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supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 28, 2014 - 02:14pm PT
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I have some time from tomorrow until the new year and am hoping to take up fly fishing, whilst camping with the kids near (or next to) some kind of raging river.
That's the picture in my head anyway.
We're up in Vancouver, BC and since we're towing a trailer I would prefer not to head over any passes which may be snowy right now.
I have never fished in my life, aside from when I was a kid, definitely never fly fished and I'm hoping someone will point me in the right direction to get some peace, practice casting and maybe even hook a fish or two.
Would somewhere along the Columbia fit the bill? From googling it seems that the Deschutes river is a good fishing spot.
Requirements:
1) Peaceful
2) Not too far from Vancouver, BC
3) River fishing, not lake
4) Somewhere nearby to pitch up my trailer
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Dec 28, 2014 - 02:56pm PT
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Forget it.
No way in God's Green Earth will you learn to Fly Fish on a whim. Fly Fishing was designed by Satan's Engineers to vex the very soul of Man.
I suggest a cheapie Walmart Casting rod and reel - 30 bucks tops. Have the kiddies dig you up some worms. Spear the wrigglers on your hook - longways so they don't fall off at first bite - and pray something is hungry.
A can of Green Giant whole cooked corn works too for bait - spear a few kernels on a hook - lake fish fall for that stuff all the time. If they don't - you can at least eat the rest of the can.
As a last resort - stick some skanky roadkill chunk on a hook - at the least you will pull in a Brown catfish!
But Fly Fishing - start by hanging at your local Cabela's, get your Credit Card balance paid down - and go from from there.
We'll talk again in a year!
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Dec 28, 2014 - 03:03pm PT
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The DeSquats might be your ticket-not sure what the fishing will be like this late and cold but it's big and wide so you can practice casting with less risk of putting your fly in the bushes. Go to the Gorge Fly Shop inHood River- They should set you straight. Dress warm and don't fall in
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Dec 28, 2014 - 03:11pm PT
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Supa- why go so far ? What's wrong with the Squamish river or the fraser??
If you're going to the deschutes especially if you're going all the way to trout creek, make sure you have 4 wheel drive and chains. There is a really steep hill you go down and it would be super sketch in the snow.
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supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 28, 2014 - 03:22pm PT
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Mike you sound like you know something of fly fishing? I'm happy to stay local, are there actually fish in the Squamish river at this time of year?
If you remember me, I bumped into you at the bluffs a few weeks back, we were the people with the gang of kids running around.
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supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 28, 2014 - 03:27pm PT
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btw part of the problem with camping in squam is it's COLD right now and the sun doesn't clip the mountains until like 11am!
Can't think of a sunny camping spot in or around squam.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Dec 28, 2014 - 03:35pm PT
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True, True.. I don't fly fish myself but have a few friends that enjoy it. I think steelhead season just ended, but there's always a new season.
Ya you probably wanna head somewhere warmer to camp with the kids..
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Ljohnson
Social climber
The land of ice, snow and rocks
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Dec 28, 2014 - 04:48pm PT
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My first year of self taught fly fishing I didn't catch a single fish. It was fun, but in hindsight I did everything wrong and taught myself some really bad habits.
Get a guide. You want to find a trout stream, don't fish for steelhead or salmon which are the BC areas main fishing attractions (plus the runs are more summer/fall)
Trout fishing is kind of like local cragging, you can focus on the basics and have at least some success with a guide. Beginner fishing for steelhead is like starting on half dome. With a guide you can get it done, but if you are looking for a better learning curve trout are the way to go.
I know Whistler Fly Fishing has a pretty good rep and access to good water, but that's about all I know about the area.
Have fun, be patient and try and learn from the best. Fly fishing is all about taking a thousand small and easy things and putting them all together in the right way at the right time.
As far as winter fly fishing goes, it's actually a lot easier to catch fish. The fish are eating a very simple menu and have a lot less fishing pressure.
However, you do have access problems from ice and snow and you have to be able to dress properly for playing in the water in sub-freezing temps.
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Dec 28, 2014 - 04:59pm PT
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you have to be able to dress properly for playing in the water in sub-freezing temps.
He's saying "Wear Yer Rubbers".
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supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 28, 2014 - 05:27pm PT
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Beginner fishing for steelhead is like starting on half dome
ha! well put.
So trout it is then. I think I will head up to the Fraser River, there are a few campgrounds out there. Not sure I can fork out 300-400 for a guide at this point, I'll just have to get a book from the library and try and get the basics down with my $50 Canadian Tire fly fishing package :)
I don't think I'll catch anything but it's 90% about hanging out by the river anyway.
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supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 28, 2014 - 05:28pm PT
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I'm sure Perry Beckham has better things to do than teach noobs how to fly fish Tami :)
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Dec 28, 2014 - 06:55pm PT
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Perry's a nice guy. You might be surprised bro.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Dec 28, 2014 - 07:26pm PT
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One word: LEAVENWORTH!
Yer welcome. That way when you get frustrated you can go solo Black Widow, or Supercrack.
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supafly
Trad climber
vancouver, bc
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 29, 2014 - 08:35am PT
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Ya Leavenworth would be cool but getting over the pass with the trailer won't :)
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Dec 29, 2014 - 08:43am PT
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Uh, they have these things called snowplows. Or is yer problem horsepower related?
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maldaly
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Dec 29, 2014 - 08:48am PT
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supafly, here's all you need to know:
http://www.tenkara.com
It takes $200 for the full kit, 10 minutes to learn the knots, 10 minutes to learn the cast and 10 minutes to be in to your first fish.
And, like most things Japanese, perfection can never be attained.
Mal
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 29, 2014 - 10:37am PT
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Buy a rod with a warranty that allows for you to send it back pay a few bucks n get I back in reasonable time.
Best advise ever.... G-gome has spent the last three years teaching me how to fly fish.... he is as good or better than the Guides up round Mammoth.
I broke the tip on one of his rigs, fragile as an egg shell. When he told me "thats a $900.00 rod" I almost pooded my pants!!!!
But good thing he had the warranty, it cost me only $100.00 to get the carbon fiber thing fixed... good as new.
But I was not so lucky when I was tying on a fly while standing on a river rock... slipped and fell in with the box of dry fly's open.... about 80 of those hand made deals went in to the stream!!!!
Have fun and go for it, I have been fishing all my life... lake and stream with hooks and bait and lures.... but there is nothing quite like gettin a big lunker to come up and hit that fly with a vengeance.... now if I can get the hook it part.
Oh yea, be sure to release that sucker.... at least in the catch and release spots. (thats where you find good FF in California, at least)
have fun
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Dec 29, 2014 - 11:19am PT
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As a life-long fly fisherman, I have to say that I tend to agree with the issue of it being futile to try to learn in a week. Granted, you have the right attitude about this: Good fishing is getting out there, great fishing is when you catch something.
The thought of mastering casting, or even progressing to the point of not feeding all your line into brush, is hard to conceive. Mastering the knots, mastering matching the hatch (if any), mastering reading the water....
But that doesn't mean you can't have fun.
You can use a simple technique that actually works: tie whatever "bait" you want to use on 6 feet of monofilament tied to your casting line. Gather about 10 feet of line in your non-pole hand, then drop it while flipping the tip of your rod through about a foot of arc, aiming toward your preferred hole. This will allow you to get the "bait" out 20 or so feet. If you have slack line out of the reel so that it can run through, and hold the line with your pole-hand finger, and release as you extend the pole, you may be able to get out 30 feet. That's actually pretty good coverage.
And it's good practice for learning the "feel" of your rod, the weight of your line. And a sense of where your hook is in space. (don't hook yourself!).
Some people will just use a fly rod setup as a "dip" line, dropping the fly into likely spots, and letting it float down 20-30 feet.
It is not the drama of the full-on beautiful cast, which takes a long time to perfect (especially around brush), but can still be a lot of fun.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Dec 29, 2014 - 01:20pm PT
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prognosticate
Tami- that is a big word. Go sit in the car.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Dec 29, 2014 - 01:59pm PT
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As Ken M mentions, you can have a good-time fishing, without knowing all the proper technique. I grew up in central Idaho with a fly rod in hand, but it was all short sloppy casts and dipping for trout, usually with worms for bait. In high school I switched over to flies, but had no instruction & read no books on the “art of fly fishing.” I caught a lot of trout because there were a lot of dumb trout to be caught where I chose to fish. My fly of choice was usually a Renegade, which works well wet or dry as “bugy-looking” trout food.
Around age 28, a young climber friend & I engaged in a day long fishing contest. Even though he had decent gear and knew fly fishing technique, I soundly trounced him in the contest. He was indignant, since as he observed: “my technique sucked.” But I knew how to catch trout and where the trout would be.
Around age 35, I fell in with some very good fly fishers, learned technique, studied books on the subject, and started tying flies. I started fishing 70-90 times a year and I got pretty-good, but never truly expert on the subject. Fly fishing can be a very deep and complex subject, or you can just go have fun.
It does help to know where the fish are. However, I would never send a novice out to fly fish for steelhead. I did eventually burn-out on fishing as my major form of outdoor recreation. I think I fished 5 times this year, and I live a mile from a great trout stream.
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