A graphite fly rod from eight feet to nine feet in length, rated for a 5- or 6-weight line with an attached nine-foot 4X tapered leader is an excellent first outfit.
The line should be a weight-forward floating line and should be installed on a trout reel with backing. The backing is not necessary for casting, but it is for fishing, and this outfit will also be a favorite for trout and panfish.
It is important to have the reel fastened on the rod correctly. Make sure the line is coming off the bottom of the reel and that you crank forward to bring the line back on the reel.
It's important to find a good place to practice your casting. This place should be fairly quiet without noisy children running around (especially if they're your own). I hope you can find a lawn, park, golf course, or ballfield near your home.
A pond or lake with a mowed edge is excellent if you won't be distracted by the fish. You must be able to concentrate on casting, not on fishing, so usually plain grass is best. A practice session should be about twenty minutes. More than that and you'll get tired and start making mistakes. Two or three sessions a week is perfect. Practice, Practice, Practice
When you get to this place, put the rod together, run the line through the guides, and pull the leader through the tip-top. Pick up the rod and pull what seems to be twenty-five feet of line off the reel, letting it coil in front of you on the grass.
The proper grip |
Lay the rod down beside the coils and, holding the leader, walk the line out so it lies straight out in front of the rod tip on the grass. Use a tape measure or a yardstick to measure the line, and with a black permanent marker, mark the line at twenty-five feet. A small mark is fine. Reel in any extra so the mark is at the end of the rod tip.
When you practice next time, you won't have to guess or measure again. (This twenty-five feet does not include the leader. With a nine-foot leader, you'll be casting thirty-four feet, which is an ideal length to start with.)
Pick up the rod in your prominent hand (right for most of us), using the grip shown in the illustration (above), with thumb on top. You might want to experiment with your index finger on top, but there is more muscle, therefore more power, in your thumb. For that reason, the preferred grip is with the thumb on top.
Having your thumb on top will also help control and discipline the rod, and most of us find this the most comfortable grip. Hold the fly line against the cork handle inside your"rod hand." Later we will move it to the other hand, which will become the "line hand," but for now it should stay in the rod hand.
The Importance of a Good StartKeep the rod tip pointed forward, parallel toward the ground, and at waist level. The rod tip should never be pointed upward, yet, oddly enough, that's where it's usually pointed!
If you're right-handed, your left foot should be slightly ahead of your right. This will allow your body to rock back and forth slightly with the cast, balancing your weight.
There should not be a fly on the end of the leader. Getting comfortable with controlling the line and knowing where it is at all times will make it easier later to cast flies. If you like, you can tie a bit of orange yarn on the end of the leader.
The yarn will help you see where the fly would actually land, if it were attached. Be careful that you don't use too much the yarn can be wind-resistant and difficult to cast. You want just enough to see on the grass.
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