FS Digest

So, I have been fly fishing for about 2 weeks now. I got the cast down, and caught some bluegills on a public pond in my hometown. I liked it. So I got the proper equipment to up my game. Since then, I have not caught one trout and I fell in the water. I feel like I’m going crazy here.

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by DMort1988

FS Digest

2 weeks is a hell of a short time to expect success , just stick at it

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by RustyArrows

FS Digest

Falling in is just a way to become closer to your prey. How can you understand the trout unless you’ve spent time deep in his habitat?

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by maligncorvine59

FS Digest

In order to catch the fish you must become the fish.

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by gaybatman75-6

FS Digest

I’ve been fly fishing for 5+ years now and I still feel like I suck sometimes. Keep on keeping on my friend

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by dicifly69

FS Digest

Don't give up. Enjoy the experience. Watch some videos. It will come but it's going to take a lot longer than 2 weeks.

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by Grumpyjack7

FS Digest

It only took me four years to start sucking less.....

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by AmazingSieve

FS Digest

Yeah, two weeks isn’t much time. Keep practicing. I’d expect a timeline of months before you see more consistent success.

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by kburgert

FS Digest

Talk to the bait shops and see what info you can pull from them. When I’m struggling I’ll go target something I know I can catch reliably just to pull something out of the water and break up my dry spell.

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by gaybatman75-6

FS Digest

Its kind of funny. I picked up fly fishing because it allowed me to be in the mountains and to do something new that I thought was fun and interesting. I also picked it up to help teach me patience.

Turns out I'm not a patient person, just persistent as hell.

I started like five years ago and am entirely self taught. Getting skunked was the norm and if if I caught a fish it was a huge accomplishment. This is how things went for me for many years until I finally turned a corner last year. I've heard from other people that they kind of had the same arc.

Now I considering myself a little better. I catch almost every time now. I know how to use the knots, the different flies, the different rigging (still working on tying a clinch knot on the bend of the hook though....how do old people manage to do that? At 34 I find it so challenging still...)

Fly fishing is hard. There's a lot of nuance, there's a lot to learn, and fish don't tell you what you're messing up. Persistence is your friend and really taking in the scenery and enjoying the experience. One of the reasons I stuck with it is that I genuinely like it. Its one of three things in the world that allows my anxiety to relent and I enjoy the process and the experience.

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by AmazingSieve

FS Digest

You aren't fishing if you don't fall in the water. My car has several pairs of extra socks in it at all times.

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by gc4life

Dadeaux Loc: Florida Panhandle

Hey you're ahead of me...after almost piercing my ear several/numerous times bleed a couple of times...I went back to spinning gear...now just keep at it until you figure out how to catch them suckers...

JustRight Loc: Hernando, FL

Dmort: are you seriously seeking guidance, simply sharing your shortcomings? Never mind, that was a rhetorical question. You might share where you are trout fishing and what types of waters you encounter. One key element to trout fishing is, you must fish where the fish are. You can immerse yourself in helpful YouTube videos and books on the subject, in lieu of immersing yourself needlessly in the water. You might try a local fly-shop for tips on technique and to kind of selfcheck your methods. There is most likely a lot for you to learn about how and where to cast, then there’s the drift and retrieve; many different styles. Keep an open mind and soak up your education.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Welcome to the Forum, DMort. It very well could be that you are not cut out to be a fly fisherman, many people are not. Don't kid yourself, you do not have the cast down but that is only one of the problems. Trust me you have many. If I were you, I would go back to your sunfish hole and try to figure out why you can catch them, and then take that information back to your trout hole. If it makes you feel any better, I have fly fished trout for 70+ years and I learn something every time I go out. I had a buddy, who was a good walleye fisherman. He retired and wanted to learn how to fly fish for trout. I worked with him, took him fishing with me, taught him how to read the water, how to detect a hit, everything that I could. It was three years before he caught a trout. He eventually said to he!! with it and said that trout are to smart for me and quit trout fishing. I thought it was probably a good idea.

Cubsfan Loc: Destin Florida

Well. There’s always truck driver school.