Discovery

What equipment to discover fly fishing?

For trout, bass or other fish, in fresh water or at sea, the equipment to start fly fishing is less complicated than it seems: a rod, a reel, a line, some stockings of line, nylon thread, a thread cutter and of course some well-chosen artificial flies ! Glasses, polarized or not, are essential to protect your eyes from hooks during a possible throwback.

How to choose a discovery fly rod?

                To learn fly casting, a rod of medium length and weight of fly line is recommended. The standard length is 9 feet or 2m70 and the standard silk weight of 5 or 6.

This type of rod is very versatile and allows you to fish in many situations in rivers or lakes .

For shorter people and children a smaller rod in 8'6 or 8' and line weight 5 may be more suitable and will be lighter to handle.

It is preferable to choose a moderate to slow speed rod and not a fast action rod: this means that the movements to be made for casting can be carried out more slowly which is obviously easier and allows you to start with a good foundation. We can then speed up the movement and profitably use fast rods which facilitate very long casts.

The first rod is rarely the choice of a fisherman's life: it is therefore preferable to take a model of sufficient quality but inexpensive and to delay the choice of a more upscale rod until you know how to choose better. the model that pleases and matches your style of fishing.

How to choose silk?

A slightly heavy floating line of weight 6 will allow you to feel the line well and to progress more quickly in casting. The profile of the line is fairly indifferent for beginners, as long as casting 10m of line remains a challenge: choose a Double Tapper (DT) profile line instead for fishing in small or medium rivers and Weight Forward (WF) if you want to fish at a longer distance in a lake or large river . Such a line will also allow you to cast large dry or wet flies, nymphs and small streamers without any problem giving you access to all these techniques. Be careful, the nymph and the streamer already require some throwing skills.

How to choose a fly reel?

The reel is not an essential element for the novice fly fisherman: it is mainly used to contain the line. Above all, it must be of a minimum quality allowing it to be forgotten: no excessive noise or untimely jamming of the line. A quality brake is a plus that can be used especially in reservoir fishing at first. The size of its spool must be adapted to your line, and therefore contain a line of weight 6 (and a little backing) if you follow the previous advice. Don't take it too small because nothing is more annoying than not being able to easily rewind the line when learning to cast. Lightness is to be sought to avoid fatigue: in this sense a lightweight graphite/ABS reel can be a very good choice for a minimal price. It can be interesting to have several spools to easily use several lines with a single reel.

Which leader and line to choose?

A standard 2m70 “ rat tail ” leader will be good for beginners and will save you the complexity of knotted leaders. This type of leader has a diameter that gradually decreases allowing it to be deployed well when casting. No need at this stage to choose an expensive model. Take rather 2 or 3 to be able to change them if necessary. The diameter of the thinnest tip can typically be between 14/100 (if you are fishing in a river) or 18/100 (in a lake or reservoir). The second will be the strongest to learn to throw.

Also choose one or two spools of line with the diameter of the thinnest end of your leader and a diameter below. For example 14/100 and 12/100 if your leader ends up in 14/100 This will allow you to replace the cut parts at each change of fly and to lengthen your leaders by a few tens of centimeters with a thinner nylon to fish a little more "discreetly" if necessary.

The choice of the size of the leader and the tip also depends on the size of the hook of the fly: the smaller the fly, the smaller the wire must also be to maintain a natural behavior.

Which flies to choose?

We advise you first to start fly fishing with a dry fly : it is the easiest technique to approach and these flies are the easiest to cast. It is tricky (even dangerous!) to cast large ball nymphs when you start casting.

For casting practice, do not use a real fly at the start, but only a piece of fluorescent wool attached to the end of the leader. Never cast without anything at the end of the leader: the speed of the line could easily exceed the "sound barrier" and possibly hurt or break with a characteristic noise.

What a headache when you start in palm to constitute your first box of flies among hundreds of references!

We therefore offer you our 'beginner's box': an assortment of carefully selected artificial flies : 2 copies of 8 very classic models allowing you to tackle many fishing situations and in which you can have full confidence.

You can then through your readings, discussions with other fishermen and findings gradually enrich your box of flies . Always buy them by 2 or 3 identical to not miss THE fly of the day! You may be interested in tying your own flies and discovering another exciting aspect of PALM.