So, you have your rod and reel. You have a tackle box full of new flies and line. You’ve taken your first small steps into beginning fly fishing. While having good gear is an important start to beginning fly fishing, now you need the knowledge on what to do with your gear.

Find a body of water, be it a stream, river, ocean or lake. To begin learning how to fly fish, you want a lot of space. Space over the water and space between you and any you may hit with your fly. When you first learn fly fishing, you may be a threat to those around you. With that in mind, keep your distance while you learn how to handle many feet of line, a rather long rod, and a sharp hook.  You want to maintain a distance equal to your rod’s length plus the length of your line. Don’t worry too much – while accidents do happen, fly fishing is a fairly safe sport!

The first step for beginning fly fishing is to take your stance.  While learning, it is suggested that you start with both feet on land. While some forms of fly fishing have you wading into the water, you need to understand how your body will move while fishing before you add in the extra element of wet rock and moving water.

When you begin your cast, your body should be facing the direction that you want your line to go. Your dominant hand will be holding the rod.  The most common cast type, and the one covered here, is the forward cast. You will fling the fly into the air, back over your dominant shoulder until the line is almost straight. This is a necessary motion, as the physics of this action is storing energy in the tip of your rod, so you have more power behind the cast. Now, direct your rod tip towards your target. Unless you are drying your fly, or correcting the direction of your cast, the fly should strike the water.

Take your time and practice this motion. Once you are comfortable with this, you can begin the real challenge of beginning fly fishing: the strike of the fly on the surface of the water. Trout, the most common of fly fishing targets, is an elusive fish. They do not tend to strike unless the target is behaving in a natural, smooth pattern. When fishing, you need to emulate the natural movement of a fly landing on the surface of the water. At first, this smooth entry and surface agitation may seem impossible. Don’t worry, it isn’t! Keep practicing. Once it is obvious that the fish is not going to strike your fly, you can reset your cast and set up for another opportunity.

So, you’ve finally succeeded, and a fish has struck your fly! Now what? You have to set the hook. Setting the hook is simply a matter of raising the rod’s tip and pulling in line at the same time. This will capture the fish’s mouth with the barb of the hook. At this point, you must fight with the fish to get him to shore. Once again, practice is needed to master this, as you need to control the tension of the line with one hand, and keep a secure hold on your rod with the other. Should you succeed, you will be able to land the fish once it tires itself out.