Dredger’s Flyfishing Intro for Rookies
So many folks walk in our doors and ask how to get started in fly fishing for trout, and we gladly respond! Today we are sharing our tips with our online community.
Here’s Dredger’s Rx that may help more rookies learn the basics of stream trout fishing in our neck of the woods. This “what, where, and how” guide will get you started.
What:
To get started, keep it simple. Consider the 12 fly patterns in my “basic trout fly box.” That sheet is online at “Secrets of the Rabunites.” Anglers don’t even need the top row, dry flies, until March. Scroll down this page to the fly box.
Where:
The best spots for trouting rookies are heavily stocked and Delayed Harvest trout streams. See GA’s annual master stocking list (“frequencies”) here:
Aim for bigger, wider streams that are stocked weekly in spring/summer. Examples: Chattahoochee, Tallulah, West Fork Chattooga, Dicks, Cooper.
Also scroll down the trout page and click on Opportunities. Within Opps, scroll down to Delayed Harvest streams (Nov to May). Click on stream names in blue font to access the stream maps.
North Carolina has similar, great info on its Delayed Harvest streams. From the agency’s trout page, choose “public mountain trout waters.” Under “regulatory classification”’ select “delayed harvest trout waters” to see its entire list of DH streams and maps to each of them.
How:
For starters, the drag free drift is the key! I have the DFD recipe (pdf page 14) and video demos here:
That’s good homework. But the best instruction happens onstream via a mentor. Rookies should consider booking an instructional trip with one of our fine UO guides and also join a local TU chapter to fish with flyfishing veterans. Several Georgia colleges also have flyfishing clubs, where students can meet experienced friends. Ladies even have their own club, the Georgia Women Fly Fishers!
Bonus Tips:
From casting to fishing to fly tying, I send all rookies to the Orvis learning center videos:
Chapter 4, Stream Trout Fishing, is very good.
Also read my Friday fishing reports at our website for the latest regional news and tips.
I hope this guide gets you started on a lifetime of flyfishing fun for trout. Feel free to stop in or call one of our two UO shops if we can help you launch your own flyfishing journey!
Tight lines,
Dredger
