Help

[Makee]

Hello to all, I am new to this site and new to fly fishing in general. I am an avid fisherman, but have previously only fished spinning rods in lakes and the ocean.

I have been out a handful of time this month with a friend who also I new to fly fishing and have yet to catch anything. I know the first time I went out I had no idea what I was doing, then I found this site, did a lot of reading and thought that I would have better luck with some of the tips many of you shared, (thank you for them, I would be even more lost without them!)

I am fishing in Phoenixville, on Pickering Creek.

I have talked with almost every person that I see at the water about what they are doing, what they are fishing, and any tips they have. Nothing seems to work. I ask everyone if they caught anything and I get a lot of people saying yes, but when I try the same set up they have, no luck for me.

I could really use some help / advice on what I can be doing differently/ new to have a better chance at catching something. I really enjoy the art of fly fishing so far and would love to catch something of any size.

Thank you all for reading this and for any advice you spare!

 

[delta_dog]

Welcome Makee. Keep checking in here for when we do a Newbie Jam Brush Up Day. We will have a few of them coming up in the next few months. It's a great way to ease the learning curve.

 

[Makee]

Thank you Delta Dog, I saw a lot about the newbie jam and was thinking about attending one, I have seen that a lot of people have gotten a lot of good help/information at one.

 

[Makee]

Has anyone else fished these waters?

If so what type of flies were you using? Just curious to compare what knowledgeable fishers are using compared to my experience(4 times on the water)

thanks again and great site!

 

[pcray1231]

What time of year?

 

[Makee]

I just picked up fly fishing this winter, so I went out the past two weekends.

When I say I am new to fly fishing I mean I am NEW, like 2 - 3 weeks new, haha

 

[Makee]

I just picked up fly fishing this winter, so I went out the past two weekends.

When I say I am new to fly fishing I mean I am NEW, like 2 - 3 weeks new, haha

 

[djs12354]

Welcome to the jungle!

Winter can be a tough time of year to fish, so don't get too frustrated. Enjoy that you are out on the water and don't get hung up on catching at this time of year.

Get to the Newbie brush up day and continue reading here. It'll click one day soon.

Good Luck!

 

[Volksnurse]

PMSent

 

[Makee]

that's what a lot of people have been telling me, winter is a hard time to fish, but it sucks to see others pulling out fish while I cant even get a bite. But I guess the most important thing is that I am having fun, I'm outside, and I have a line in the water

 

[PhilllyFlyGuy]

Actually got out there earlier this week, only for about 2 hrs tho. Picked up 3 and missed another 2-3. Got them on size 16 green caddis larvae and 18-20 Blue winged olive emerger.

 

[RCFetter]

Makee, welcome to the forum. You're in the right place b/c you'll get a lot of help here.

 

[salmonoid]

Makee wrote:
that's what a lot of people have been telling me, winter is a hard time to fish, but it sucks to see others pulling out fish while I cant even get a bite. But I guess the most important thing is that I am having fun, I'm outside, and I have a line in the water

Give it a couple of years and you will be in the "others" category, pulling out fish. Try dead drifting or light stripping a wooly bugger.

 

[mikesl]

Hi Makee, I might have run into you on Pickering Saturday, perhaps you were walking in as I was headed out. I had some good success with a stonefly nymph. It was a great day.

One thing that was tough on Pickering Saturday was the pressure... lots of people, relatively, on the stream, and may fish spooked I am sure.

I have been doing this about 2 years now... it will click for you soon, and this is a great resource to learn.

The toughest part that requires learning on the stream and is hard to get from reading is
... don't spook the fish (cast WELL upstream of where you think they are, don;t smack the line on their head, and don't let them see you or your shadow)
...where are the fish?... on saturday at Pickering, they were deep, in the deepest section of little runs, in slower water (that spot where you can just barely NOT see the bottom - hit that)

I know when I was starting I would always hit spots that were too shallow or too fast, especially when the fish are sluggish due to cold.

I would also run my nymphs way too shallow when i was starting.

keep at it, it takes a few times before it all comes together but then the learning curve gets steeper and you learn fast.

 

[poopdeck]

Welcome. If your from the philadelphia area there is a club called the main line fly tiers. I spoke to them at a recent fishing show and they were very friendly, helpful, and eager to share their knowledge. Don't let the name full you though it's a fly fishing club as well.

 

[boychick]

Be persistent, it takes time on the water to learn how to fly fish. I would say that 80% of learning this sport comes from doing, the other 20% from reading, watching and talking to more experienced anglers. Get to one of the jams if you can, this is a very knowledgeable group of fisherman that are very willing to help a person new to the sport. If there is a fly shop near you, see if they have any seminars or classes, often times there will be free programs this time of year. Orvis does a fly fishing 101 at their stores in the spring, I'm pretty sure the 101 classes are free. Find someone to fish with for a day even if it requires hiring a guide. When I first started I learned more in one day from fishing with a guide than I did in two years on my own. Think of it as paying for an all day fishing lesson; it was money well spent. I went with a buddy to reduce the cost. Just don't give up, keep at it, it will click soon.

 

[Makee]

mikesl wrote:
Hi Makee, I might have run into you on Pickering Saturday, perhaps you were walking in as I was headed out. I had some good success with a stonefly nymph. It was a great day

I think you did run into myself and a friend of mine as we were walking in. I appreciate your help that day and the pointers. I will try out some of the tings you said the next time I am on the water, hopefully I will have better luck

 

[marcq]

I was out on French creek this past week probably pulled out around 8 to 10 fish and lost just as many. the fish are still fresh and the water is still cold so the hatches are not going to be there. Id go with a big stonefly and green weenie tandem rig. I got everything on the weenie.

 

[Makee]

marcq wrote:
I was out on French creek this past week probably pulled out around 8 to 10 fish and lost just as many. the fish are still fresh and the water is still cold so the hatches are not going to be there. Id go with a big stonefly and green weenie tandem rig. I got everything on the weenie.

I was using the same for a while, I was using a light pink worm and a red one, no luck.

I am a little hesitant about using a double rig because I am new to fly fishing and I feel that would be a little too much for me right now.

thank for the tip, maybe I will go try French creek this weekend

 

[marcq]

Are you using any split shot? Now you need to be close to the bottom of not bouncing off it. Since your new use an indicator.

When fishing tandems the best way is to cast up stream mend your line anf let it go all the way down stream till your line straightens out then just lob it up stream again.

Hint fish just above the covered bridge right where the stream comes in.