s Program for new anglers

1-    Book a float’n fly trip Dec-April

2-    Book a float on the Lower Sac March-June

3-    Get out on a walk and wade trip on a Sierra stream June-August

4-    Then try something more difficult in the late summer fall – river Stripers, Steelhead, Surf fishing, Delta stripers

GOOD LUCK!