Help with Fly Fishing Research

[whowrotethisshit]

Three characters in my story are going on a camping trip on the Provo River. Two are native to Utah and will have grown up fly fishing while one is southern and new to it.

I have a billion tabs open on the mechanics of it but any slang, details, stories from your childhood would be heavily appreciated.



Not really needed background: My dad was a survivalist. Just a smidge under Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic energy. Most of my childhood was spent living out of a camper, a tent, or the back of a truck. I'm not new to nature, just new to fly fishing. We set up trout lines, fished with rotten chicken liver, stink bait, minnows, and shad. We caught mostly catfish. My dad was also really good at catfish noodling. I remember him having a bias toward fly fishing but he has long passed on and I unfortunately cannot call him and ask him about it.

 

[whowrotethisshit]

If you do not want details on the internet for all to see, you can p.m. me. I'm normal and sane, promise.

 

[RandyD1369]

Three characters in my story are going on a camping trip on the Provo River. Two are native to Utah and will have grown up fly fishing while one is southern and new to it.

I have a billion tabs open on the mechanics of it but any slang, details, stories from your childhood would be heavily appreciated.



Not really needed background: My dad was a survivalist. Just a smidge under Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic energy. Most of my childhood was spent living out of a camper, a tent, or the back of a truck. I'm not new to nature, just new to fly fishing. We set up trout lines, fished with rotten chicken liver, stink bait, minnows, and shad. We caught mostly catfish. My dad was also really good at catfish noodling. I remember him having a bias toward fly fishing but he has long passed on and I unfortunately cannot call him and ask him about it.

First is the fishing line itself: it can be floating, "weighted end", or tapered end and sometimes, double tapered (meaning at both ends). If being used under trees/bushes in a narrow stream, you'd want a floating line with one of the tapers. In a lake with no overhanging foliage, use a floating weighted end for better distance casting.
The pole's length is also suited to the terrain. For a lake, you'd want a big, like 11' big, rod; in a narrow stream with overhang, perhaps as short at a 7' rod is easier to control.
To cast the fly, on a lake you'd use the showy snap-cast that whips the fly overhead a few times to maximize the casting distance; short-range, you'd use a flip cast, sort of like a single overhand flip.
For a floating dry fly, you'd want to try to match whatever bugs are currently falling in the water. If a bee, for example, you'd want a McGinty that looks like a bee.
For a wet-fly or lure, you'd use the weighted line and a submerged fly/lure that mimics or looks like a crayfish, helgamite, or minnow.
Chances are you'll want/need hip- or chest-waders depending on how deep in the water you expect to go. You'll actually need a hand-held waist net to net the fish as it's difficult to maneuver the fish by hand when you're in the water holding the rod in one hand.
You likely want an assortment of flies with you--perhaps in your hat, like most pictures show, so you don't have to exit the water to change flies if you aren't getting any strikes.
Keep in mind fly-fishers usually do not "reel in" their catch, but pull it in by hand on the line.
And, keep the rod tip high! Especially near bushes or underwater roots and rocks.
Hope this helps.

 

[whowrotethisshit]

Thank you, Randy. This is invaluable.

 

[yukonnights]

Also, fly fishing to me is more like hunting, especially when done in a clear running creek or river. The cat-fishing I remember is more like blind luck since it's most often in murky water (unless you're savvy and know some good holes). In a clear river, one hunts for the cut banks where the water is often deeper and slower...or maybe near a fallen tree that slows things down. It's easier for the fish to use less energy in these places. And like hunting, the fish can see and hear you as well...so it's often slow and sneaky that wins the prize.

Fly fishing for salmon is different, but you wouldn't do that in the Provo River I don't think.

Also, one usually has a light leader on the end of the more bulky fly casting line. The length can vary depending on conditions and personal preference. A common technique would be to cast into the flow and let it drift down steam to the place you think looks promising. If the fish are feeding on floating insects, it's easier to locate them. In that case, it's still good to float the fly to them instead of trying to plop it on top of them.

I'd search online to find out what species of fish you'd be trying for. Then, another online search to get the names of a few recommended flies for the time of year you are there. And don't forget to include the times you get the line all snarled up in some brush or a tree just to keep it real Probably the most important for success is having the proper fly for the time of year and species.

So; think of stalking game, think of getting the fly to them as stealthily as possible, remember to get excited when a big one surprises you, causing you to slip but you keep on bringing him slowly in w/o busting the light gauge leader your using...which in some cases means he's now leading you downriver — running in waders over sometimes slick and unseen rocks or other surprises. It's loads of fun

Hope that helps in some small way.

Oh, and one more thing; In my experience, there's always one asshole who catches something on every cast — thus, ruining the trip for all the others

 

[Jada59]

i tried it once. The line whipped around, not where it was supposed to go and the hook lodged very firmly into the fly of my then BF's friend's fly of his jeans. Me and my sick sense of humor could not stop laughing! Neither man thought it was funny and neither could get the hook out. Made for a quick fishing trip as I was the first to cast off. Poor guy had to drive all the way home with the hook in his crotch so his wife could remove it.

 

[yukonnights]

i tried it once. The line whipped around, not where it was supposed to go and the hook lodged very firmly into the fly of my then BF's friend's fly of his jeans. Me and my sick sense of humor could not stop laughing! Neither man thought it was funny and neither could get the hook out. Made for a quick fishing trip as I was the first to cast off. Poor guy had to drive all the way home with the hook in his crotch so his wife could remove it.

Please don't take this personal Jada, but I think if we go fishing I'll set you up with a cane pole, about ten feet of cotton line and a cork float. Yep, right under a shade tree where all the big fish like to hang out under. It'll be fun (And safer for all involved, I tell my fishing buddy )

 

[Handley_Page]

The gear you use will depend upon the nature of the fish, the season and the water.
Fly fishing works very well if your fly is a good mimic of whatever is floating on the water (having just hatched).
As to a rod for Salmon on the big rivers, 12-14 ft. For trout on a convenient stream, 7ft.

Take a look at Youtube. . . . .

 

[whowrotethisshit]

Y'all are helping me so much. Thank you. I'm jotting down everything. Even just hearing the way people talk about it makes the scene feel more like it's a thing that really happened and not just some gal making shit up which was the goal. Thank ya.

 

[Lori_the_Hoosier]

The gear you use will depend upon the nature of the fish, the season and the water.
Fly fishing works very well if your fly is a good mimic of whatever is floating on the water (having just hatched).
As to a rod for Salmon on the big rivers, 12-14 ft. For trout on a convenient stream, 7ft.

Take a look at Youtube. . . . .

HP, Will says I should tell you he was going to look it up in 'Fly Fishing' by J. R. Hartley but he was grinning like a chimp, so I'm guessing this is some kind of blokey Brit in-joke, isn't it? Anything he says from this point on is being dictated to him by the martinis, so ignore him...

 

[Handley_Page]

HP, Will says I should tell you he was going to look it up in 'Fly Fishing' by J. R. Hartley but he was grinning like a chimp, so I'm guessing this is some kind of blokey Brit in-joke, isn't it? Anything he says from this point on is being dictated to him by the martinis, so ignore him...

Ah, Lori, I think I can explain this one.
In 1983, the firm of "Yellow Pages" put out an advert. This one.

It caught the imagination. Actually there was not book of that title/ author about at the time, and the actor who played Mr Hartley found himself quite famous for a time.
A publishing house put together the title and issued it pretty soon (it was, apparently, a series of reminiscences by some well-known anglers).
It's a joke still heard on the banks today. . . . .

 

[ChloeTzang]

The gear you use will depend upon the nature of the fish, the season and the water.
Fly fishing works very well if your fly is a good mimic of whatever is floating on the water (having just hatched).
As to a rod for Salmon on the big rivers, 12-14 ft. For trout on a convenient stream, 7ft. .

I hear HE works well and you get lots of fish much faster.

 

[NotWise]

Ah, Lori, I think I can explain this one.
In 1983, the firm of "Yellow Pages" put out an advert. This one.

It caught the imagination. Actually there was not book of that title/ author about at the time, and the actor who played Mr Hartley found himself quite famous for a time.
A publishing house put together the title and issued it pretty soon (it was, apparently, a series of reminiscences by some well-known anglers).
It's a joke still heard on the banks today. . . . .

That reminds me of the novella Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. A friend of mine bought it thinking he'd found a guide to trout fishing. He was confused. It's a beat generation commentary on life in the US and has hardly anything to do with trout fishing.

I never read "Trout Fishing." I think the local book store was out of it when I went looking. I did read everything else I could find by Brautigan.

 

[whowrotethisshit]

Y'all are the best.

This scene is starting to feel a lot better. Less sparse from the first draft, less info-laden and clunky "I know what i'm doing and you can't prove that i don't" type thing from the second.

My favorite thing from messages and blogs are how easily people leave all the fishing technicalities behind and launch into stories about their grandpas/grandmas, mom/dad, uncle who got hooked, cousin who got chased by a snapping turtle, etc.

But it also helps to know actual details.

Also, I'm trying to ignore the King of the Hill episode playing in my head where Hank uses crack to catch fish.

2019 Literotica Fly Fishing Picnic. Wait, no. It's cold and I'm southern. 2020? Never ever? Not after last time? Fine.

 

[Hypoxia]

I never liked fishing for flies or for flying fish. But hey, drone fishing!!

 

[Handley_Page]

I hear HE works well and you get lots of fish much faster.

The snag there is that there's precious few fish to catch for more than a year afterwards.
But it is an effective method, I'm told. Not a lot of good over here (HE is a rare commodity. . .)

 

[LesDesirable]

Just be sure that you are aware of this: to the aficionado, fly fishing is a religion and your story must treat it as such or they will 1 vote you for being less than venerate of the sport.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Then there's the non-traditional method.

One stick of 40% Forcite with a 10-second fuse, deposited in mid-stream. Wait 11 seconds before collecting your choice of fish, then fly from the scene before the flashing lights show up.

Good luck with the story.

 

[whowrotethisshit]

'Splode the river, got it.

Today I'm taking a notebook on my hike. There's a little river a little ways off trail and I plan to write there for awhile.

Just be sure that you are aware of this: to the aficionado, fly fishing is a religion and your story must treat it as such or they will 1 vote you for being less than venerate of the sport.

Lately they've been one-bombing whatever I put up so I suppose it'll be no different.

 

[Handley_Page]

Just be sure that you are aware of this: to the aficionado, fly fishing is a religion and your story must treat it as such or they will 1 vote you for being less than venerate of the sport.

Well, at least - Respectful.

 

[Hypoxia]

I see those FISH FEAR ME boogerpicker caps and I think, recreational fishing: "Hey, I outsmarted a fish!" Then I think of fisherfolks, mostly guys with pickups/utes hauling unsteady trailers, who fail at that. Sad.

"Fish sticks" means something else if that's what you kill them with.