Cast Away

AMC Outdoors, July/August 2007

A fly fishing primer to land the big one

It’s often described as Zen-like. You’re not hanging from a cliff’s edge. You’re not bombing down a burly river. You’re not on a quad-busting push up some steep summit. Freshwater fly fishing offers a more sedative natural high. The river goes chug-a-lug in your ear. Boulders, mighty and moss covered, offer a perch to witness swirling hatches of bugs. And the fish, pulled from deep pools and eddies, offer a brilliance only Mother Nature could engender: rich, glowing greens and golds and pinks; glorious speckles. Waist-deep in a river, you couldn’t feel closer to the natural world. Dan Legere, owner of Maine Guide Fly Shop and Guide Service, knows this feeling well—and prides himself on introducing it to first-timers. Here’s his cheat sheet.

CRAFT YOUR CAST  Fly fishing involves a rod, heavy fly line (often white or fluorescent in color), and a fly (a hook with bits of synthetic material resembling a bug). To get the fly out and onto the water, try the forward cast. The idea is to make tight, backward and forward loops that enable you to place the fly where you want it. Pull out a length of line, place it in front of you in the water, and then start casting—something best practiced first without a hook. “It’s all wrist and forearm,” says Legere, “don’t pivot your body or use your shoulders or wave your arms.” Strength means nothing, he says, adding that women are easier to teach than men. “It’s all about learning how to use the top third of the rod. You want to flex the tip of the rod.” Practice in your driveway, at a park, or beside the river. “At this stage, don’t even think about the fish.”

FIND THE FISH   So you’ve learned how to cast. Now you need to put it in the right place—with the right touch. How you “present” the fly to the fish is crucial. If the fly drags sideways through the water, a trout won’t strike. If your fly line slaps on the surface of the water, they’ll spook. If you’re casting into a huge rapid, you’ll likely end up fishless. Find trout in deep pools, behind boulders in swirling eddies, and where fast water meets slow water. A fly that appears to be naturally floating downstream will likely get gobbled up. To that end, cast upstream at a 45 degree angle and float your fly over places where trout are waiting to feed. “It’s the ultimate con,” says Legere.

TIE ONE ON  “You don’t need to know the names of all the insects to be good fly fisherman,” says Legere. What you do need to know, however, is what flies to tie on the end of your line. The key is to “match the hatch.” Tie a fly onto your line that resembles bugs fluttering about on the river. “Take some time to observe before stepping out in the river,” he advises. There are three main flies to look for in the fly shop: Mayflies (used mostly in May), caddis (June, July), and stone flies (August). “Mayflies look like tiny sail boats,” says Legere of the olive- and gray-colored bugs. The “Hendrickson” is the first hatch of the spring and it’s among the most prolific in the Northeast. A caddis fly looks like a bug with a tent on its back, he says. Look for the elk-wing caddis (made with elk hair), which can be used in multiple situations. And when it comes to stone flies, which look like bugs with surfboards on their backs, go for golden stones. Once you’re on the river, don’t just tie anything on. “Look at the surface of the water,” says Legere, “then open your fly box and match size and color.”

- Christopher Percy Collier