How to learn fly fishing?

[MuskieBait]

I learned to fly fish on my own.

1) Read everything you can on the internet. Especially read everything you can about fly casting and presentation. If you can't get you fly to the fish with the right presentation, forget about the rest.

2) Watch all the videos (YouTube, TV shows, instruction videos) you can about fly casting. Learn what it means (and looks like) to load the rod with the line, throw a tight loop, timing the movement and line speed...etc.

3) Take all that you read and watch to the field. Find an empty field and practice, practice and practice. When you think you practiced enough, review your casts, watch your motion, and go back to all the instructions you're read and watch about and compared how you've done. Then practice, practice and practice some more.

You can cut some of the learning curve by taking fly casting lesson, or learning from a fly fishing instructor, but after the lesson, you still need to practice until you can practice no more...and then practice some more.

Like I said, if you can't make a cast with the fly line and rod to the spot where you want to present you fly, the rest of fly fishing knowledge is pretty moot. So work on fly casting first and foremost. Learn a number of different cast that you need in different conditions and casting situations. Once you have them, then you can worry about actually trying to find fish and read the river to present to the fish.

Learning to cast well does not necessarily mean casting as far as you can, but learning how to use enough force and line speed to get the fly line and fly leader to unroll and straighten at the end of the cast, then allow the fly to descend gently into the water...that is what you want to achieve. There is also the difficultly of casting into the wind from different angles, and understanding how the wind affects your cast if it was coming from the front, side or back...and knowing how to throw your fly line loop into or with the wind to deliver your fly.

There is so much more after casting...like fly presentation, fly selection, mending the line during a drift, finding the right drifting lane, fly retrieve, setting the hook with different methods...etc.

It is a lot that you have to learn...but it is all these techniques that make fly fishing so very addictive.