Fly Fishing: Getting Set Up

Ever wondered how to fly fish? What you need to get setup for fly fishing and how to put it all together before you start casting? This simple guide will have you set-up for the river in no time and ready to catch fish.

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Step 1: Assembling the Rod and Reel

Put the pieces of fly rod together by slipping each piece over the one below. The piece that you join together are called Ferrules.

Once your rod is assembled ensure that all the guides (the round loops that run up the rod) are lined up, this is critical to getting a good cast out.

Attached the fly reel to base of the rod, insert the base of the reel into the slit that sits under the handle of the rod and screw the rings(s) at the bottom of the rod up to lock the reel in place. Make sure you have the reel on the right way, the easiest way to work this out is by ensuring the reel handle is on the right side for winding.

Step 2: Feed the Fly Line Through the Guides

Now that the rod is assembled with the reel, you need to pull the fly lines through the guides so that it runs out the length of the rod.

Loosen the drag on the reel and pull off a rod length of fly line. Now take the end and begin to poke it through every guide on the rod. Be sure not to miss any as this will greatly affect your cast.

Be careful not to lift the tip of the rod up as the fly line will just slide back through all the guides and will be sitting at your feet - meaning you have to thread it back through all the guides again. Allowing this to happen is actually very easy; and very frustrating!

Step 3: Setting Up the Leader

Most fly lines will have a loop in the end of it, this is for attaching the leader (nylon).

If using a tapered leaders then attach it to the end of the fly line using the constructed loops - make a loop to loop connection.

If tying a leader off a spool of nylon, take one end of the nylon and created a knotted loop in the end of it (a 'Perfection Loop'). Then pass just the loop of the nylon through the fly line loop; now pull the rest of the nylon through the nylon loop you have created. Once all the nylon has passed through it's own loop then pull tight, you should have connected the leader to the fly line!

Step 4: Attaching Your First Fly

Now you're ready to attach a fly to the nylon leader you've created. Take the selected nymph, dry fly, streamer or wet fly and pass the free end of the nylon through the eye of the fly hook (a couple of inches should do it).

Time for a knot to tie the fly on. Use a Clinch Knot to tie the fly onto the leader, this is an easy knot and is very strong. When tying the knot ensure you wet the nylon before tying to minimise breakages - it allows the knot to tied smoothly and avoids abrasion.

Step 5: Attaching a Second Fly or the Point Fly

If you want to use two flies when fly fishing you need to attached the second fly to the hook of the first.

You now need to cut another piece of shorter nylon (6 inches - 3ft depending on where you want to fish the fly in the water) and tie this to the hook of your first fly using a clinch knot - again ensure the wet the nylon before tying.

Now take your second fly and repeat the step before to attach it to the free end of the nylon to connect it to your first fly (using a clinch knot)

Step 6: Strike Indicator

If needed, you can now attach a strike indicator onto the fly line. These are used commonly when fly fishing with nymphs, when you can't see the fish take your flies in the water, or can't see the end of your fly line to see if it moves when a fish takes your fly.

Different indicators are attached in different ways, a clip indicator will clip into the loop of the fly line. A sliding indicator will attach to the leader.

When the strike indicator bobs under the water, then that is your cue to strike on the fish.

Step 7: Ready to Cast

Now you're set-up your rod, reel, flyline, leader and flies you're ready to fly fish. You can begin casting the line onto or into the water you're planning to fish. For more about learning to fly cast and how to fish different pieces of water (rivers, streams, lakes) check the resources.