Fly Fishing Facts for Beginners 
Selecting Tackle and Learning to Use It 
ACH year there are a host of new- 
E comers in the fishing game, and 
unless they have changed consid- 
erably .since I started in, they are 
hungry for real information about 
tackle, trout, flies, and everything else 
connected with the sport. And unless 
the old-timers have also changed they 
are willing to give up a page or so in 
their favorite magazine to the begin- 
ners. So if you are an old-timer just 
skip this article, because you probably 
are familiar with everything I am go- 
ing to say; but if you are a beginner I 
promise you that you will find nothing 
but reliable advice and_ well-tested 
methods. 
First of all let’s assume that you 
want to take up fly fishing for trout 
this month; you couldn’t choose a better 
month for this splendid sport 
than the early summer as the 
chill is out of the air and off the 
water, both of which items con- 
tribute a great deal toward your 
personal comfort. Also there 
are a succession of hatches of 
natural insects on which the 
trout feed, and you will be able 
to see where the fish are lying 
as they rise to the surface for a 
fly, instead of guessing where 
they are. with indifferent suc- 
cess. Most of the advice to be- 
ginners that I have read, as- 
sumes that it is the first day of April, 
and proceeds to tell how to fish during 
the early season. Understanding the 
novice’s difficulties pretty thoroughly, 
I am satisfied that late May and June. 
are the right time for him to start fly 
fishing. The stream is down where it 
belongs instead of running over its 
banks; the water is clear, and the con- 
formation of the bottom is easily seen; 
the fish are showing themselves almost 
all day long; and last but not least, the 
real dyed-in-the-wool fly fishermen are 
out on the water, and they are the best 
medicine a beginner can take. 
ET me pass over the matter of se- 
lecting a rod with as few words as 
possible. The rod should be nine feet 
long and about five ounces in weight. 
It should be stiff and snappy, not limber 
and soft. Go to the most reliable tackle 
dealer you know and put yourself in 
his hands; if you have an experienced 
fly-fishing friend with you, he will see 
that you aren’t stuck. Either a taper- 
ed or a level line will do, the main 
Page 893 
By VIRGINIUS 
consideration being whether it “fits” the 
rod. The stiffer the action of the rod 
the heavier line it will take. Here is 
where the experienced friend and the 
reliable tackle dealer must be trusted 
again. The only thing to know about 
the reel is whether it will balance the 
rod. There is no use in my writing 
pages about these matters, as you 
couldn’t hope to choose the right rod, 
reel and line after reading the best 
article in the world. I’ve tried it, and 
I know whereof I speak. 
Just let it be known that you want 
to take up fly-fishing and you will 
be surprised to discover how many fel- 
lows will be willing to help you, and 
help you conscientiously too. 
As I have said before, there are two 
ILIV UU 
Here is an article written expressly for 
the person about to take up the fascinating 
sport of fly fishing. It was prepared by an 
angler of wide experience and the advice, 
if followed carefully, should prove a valu- 
able guide-post on the road to success. 
NULLA 
kinds of leaders—good ones and bad 
ones; the former are the only ones we 
shall consider. Don’t think of trying to 
economize when buying leaders, because 
it doesn’t work that way. The less you 
pay for a leader the more expensive it 
will be. For wet fly fishing you want a 
six-foot leader with one dropper loop 
not more than eighteen inches from the 
upper end. The average leader has a 
dropper loop about two feet above the 
lower end loop; this is wrong, as the 
flies are too close together and look like 
Siamese twins when you fish them. 
The lower fly should be played just un- 
der the surface, and the upper one on 
the surface. Of course there are ex- 
ceptions to every rule, but as a general 
thing this method is the best during 
May and June. Early in April I sink 
both flies several inches under the sur- 
face, unless the fish happen to be feed- 
ing on the surface, which is not the 
usual state of affairs at this time of 
year. Tapered leaders are nice, but 
they don’t catch any more fish than 
very fine level ones—experts to the 
contrary notwithstanding. Supposing 
that you are buying from a reputable 
dealer who buys his leaders from Eng- 
land, the main consideration is to get 
light enough gut. 
AM certain that more fish are not 
hooked because of too heavy gut than 
because the wrong fly is presented to 
them. First-rate English leaders made 
of 3X and even 4X drawn gut will 
prove amazingly strong, and the novice 
will catch more fish because of their 
lightness than he will lose from their 
breaking under a strain. Dry fly lead- 
ers should be seven and a half feet 
long, and these should be tapered. 
They have a loop at their upper end 
into which the line is fastened, but are 
straight at the lower one so that eyed 
flies may be tied on. Don’t hesi- 
tate to buy first quality English 
leaders tapered down to 3X 
drawn gut; to use heavier than 
this is simply to put a handicap 
on yourself. The majority of 
good dealers carry English lead- 
ers, and it pays to insist on 
them. When someone shows me 
an American leader as good as 
an English one, I’ll eat crow 
gladly. 
Now for the flies. Everything 
I tell you about them will un- 
doubtedly be denied by some 
other angler. However, until you have 
had a year or two on the stream you 
will have to follow someone’s advice, or 
else waste an awful amount of money. 
There are two schools on the fly ques- 
tion: one of them says one fly is all 
you need (that is one pattern), and the 
other says you need every pattern that 
you can get. They are both wrong, as 
far as the novice is concerned. The 
one-fly fellow has to be extraordinarily 
expert in handling his one fly, much 
more expert than any beginner will 
ever be. The every-pattern man has to - 
be a millionaire, much wealthier than 
the average beginner will ever be. 
I’ve belonged to both of these schools at 
different periods in my angling educa- 
tion, and now I am that happy school of 
moderation, about half way between the 
extremists. 
YW ITHOUT further ado I am going 
to give a list of flies that the be- 
ginner in the eastern states can safely 
buy. If you live in the West I advise 
you to consult a local authority, as I 
