I figured with the beautiful summer weather we’re experiencing in Montana (after 8 plus months of winter that it seems like we just got done with) it might be nice to pen a little article for all of the residents of the Bozeman area who haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy our rivers and streams with a fly rod in hand. One of the simplest joys in life is watching a fish come and whack a fly that you threw onto the water and it is something that everyone should at least get a chance to try at one point in their life. After all, if you’re going to live in the middle of Trout Mecca then you should probably wet a line once in your life so you can at least tell people that you’ve tried it before…

HOW TO GET INTO FLY FISHING
One of the great parts of living in the Bozeman area is that there’s no shortage of programs, free classes, adult education and introduction to fly fishing seminars around the area. If you keep your eyes peeled or ask some friends who fish, they can certainly steer you in the direction of a place or person to help you get your feet wet in the world of fishing. Finding a person or program around town is going to be key for you if you want to give fishing more than a cursory try. If you want to grow into fly fishing, find a good friend (or even just a marginal friend) that’s willing to take you out and explain some of the basics to you, because no matter how many books you read, there is no substitute for the actual practicing and act of fishing. It’s like golf, if you’ve never done it, it doesn’t matter how many times you see Tiger Woods do it on TV, you aren’t going to mimic him on the course your first time out, so be patient!

PATIENCE IS NOT ONLY A VIRTUE
An important thing to keep in mind as you’re setting out on your journey to discovering fishing: have a lot of patience because you aren’t going to pick it up right away. Regardless of how good of an athlete you are casting a fly rod is much different than any other activity you’ll have tried. Casting takes timing and finesse, not brute strength, which is why women often pick up the casting stroke quicker than men. If you are a self starter, then with today’s technology you can learn a lot online via YouTube video’s about the basic casting stroke. But as I said before, hands on personal one on one instruction is a lot more useful than trying to mirror some guy on a computer screen waving around what might as well be a magic wand! Casting is something you can practice before you even get to the water, and it’s important when learning to cast to not have a fly tied on if for nothing other than safety reasons! Repetition is far more important than duration when you’re starting out, and you should really limit it to not more than an hour of practicing at a time or you’ll just end up practicing sloppy casting.

WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU START
So let’s assume for the time being that you’ve now found an introduction to fly casting through a friend or class or you’ve just watched a million videos and you’re ready to go to the water to put your casting to the test. The best place to start out fishing is some place where you are going to be able to cast easily. So don’t go to the smallest creek around the area where you can’t make a back cast without hooking a tree – find a nice wide open spot. Second, go when the weather is nice because wind isn’t your friend and it makes casting and learning extremely difficult, not what you need when you are starting out. Another thing to keep in mind is that fishing moving water like a creek or river is much more difficult than fishing in a lake or pond and introduces a lot of other variables into the learning curve. When you have to worry about what your line is doing on the water in addition to everything else, it can be difficult – so for your first time out try a lake or pond, trust me it’s easier. There are plentiful lakes and ponds around Bozeman, so pick one that you can get out to for a few hours.

WHAT TO USE WHEN YOU GO
One of the more daunting parts of learning to fly fish is learning what to use and when to use it. If you’re just starting out, don’t overburden yourself and try and learn everything all at once. Much of what is enjoyable with fly fishing is the learning about the bug life, where fish hold, what the fish are eating at what times of the year etc. and it’s a lifetime sport, so ease yourself into it. My recommendation isn’t to then flail around blindly with some flies that your great grandpa had in a box from the 1900’s, instead stop by a fly shop and consult with some local experts or ask a friend what flies you should be using before you head anywhere. Trout might have small brains, but they do have a very specific diet at times, so as long as you are heading out to the water then you should at least have the right flies in your arsenal. If you do enjoy reading books this is the one aspect of the sport that you can learn a lot from those who have gone before you – and you don’t need a degree in Entomology, just a healthy appetite for learning. Find a book that details bugs and the flies used to represent them and then head to the river to compare notes with the book, you’ll learn a lot more if you’re looking at them on the water.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
So if you’ve managed to pick up casting, you’ve learned enough to be dangerous when it comes to picking out bugs and you’ve got a spot to head to what’s next? Well this is the best part of fishing, relax, enjoy your surroundings, and remember all of that 10’Oclock and 2’Oclock nonsense, don’t break your wrist, stop the rod on that front cast, no wait, don’t hook yourself, pull that fly out of the bushes… Deep breath, relax and really take it all in. When you’re learning to fly fish, don’t forget why you started in the first place – to chill out on a river or lake in beautiful Montana and get out of the house!

Kris Kumlien is the General Manager at Montana Troutfitters and can be found rambling on about anything to do with fishing at www.troutfitters.com