total newb busting into the fly fishing scene.

[Eric_Kruger]

Ive spent years chasing trophy panfish, hit a few ten and 3/4 inch gills, and some really nice almost 15" crappies, came close tot he 30 mark on walleyes...I crave something new. I picked up a 9' 4wt loomis GLX custom for a reasonable price, I have a 4/5 sized ross to put on it, but Other than that I have no idea what im doing. Looking for any tips for a panfish/trout setup as far as line, tippet, and fly suggestions. anything technique related...etc.

The wife agreed to sign up for the Orvis fishing 101 2 day course in vermont next spring tonight, so I plan to learn as much as I can over the winter while ice fishing, then go out there for the course. I would also like to catch some walleyes on the fly, I think that would be a great feat, and something not most do!

Anyway, enough rambling, thanks for the help!

[mainbutter]

I'll chime in on panfish:

It's SUPER basic, your line/tackle/flies are very much non-specific and quite a lot all works very well.

Line: weight forward floating. Any 4wt line will work wonderfully, I have something cheap on my 4wt that came free with my reel.

Leader/tippet: I used google to pick something based on throwing #14-#6 hook size flies. I forget what I have to be honest. Sometimes I substitute 4lb mono for tippet.

Flies: nymphs, sreamers, nymph, and more streamers. Also poppers in summer when the water is warmer, you'll WATCH big 'gills rise to your poppers. If it looks leggy, buggy, furry, wiggle, or like a small minnow, it'll work for sunfish and crappies. My junkiest home-tied failures are my best bluegill flies. My favorite crappie fly is a white woolly bugger (or similar profile streamer) small enough for my 4wt to cast.

[ted4887]

Like MB said, it's panfishing is pretty easy. I've had days on Tetonka that are just outrageous for both size and numbers.

Get yourself a 4WFF line, and you'll be good. You don't need to spend $80 for a panfish line. I would avoid Cabelas lines as they can be really hit or miss (usually miss in my experience). Check for sales on Rio or Scientific Angler lines.

Leader: 4' of 10 or 12' stiff mono to 2-3' of 4lb mono will do just fine. Panfish really don't require the smaller 5x or 6x tippets.

Flies: Get yourself some orange scuds, some pheasant tails, and some small poppers in yellow, chartreuse, and white. Small (size 10 or 12 wolly buggers in black and white can be great too. White buggers especially for crappie.

I fish poppers as soon as the fish move into the shallows in the spring. I used to spend days out at Tetonka, jeff, and Madison catching a ton of gills in the spring and summer.

Once you get some technique down, look at getting yourself a 7 or 8 wt rod to chase bass and walleye with. Clousers or bigger (size 4 or 6) wooly buggers in white and black are great.

[Slabasaurus]

Fly fishin for bluegills off the dock is one of my favorite things to do up at the cabin, especially as I drink my coffee in the mornin.

Line/Leader/Tippet's been covered, I don't have much to add there, other than to just say that I'll typically use 4-6 pound mono or flurocarbon for my tippet, depending on what I happen to have laying around at the time.

For bluegill I'll tie a small panfish popper on, and typically tie a weighted pheasant tail nymph as a dropper 1-2 feet below the popper. The popper will get hits, but also acts as a strike indicator. Other nymph flies work as well (x-legs, hares ear, prince nymph, pink squirrel... etc etc)

Towards the evening I'll stick more with the surface flies, especially in mid-summer. This is when having some poppers as well as some larger dry flies can help (stimulators have worked well for me). Over the past few years I've caught quite a few crappies on this kind of setup.

Small buggers work well, as was mentioned... size 8-12 in various colors (white, black, olive for sure). Other small streamers can be effective too... bunny leeches are always good to have around.

For walleyes, I've caught them on clouser minnows, meat whistles, and found some that actually went for pheasant tail nymphs (that was luck, i was fishin for bluegills).

[OnAFly]

For flies, I go with anything buggy with a soft hackle collar. I use a strike indicator (thingamabobber) unless I get fish hitting the strike indicator, then I use a popper or hopper as covered previously.

For a leader, I just use whatever I have laying around. Usually a trout leader or something. 4X or 5X is what I use just because I haven't had a reason to use lighter. I do use 6 or 8lb FC leader material.

If you want walleye, go in the spring to a river. Find a fishy current seam. Drift any minnow fly through the seam. You'll catch one eventually. Beyond that, I'm not sure a fly rod is really a good tool to catch them.

[redneckdan]

At dark i have had some luck with walleye coming up on shallow flats to chase baitfish. Also if you can find a mud flat with a good population of fish fly nymphs the walleye will start cruising at dusk during a hatch to gobble up the swimmers.

[Ufatz]

Eric, if you and the wife are committed to traveling to the Orvis school and want to make a vacation of it that's fine, but I must tell you that you do not need an Orvis "school" to learn how to catch panfish or how to use a flyrod. Not knocking the boys and girls at the school (I have known some of them from time to time) but you can pick up the basics right here and then check around for a trout or fly fishing club near where you live.

I've taught a few thousand people the basics and let me assure you there are those who go out of their way to make "fly fishing" as deep and dark a mystery as possible. Maybe they do that to discourage others from going to THEIR stream! Ha Ha! In ten minutes you can learn to cast a fly line with a broom handle. Another ten you can learn a couple basic knots. Two minutes to learn how to debarb hooks. Then it's off to the lillypads for some fun.

The moral of all this: don't over complicate a basic and peaceful sport. Oh!.....and leave the ear buds in your truck! LOL

[Eric_Kruger]

We are planning on making a vacation out of it, we're not committed to the Vermont location yet either, it just sounds like fun more than anything, I was out in the yard casting my set up today and can hit a paper plate at 30 yards so I'm not too worried! Thanks for all the help, I've been looking for something new to give me the " drive" back that I was missing after a long summer of being laid up, and this is it!

[Ufatz]

Fine. Accuracy with a fly rod is something many people never really master. Alas, many people think that using the flyrod is all they need to know to fish successfully with flies. The sport of fly fishing is much more than moving a flyling to and fro.

Oh, one more observation: I notice you speak of "busting into the fly fishing scene..."

No need to bust in. Just take your time and stroll in and most folks will welcome you. LOL