How to Flyfish: Tips, Lessons, and Techniques for Catching More Fish

By John Symonds

No matter if you’re a beginner or expert, there is always room to learn

A licensed guide in the UK, John Symonds fishes with anglers of all talent levels, from rank beginners to experienced old-timers. He has seen the common mistakes that many fly fishers make and, over the years, has developed lessons that help anglers overcome their mistakes and really improve their fly-fishing prowess. In this book, Symonds teaches:

Basic skills, from stringing your fly rod to tying on backing, fly line, leader, and tippet

How to make casts for a variety of stream and lake conditions

How to figure out what fish are feeding on, and then picking the proper imitation

How to determine where fish are in lake or river

Tips on using dry flies, nymphs, streamers, and caddis imitations

And much, much more

Symonds learned to fly fish through trial and error. As he did, he came to realize that finding good, basic information was difficult to come by. He fills that niche with this helpful little guidebook that is guaranteed to elevate your level of fishing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Release date: Jun 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781510740303

John Symonds

John Symonds is a keen fly-fisherman and fishes for salmon, trout and grayling in the Wye and Usk catchments as well as the Welsh borderlands. He decided to become a certified casting instructor and guide as a retirement occupation and has successfully qualified to Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors (APGAI) single- and double-handed levels, and is an International Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) Two-Handed Casting Instructor (THCI). John’s other interests include photography and graphic design. He lives in Hereford.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014, 2019 by John Symonds

First edition published by Merlin Unwin Books, 2014.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [e-mail].

Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Cover photo credit: Dale Spartas

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-4029-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-15107-4030-3

Printed in China.

This book is dedicated to my mother Molly Symonds 1926–2013

Contents

Passing it on

BASIC SKILLS

Connecting Backing to the Reel

The Grinner Knot (connects backing to reel)

Connecting Fly Line to Backing

The Nail Knot (connects fly line to backing)

Assembling a Fly Rod and Line

Threading the Fly Line

Whipped Loop (links fly line to leader)

STILLWATER FLYFISHING

The Trout’s Food

Locating Lake Trout

Essential Stillwater Patterns

Landing a Trout

The Blood Knot (for fly to leader)

Tying the Fly to the Leader

Making a Braid Loop (an easy loop for attaching leader to fly line)

LAKE FLYFISHING

Flat Wing flies (Diptera)

Locating Fish from a Boat

Choice of Tactics

Controlling the Drift

Controlling the Drift with the Paradrogue

Essential Boat Fishing Patterns

Fishing at Different Depths

Leaders and Droppers

The Davy Knot (connects hook to leader)

Figure-of-Eight Loop (leader to fly line)

Figure-of-Eight Dropper (for fishing more than one fly)

DRY FLY FISHING

Upwinged Flies (Ephemeroptera)

Essential Dry Fly Patterns

Presentation of the Dry Fly

Where River Trout Lie

Constructing a Tapered Leader

The Double Blood Knot …

NYMPH FISHING

A Typical Nymphing Rig

Essential Nymph Patterns

Leader lengths for nymphing

Reading the River

FISHING THE CADDIS IMITATION

Caddisflies (Trichoptera)

Essential Caddis Patterns

New Zealand Style

FLY CASTING

The Roll Cast

More Casting Skills

The Lift and Overhead Cast

Drag-Free Drift

Methods of Presenting the Fly

TENKARA

Tenkara Rods

Typical Tenkara Rigs

The Tenkara Set-Up

Essential Tenkara Fly Patterns

Finding the Fish Tenkara-style

SALMON FISHING

Essential Salmon Patterns

Locating Salmon in Rivers

Salmon Lies

Salmon Fishing Styles

Salmon Fly Line Options

Double Turle Knot (Salmon Fly to Leader)

Shooting Heads

Skagit Lines

How to Make a Welded Loop

Welded Loop (for fast-change of shooting heads)

LEADERS

Leader Selection

SAFETY CHECKLIST

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

INDEX

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About the Author

Passing it on

When I first took up flyfishing I had no previous experience to draw from, but I read books and magazines avidly in an attempt to gain the knowledge that I so desperately needed. It became immediately apparent that flyfishing was a multi-faceted discipline with many challenges requiring various skills.

My early days on the rivers and lakes were on the whole fruitless but this didn’t deter me. There was that occasional suicidal fish that would, just once in a while, impale itself on my hook. It was enough to keep me going. There was always this overwhelming urge to crack the magic code that would make me a great flyfisher, like the well-known anglers who wrote the articles for the flyfishing magazines. However, the more I read, the more I became confused.

On the whole, fishermen are very generous in sharing their knowledge and killer fly patterns, even though this is often misguided and embroidered—no-one likes to admit that they cannot catch fish. However, very occasionally, they do offer a nugget of information, which can be helpful in the quest for continual improvement.

I believe that many game anglers, like me, live an unfulfilled dream, even though they have invested in the best tackle that money can buy, carry thousands of flies around with them, and have read all the books.

Gradually, I am getting closer to fulfilling my own dream, but often it seems that just when I am about to close in and become accomplished, the fish are playing to a new set of rules. We flyfishers console ourselves by learning to cast, visiting far-flung fishing destinations, buying a few days on prime beats, or watching experts on social media landing large fish. This keeps the dream alive.

Fortunately, as I widened my horizons, I came across flyfishermen who were able to impart basic skills and tips on watercraft to me.

Suddenly, I made a mega leap and I started catching fish, including salmon, with increasing regularity. Had I arrived? No, a few lean spells brought me back to reality, and left me with a need to try and make some sense of my plight. This is how it is with flyfishing and, in my opinion, the reason the sport is so compelling.

Eventually, I considered that I had enough flyfishing knowledge to become a guide and instructor, and so this is what I do nowadays. I am surprised how difficult it is for beginners to find information on the basic skills, even in these days of mass communication, and how I have to start from scratch with many of my clients. Consequently, I have noticed recurring themes and seen the essential skills that flyfishers need but may not be aware of. This book is a record of the demonstrations and explanations that I have used countless times as a professional guide. I think this approach is unique—or at least I haven’t come across anything quite like it myself.

The book has been compiled as a series of projects, which I hope flyfishers will enjoy doing and find rewarding. Many parents who have enjoyed flyfishing will want their children to have the same magical experiences and I hope that this book will provide a pathway for them too.

We are all seeking contentment in life and flyfishing is one of the ways of achieving this goal. It can be practiced in solitude or as a group, it is a great leveler, and a source of continuous enjoyment. I hope you get as much fun from reading this book as I have had in writing it.

BASIC SKILLS