New member & fly fisher

[Sean]

I've been reading through these forums for a couple days now and as a new fly fisher it seemed like a good place to join up. I live in the Reading, PA area and have convenient access to the Tulpehocken and other creeks in the area.

I have virtually no fly fishing experience. I took a lesson for fun with my dad over the summer that taught us some basic casting mechanics and bought a fly rod the next day. Since then I've gotten out on the water a few times with the rod but haven't had any success yet, still waiting for that illusive 'first fish'.

I spent most of the summer bass fishing and night fishing for catfish and by the time fall came around I still didn't really know what I was doing with my fly rod. In the fall I learned about all the great trout fishing streams in the area and about the Tulpehocken (I'm new to the area).

I got my first pair of waders for Christmas and a fly tying kit, and got out on the Tulpehocken to explore a little bit. I've been itching to keep getting out on the water with the new gear but I'm not really sure if someone with my experience level can really have much success with it being winter time and all.

As you might imagine I have tons of questions so I'll try not to bombard you guys with them all at once, looking forward to talking with everyone.

 

[MattBoyer]

Welcome aboard, and by all means, bombard away. These dudes love answering question almost as much as they enjoy arguing over whose answer is right. :-D I think you'll find some very knowledgeable people here who are always willing to help.

Boyer

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Welcome Sean.Probably 10K years of experience here.Ask away.GG

 

[joereese]

welcome to the board and fraternity.

few things. Don't be put off by not catching your first fish. The summer and winter are not the kindest to newbies

keep it simple. Learn to FISH before you become an expert caster. IMO too many people obsess over the casting and ignore the fishing part. You know, reading water, when and what to fish.

Fishing streamers is the easiest why to get your first fish. That's how I got mine on a fly.

I liked to read you started tying already. This will increase the enjoyment of your new hobby, save you money and increase the number of fish you catch. This last one might have you saying really? Mine don't look as good as the ones in the shop. But I find that people who have to drop down 2.00 for a weighted, BH nymph or streamer don't fish them the right way because they are afraid of losing it. You can tie the same fly for about 0.30.

Fish with other people. Don't be self conscious about looking bad. I did it the hard way (in isolation) and it took longer. They can be a great help and are willing to help out.

 

[jdaddy]

Sean,

Click on my screen name and it will take you to a screen where you will see "PM" which is private messaging. Send me a message and I will take you out on some Berks County streams and get you up to speed. Also, I would suggest joining TU and getting involved. Tulpehocken Creek Trout Unlimited has a lot of activities, including a fly tying class coming up. You don't have to be a member to take the class. Again, send PM for details.

 

[Sean]

Thanks for the greetings everyone. My main concerns right now are that I feel like I don't have a good idea of how to properly pick a spot to cast my fly, and than from there being able to tell if I'm managing my line correctly to allow for a proper drift.

For picking a spot to cast my fly, my general understanding for trout fishing is that I want to cast the fly upstream so that it flows down the seam of the water where fast water and slower deeper water meet, preferably with foamy water. Slow drifting, or whatever matches the speed of the water current being ideal. Is this accurate, or what I should concentrate on doing for now as a beginner?

One thing I noticed on my last trip to the water was that I couldn't see my fly easily to tell (I was using a large wooly bugger) if my drift was keeping close pace with the water current. I've read that when you use very small flies like midges and caddis pupae you really have to make sure that you have a natural looking drift or the trout won't even consider your fly.

Thoughts?

 

[Sean]

joereese wrote:

keep it simple. Learn to FISH before you become an expert caster. IMO too many people obsess over the casting and ignore the fishing part. You know, reading water, when and what to fish.

That's definitely one of my questions. Basically once I get in the water, picking and choosing the best places to begin fishing. I've read that it's a good idea to look for rising fish and get into position to target them, but if I don't see any should I move around until I do?

joereese wrote:

Fishing streamers is the easiest why to get your first fish. That's how I got mine on a fly.

I have several store bought wooly buggers and a couple small ones that I made myself. Is there any size that might be best suited to this time of year?

joereese wrote:

I liked to read you started tying already. This will increase the enjoyment of your new hobby, save you money and increase the number of fish you catch. This last one might have you saying really? Mine don't look as good as the ones in the shop. But I find that people who have to drop down 2.00 for a weighted, BH nymph or streamer don't fish them the right way because they are afraid of losing it. You can tie the same fly for about 0.30.

I'd have to agree. At first it was a little overwhelming but it came with a great instruction booklet, and it got me on the right track to figuring out what flies I'd need for the time of year and location. Makes it all the more fun. It'd be great if I could catch my first trout off of a fly I tied.

 

[jdaddy]

Sean wrote:
One thing I noticed on my last trip to the water was that I couldn't see my fly easily to tell (I was using a large wooly bugger) if my drift was keeping close pace with the water current. I've read that when you use very small flies like midges and caddis pupae you really have to make sure that you have a natural looking drift or the trout won't even consider your fly.

Thoughts?

Fishing a stream like the Tully, one would not expect to keep visual contact with a large wooly bugger. Additionally, a large bugger would likely drift at a different speed than the current, particularly if it is weighted. Bugger/streamer fishing we are usually not looking for a completely drag free drift. That is the beauty of fishing buggers, "no wrong way to fish them". But yest, when fishing dry flies and nymphs, 95% of the time you need a drag free drift. It's harder to do subsurface than on the surface.

 

[joereese]

I don't know enough about the Tully (I'm spoiled, i'm in State College), so I'm responding blind here. What size and color buggers? Low clear water, fish small and light colored (white, light/medium olive), at least that's what works on penns creek and the little J when the water is low and clear. Since you say you can see it, I assume the water is clear. Save the large black ones for high water conditions.
As J daddy said, no wrong way to fish a bugger, drifted or with action. That's why its a good starter fly. Thing is you have to try different ways of fishing it. Some days dead drift does the trick, others days, jigging it, others swinging it and slowly retrieving it back to you. Don't be afraid to try buck tail streamers like a black nose dace.

I use the drift of my indictor to predict the drift and location of my nymphs. One of the most important things to remember is that water moves faster on the surface than down on the bottom, so you indicator will be downstream of the fly.

When nymphing let you fly hang below at the end of the drift and slowly strip it a few times back to you. This picks up a surprising number of fish.

good luck

 

[Sean]

jdaddy wrote:
Sean,

Click on my screen name and it will take you to a screen where you will see "PM" which is private messaging. Send me a message and I will take you out on some Berks County streams and get you up to speed. Also, I would suggest joining TU and getting involved. Tulpehocken Creek Trout Unlimited has a lot of activities, including a fly tying class coming up. You don't have to be a member to take the class. Again, send PM for details.

Thanks for the info, are there some other good Berks streams that are good for beginners? I've seen some streams be described as more advanced, especially streams that aren't stocked. Is there a website for Tulpehocken Creek Trout Unlimited? That sounds interesting. I've noticed that Cabelas also offers fly tying classes as well.

jdaddy wrote:
But yest, when fishing dry flies and nymphs, 95% of the time you need a drag free drift. It's harder to do subsurface than on the surface.

Is a nymph just an emerger fly? Also, I've seen recommendations to try fishing midges during the winter. I tied some size 20 zebra midges that I wanted to try out but I think I'm going to concentrate on some streamers for the time being. When using a fly as small as a midge, or any small subsurface fly like that, is it standard to use a strike indicator?

 

[pcray1231]

I just moved away from Reading, but still work here.

Woolly buggers are good for beginners. You can drift em, you can pull em, you can do whatever you want. Just make sure to get em deep.

For the bows in the winter, egg patterns are always good on the Tully. You want to dead drift em like a nymph, and right on the bottom. That can be tough for a beginner, but eggs have the added advantage that you can often see them down fairly deep. That helps you learn nymphing for sure, you're learning how the fly acts and how it responds to your actions. Keep in mind they do sink slower than other nymphs, though, so when you get everything right with the eggs and switch over to a nymph, you'll be too deep. Thats alright, better to be too deep than too shallow. You want to adjust weight and casting so you're snagging up occasionally, but not every cast.

As far as learning a drag free drift, find yourself some rising fish come spring and fish dries to them. That means being out in the evenings till dark, perhaps coming out by flashlight. It's frustrating, even for the best, but its what gets us all hooked. You're likely to fool a dullard or two early on, and slowly increase your numbers as you get better at getting a drag free drift.

As for where to fish. Generally the fish will be in slower water in the winter and faster water once the water warms up. That doesn't help much on the Tully, as its all slow water, lol. It's not an incredibly easy stream to "read" as much of it looks the same. Rising fish again help identify the spots, once you see where they rise, when they're not rising they're generally in the same places. But look for deeper cuts near the few riffles. Also, its a known and crowded spot, but the PaperMill is perhaps the best fish holding water on the stream. The Cacoosing is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, so at those times the fish will hang out in the mixing waters right there. They'll be out in the main current in the Spring and Fall when the main stem Tully is at optimum temps.

 

[gochs]

I'll add a little bit about nymph fishing....


Someone on the board told me last season to get a brightly colored San Juan Worm, either tie it or buy it, in hot pink or bright green, and fish it either attached to a nymph or by itself. Do this in clear water, that way you can check your drift and if it's hitting bottom. If it's not, add some shot.

This way you can really SEE how the fly is moving underwater and how the currents affect it. And you might even catch a fish!

 

[jdaddy]

Sean wrote:

Thanks for the info, are there some other good Berks streams that are good for beginners? I've seen some streams be described as more advanced, especially streams that aren't stocked. Is there a website for Tulpehocken Creek Trout Unlimited? That sounds interesting. I've noticed that Cabelas also offers fly tying classes as well.

www.tullytu.org You can PM or email me for any questions about the Tully TU.

Is a nymph just an emerger fly? Also, I've seen recommendations to try fishing midges during the winter. I tied some size 20 zebra midges that I wanted to try out but I think I'm going to concentrate on some streamers for the time being. When using a fly as small as a midge, or any small subsurface fly like that, is it standard to use a strike indicator?

The nymph stage is a part of the life cycle of a bug. Being in the Reading area I am sure you have been to TCO and been introduced to the power of midge nymphs on the Tully.

I accidentally lost a bunch of PM's and can't remember if I chatted with you. I am sending you another PM now. I'll show you a couple of other "easy" streams in Berks.

 

[NCFlyYakker]

Welcome to the site. Best way to learn is to get out and fish, and read as much as you can. Use the search function on the site. This site is loaded with a lot of great infomation. Take these guys up on their offers to take you fishing. I had a board member take me a couple of times and it really paid off. Good Luck on that first fish

 

[Sean]

pcray1231 wrote:
Thats alright, better to be too deep than too shallow. You want to adjust weight and casting so you're snagging up occasionally, but not every cast.

Was wondering, how do you adjust your casting to affect the depth the fly will go to?

pcray1231 wrote:
Also, its a known and crowded spot, but the PaperMill is perhaps the best fish holding water on the stream. The Cacoosing is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, so at those times the fish will hang out in the mixing waters right there. They'll be out in the main current in the Spring and Fall when the main stem Tully is at optimum temps.

I spent a few hours today fishing the mixing waters where the Cacoosing comes into the Tully this afternoon. I had a fish take a wooly bugger there but lost it after a few seconds. Had a great time trying some things out at the spot none the less.

Are the PaperMill flats the calm water between Rebers Bridge and where the Cacoosing flows into the Tully? I started to venture down that way but my fingers were getting really numb by that point so I decided to call it a day. Anyone know any good gloves I could use for fishing during this time of year :-o ?

 

[NewTyer1]

When I first started fly fishing, I started in still water catching large mouth, small mouth, Crappie and Blue gills on poppers and did alot of wading. This way you have casting room and catch fish. My first Large mouth was an almost 9lb fish and that was my first fish on my fly rod. Then once I got my casting down I started into Trout, tying my own flies. What a thrill to catch fish on flies that you tied yourself. Welcome to the sport.