Do you have a floating line on your reel? I expect you do.
I have not fished there, but I would say the same for any new fly fisherman anywhere.
Get a few Royal Coachman. It is an attractor fly, not meant to imitate any bug at all. They float high and are easy to watch. Dry [that is, floating] are more fun to work with. Wet flys and nymphs [sinking] often catch more fish and will work fine with a floating line and a leader.
Get a mix of flys like this one.
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=76TK&dir_id=758
Orvis and others sell combos like this cheap, to get you hooked. I am sure you could copy this a lot of places.
Get a few tapered leaders. You will wreck some. I like the ones with a pre-tied loop at one end. Don't worry about trying to work with ultra-long, ultra-fine stuff like the experts. It will be a while until you are ready.
Take one fly and cut the hook away at the bend. This is so you do not hook yourself practicing. Put some foatant goop on it. Find a local pond. Or pool, or whatever. If you have a local duck pond with clear banks, that is perfect. Practice short casts without stirring up the water too much. Wear glasses to protect your eyes. The first time I tried this, I did not cut the hook. I keep snagging the hook on my shoulder. Put a bunch of holes in a wool shirt.
jej
I have not fished there, but I would say the same for any new fly fisherman anywhere.
Get a few Royal Coachman. It is an attractor fly, not meant to imitate any bug at all. They float high and are easy to watch. Dry [that is, floating] are more fun to work with. Wet flys and nymphs [sinking] often catch more fish and will work fine with a floating line and a leader.
Get a mix of flys like this one.
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=76TK&dir_id=758
Orvis and others sell combos like this cheap, to get you hooked. I am sure you could copy this a lot of places.
Get a few tapered leaders. You will wreck some. I like the ones with a pre-tied loop at one end. Don't worry about trying to work with ultra-long, ultra-fine stuff like the experts. It will be a while until you are ready.
Take one fly and cut the hook away at the bend. This is so you do not hook yourself practicing. Put some foatant goop on it. Find a local pond. Or pool, or whatever. If you have a local duck pond with clear banks, that is perfect. Practice short casts without stirring up the water too much. Wear glasses to protect your eyes. The first time I tried this, I did not cut the hook. I keep snagging the hook on my shoulder. Put a bunch of holes in a wool shirt.
jej
Don't be reluctant to go after bluegill and bass with your flyrod. Lots of fun to be had locally without going after those slimy trout. Just kidding, but a two pound bass on a popping bug is more fun than a hog killing (and scalding and scraping, etc.)
The flyrod is also a great tool for hunting crappie. Put a bare crappie hook on the leader, hook on a minnow (or a crappie jig), let it find its own level and wait for the crappie to find it. You can cover a lot of water this way, and find the depth where they want to eat.
The flyrod is also a great tool for hunting crappie. Put a bare crappie hook on the leader, hook on a minnow (or a crappie jig), let it find its own level and wait for the crappie to find it. You can cover a lot of water this way, and find the depth where they want to eat.
I'm not saying dries won't work on the Lower Illinois but have caught most of my fish sub-surface there. Get some strike indicators and nymphs. Start reading and looking at videos on fly fishing. You tube has some good stuff. If you know someone who fly fishes have them take you, it can be a great help. I haven't had the time to go much lately but learned on my own. It will be tough at first but once you catch a fish you'll be hooked for life. That is the case with me.
I do have a friend that fly fishes and I plan on him going with me. He agreed that I should try some local places for bluegill, crappie, etc. His experience with fly fishing is up in Washington state and he has never fished the lower illinois. I figured that some local guys could steer me in the right direction for the right flies to buy for the oklahoma area. I also have been watching videos and have even started working on my casting. I think I will pick it up fairly quickly and I figure that this is just another way to enjoy the great outdoors (IF IT WOULD EVER COOL OFF)
since this was brought up what would be a couple good flies to pick up for bluegill?
since this was brought up what would be a couple good flies to pick up for bluegill?
I don't know if they still do, but TCC use to have a Fly fishing class. I took it and learned a lot. Then I hooked up with a coworker who has fly fished for 30yrs and learned even more.
Most important, practice casting out in the yard. Don't wait till you get there. I found that getting the first 15yd cast wasn't too difficult. Getting the next 15 took forever to master. And I totally agree with the pan fishing. In fact I used a fly rod for 3yrs for all my fishing. Didn't use any other rod and fished for everything, including catfish.
Most important, practice casting out in the yard. Don't wait till you get there. I found that getting the first 15yd cast wasn't too difficult. Getting the next 15 took forever to master. And I totally agree with the pan fishing. In fact I used a fly rod for 3yrs for all my fishing. Didn't use any other rod and fished for everything, including catfish.
i flyfish lower ill quite often and here is what we have found works well for catching a lot of fish
dry flies dont as well as nymphs but are still fun.... here some to try
prince nymph.... my go 2 fly
scuds
sow bug (rolly polly)
midges... zebra works good
get some light tip-it (2 lb) and some strike indicators and run it a foot or so deep. dont worry about long casts just find a pool thats holding fish and make short drift through it and u will catch more trout than u can count
dry flies dont as well as nymphs but are still fun.... here some to try
prince nymph.... my go 2 fly
scuds
sow bug (rolly polly)
midges... zebra works good
get some light tip-it (2 lb) and some strike indicators and run it a foot or so deep. dont worry about long casts just find a pool thats holding fish and make short drift through it and u will catch more trout than u can count
Google, rise forms. This will help you understand a little better what the fish are up to and what type of flies to use. I've had one day on the L.I.R. where I caught about 20 fish on a dry fly. It was early in the morning and I saw fish heads popping straight up. Most of the time it's, "backs" or "humps", which means use emerger type flies. I was using a march brown size 12 dry fly that day. Only worked in that particular hole for awhile and had to switch flies when moving to other places.
OMG! your at the same level I'm at!
Dennis
That was 30+ years ago.
Funny part was that it was getting ready for my first fly-only trip, having fished for trout with spinning gear forever. Anyway, I made it up to a famous, heavily fished trout stream in the eastern Sierra, Hot Creek. The public section is really hard to fish. Very clear water, lots of weeds, lots of fishing pressure. Experts fish this using the longest, lightest leaders you have ever see. My third cast was perfect, hitting an 18" square of open water surrounded by weeds. I caught a 20" brown trout. Its still the best I have ever done with a fly rod. It was cool doing this with dime store equipment, with all these fanatics watching.
jej
Similar threads
