Is Fly Fishing for Me? - By Matt Zudweg

Have you always wanted to learn fly fishing but didn’t know where to begin? I hear it from people all the time when they find out I’m a fly fishing guide. It goes something like “I’ve always wanted to try that, but it looks so hard.”

I’ll admit, fly fishing isn’t an easy sport to take up… if you try doing it on your own that is. If you’re serious about giving fly fishing a try, the best investment you can make before buying any equipment is to get some instruction from a seasoned professional. A few hours of on stream instruction before spending your hard earned money on costly rods, reels, lines, flies, etc. will most likely save you from wasting money on the wrong gear and learning improper casting techniques, which could actually make fishing more frustrating than fun.

Learning proper casting form in the beginning is essential to your ability to catch fish with a fly rod and with proper form, casting in itself is very enjoyable. On the flipside, if you learn improper form, casting can be nothing but frustrating. Tangled leaders & poor casting distance are just a few of the problems associated with poor form. Once learned, bad casting habits can be hard to break.

Fly fishing is a wonderful sport that can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. It can be enjoyed by both men and women, young and old. Maybe one of the best things about fly fishing is that you can spend a lifetime pursuing it, and still never be a know-it-all.

There are also countless different species of game fish that can be caught with a fly rod. The most common being trout, but everything from bluegills to sharks are being sought by fly anglers. Michigan is an anglers paradise with countless lakes and streams that hold dozens of different fish species that are readily available to a properly presented fly. Bluegill, bass, pike, trout, salmon and steelhead are just a few that can be caught using a fly. And just about anyone who has caught a fish on a fly rod will tell you, it’s a more rewarding sense of accomplishment than by other fishing methods.

Fly fishing can keep you content on a single lake or stream for many years getting to know the habits and hiding places of the fish or it can take you around the world to beautiful places discovering all kinds of fishing opportunities. It can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you choose to make it. When I was younger, I didn’t have much money, but I was still able to enjoy endless fishing opportunities. As funds became more available I was able to buy nicer equipment and even a boat or two which opened doors to further fishing adventures. It’s a sport that can be enjoyed a couple times a year or it can be an all out addiction… I’m much closer to the latter.

In short, to the outsider, fly fishing can seem intimidating, but in reality, every expert fly fisher was once a beginner. The shortest distance from beginner to expert is get off to the right start with professional instruction. If fly fishing is something you’d like to try, don’t put it off because you don’t know where to begin, hire a guide to help you get started in the right direction.

Matt Zudweg is a licensed guide on Michigan’s Muskegon River and offers instructional floats for beginners and guide trips for intermediate-advanced fly anglers. Visit his website at www.trout-guide.com or call 231-206-7660.