Wading vs bank fishing.

[zuluthunder]

Hello all, I’m a long time lurker and (now) a first time poster..
First of all I’d like to thank all of you for the invaluable information you share here. I’ve been fishing the LMF since 2013 and did trial and error for a lonnnng time before stumbling across this message board. And It’s always fun to read the gripes about a certain trout “guide”, who I too, have had several run-ins with while fishing “his water”.

But anyways, down to business.

I’m planning my final trip to the LMF as a single man (Feb 16 - Feb20) and I’m dead-set on putting away the spin cast and joining the pros with a fly rod. My question is about the use of Waders. I’ve seen you guys fishing the river many times, some in the water and some on the bank, and was wondering what would give me the best experience? I live in central LA and don’t wade in our gator/moccasin infested waters so if I buy waders, they’d only be used when I head up to Broken Bow.

Thanks again for all of the info you guys share! And if you see this white boy flailing and cussing a fly rod in February, come on over and say hello.

[glitchmo]

Short answer: you’ll want waders so you can get where you want to be without worrying about the water. In summer you can wet wade no problem, it’s just cold right now.

Longer answer: fly fishing is at least 90% about presentation. Where you stand depends a lot on how you want the fly to act. For example, If you want a dead downstream drift, that’s relatively easy to achieve if you just stand downstream of your target. On the other hand, standing downstream of your target doesn’t help if you want your fly to swing an arc across the river. In thinking about your cast and where you want to stand you have to consider currents, rocks, wind, where the fish might be holding, whether the cast you have in mind will spook them, trees behind you, etc... lots of things.

That sounds more complicated than it is, though. You’ll find the patterns pretty quickly once you get into it. In the meantime, though, you’ll probably want waders. It gives you more options this time of year.

[zuluthunder]

Jan 27, 2019 23:55:27 GMT -6 glitchmo said:

Short answer: you’ll want waders so you can get where you want to be without worrying about the water. In summer you can wet wade no problem, it’s just cold right now.

Longer answer: fly fishing is at least 90% about presentation. Where you stand depends a lot on how you want the fly to act. For example, If you want a dead downstream drift, that’s relatively easy to achieve if you just stand downstream of your target. On the other hand, standing downstream of your target doesn’t help if you want your fly to swing an arc across the river. In thinking about your cast and where you want to stand you have to consider currents, rocks, wind, where the fish might be holding, whether the cast you have in mind will spook them, trees behind you, etc... lots of things.

That sounds more complicated than it is, though. You’ll find the patterns pretty quickly once you get into it. In the meantime, though, you’ll probably want waders. It gives you more options this time of year.

Thanks! I’m visualizing what you described and it makes a lot of sense. I’ve never fly fished, there’s so much for me to learn.

[hankinsfly]

Getting married huh? I’d suggest you set your date back about five years so you can fish, or take up golf.

If you get lucky enough to fish, yeah, you’ll want waders. And a good brand of wader, like Simms, Orvis, Redington, etc.

[zuluthunder]

Jan 28, 2019 7:28:50 GMT -6 hankinsfly said:

Getting married huh? I’d suggest you set your date back about five years so you can fish, or take up golf.

If you get lucky enough to fish, yeah, you’ll want waders. And a good brand of wader, like Simms, Orvis, Redington, etc.

Yessir, She’s put up with me for nearly 8 years now so I owe her a ring at least. She actually surprised me with a 2 day trip to the river earlier this month, but I spent most of the time getting her un-hung from the rocks.

I’m looking at a pair of orvis encounter waders. They seem highly regarded and won’t break the bank. I’m pretty hyped about this mysterious art of fly fishing. It seems like it’s gonna be a lot more involved than spin casting.

[turfdawg]

Can I just make a suggestion? Instead of buying a bunch of stuff right now book a guide from the Fly shop. You can rent waders and boots for I think $15 a day and the guide will have everything else. This way you will know if you like it and will have some very good starter knowledge and won’t be near as frustrating as it might be without one.

[hankinsfly]

That’s great. You know you can practice some things where you live on bass, brim, and sac a’ lait. They’re all fun to catch on the fly and will get you a lot of practice casting.

I wouldn’t call “this thing of ours” mysterious, but fishing for trout in moving water is different. Fly fishing is just the most efficient way of presenting replica trout food to the trout on the trout’s terms- dead drift, weightless insects that you cannot present properly with a spinning rod. There is some learning curve for sure, and I agree with what Turfdawgg said about the guide. They will teach you to rig your flies to the depth, find the right water, cast, mend, set the hook, appropriately handle and release the trout. You can get straightaway exposure to these principles with a guide, whereas on your own it might take several seasons. But I also say get your waders, go to the BBFS and get a couple dozen flies and start fishing. No amount of books or YouTube videos can replace time on the water.

[turfdawg]

Actually the fly shop has everything you need like boots and waders

[golferjeff]

Jan 28, 2019 10:36:13 GMT -6 turfdawg said:

Actually the fly shop has everything you need like boots and waders

And if you time it right, you can get a discount on waders and boots after your guide trip...... the fly shop owners are very helpful when it comes to setting newbies up to enjoy themselves.