1. Choice of equipment Rods, reels, fly lines, fly floatants, clothes, glasses and other useful items

Like most anglers, we love toys. We always want to try out the latest fly rods which boast the latest technological breakthroughs and fish-catching properties. I do appreciate quality equipment and, for me, it certainly adds to the enjoyment, the adventure, and the story. With that said, I also understand the importance of the right tool for the job, so it’s vital that, before we go buying the latest and greatest wands, we understand our fishing requirements.

For example, what fish will you be targeting? Small 6” wild trout, or giant tarpon? In what environment will you be fishing? Will you be crawling around tiny mountain streams, thick with overhead canopies which try to snag your fly on every cast? Or, will you be fishing in more open water, devoid of trees, snags or obstructions, but have brutal head/side-winds to contend with and the need to target feeding bonefish from a distance?

This article relates firmly to dry fly fishing; however, the above points are still valid. Small fish? Big fish? Tiny dry flies? Big bushy dry flies? Before you begin choosing the prettiest looking rod, it’s essential that you identify your requirements before parting with your hard-earned cash.

I’m a river fly fisherman from South Wales, and I’ve been fly fishing for almost thirty years. I love running water and fishing dry flies, and the wild brown trout of our Welsh rivers are (in my eyes) as beautiful as they come. Our brown trout are moody creatures and, the older I get, I find myself relating to them more and more.

Dry fly fishing is, without a doubt, my preferred and primary fishing method throughout the trout season, and more often than not, I can be found walking the bank looking for rising fish instead of fishing blind. It might not be the best method for catching hundreds of fish, but it’s the one I prefer. Like most of the points made in this article, it’s a personal thing.

Requirement-wise, let’s look at my two main fishing scenarios. Firstly, you will either find me on a) the small wild streams which riddle the Welsh landscape like veins, or b) the more expansive waters of the rivers Usk, Wye, and Taff. As such, I match my rods to these environments and to the fish I target in these waters. 

When fishing the aforementioned small streams, the fish usually average 6” but can push 12” if I get lucky. With sycamore, oak and alder lining and covering much of this environment, casts need to be precise, or I risk snagging the trees and, potentially, losing flies. The casts themselves never really need to be more than 15ft away, as most of the hard work is usually performed before a cast is even made (see stealth and approach later).

Thanks to modern fly line design, there is a line for almost every situation these days. There are several ‘small water’ lines which have a shorter, heavier head, and allow the rod to load much more effectively at close range and with much less line. Perfect for when you’re targetting a fish at such small distances. Thanks to such fly lines, I can now not only load the rod at shorter ranges, but with a faster-actioned rod, I can more efficiently increase my line speed which, in turn, allows me to cast more effective, tighter, and more wind resistant loops.

When fishing larger waters, I opt for a longer rod as line control is vital for enabling a longer drag-free drift in environments where there might be several conflicting currents between you and the fly.

A 9ft 4wt is my general workhorse, but there are stretches of home water where a 10ft rod wouldn’t feel out of place. Unlike my rod choice for fishing smaller waters, I enjoy a slightly slower, more intimate experience as I get to open my shoulders on the bigger waters. Casts can sometimes be longer; however, I like targetting rising trout with dry flies, so presentation is more important than the need to whack the entire length of line to the far bank. Completely inefficient, hard work, and controlling that amount of line on the water (let alone lifting enough of it from the water to strike effectively) would equate to a lot of lost fish.

It’s hard to find a lousy rod blank these days. Okay, the cosmetics might be a little lower in quality when compared to higher-end rods, but the developments in general rod blank design over the past ten years has been amazing to witness. Because of this, and because rods are pretty good in even the lowest of prices ranges these days, if I had to focus my money in a specific area, it would be on the choice of fly line. The line is what loads the rod and is the most crucial piece of the puzzle.

So, you could assume that I only own two rods. You could, but you’d be wrong. I guess I suffer a little with the ‘new toy’ mentality after all! I do, however, only really use two rods throughout the trout season - a Sage Dart 7.5ft 2wt (276-3) paired with a Rio Creek 2wt WF fly line, and a Sage Trout LL 9ft 4wt (490-4) paired with a Rio Technical Trout 4wt WF fly line.

Regarding reels, I’ve never been a reel guy. Too much bling for me and, for the fishing I do, it’s rare that they ever become more than fly line holders. I like to keep reels simple, preferring simple click and pawl models which, in turn, helps to keep the weight down.

Outside of the rod/reel/line choices, there are a few items I’d never want to leave home without. I always carry a floatant for treating dry flies prior to fishing (I’ve been a longtime lover of Loon’s Aquel as it doesn’t freeze-up during the colder months) and a desiccant powder for drying the flies once they’ve become water-logged (hopefully due to a fish). Add forceps and nippers to the mix, a good pair of polarised sunglasses, a small bar-style towel, a thermometer and, optionally, a small pair of binoculars (I’ll explain the last item a little later).

Finally, a point regarding clothing: during the trout season I opt for drab olive colours. If I’m crawling around small streams targetting wild brown trout, my goal is to blend into my surroundings as much as possible. I follow the same principles when fishing larger rivers for trout, however, during the winter months when I fish for grayling, I’ve seen guys catch fish after fish wearing fluorescent jackets. Grayling certainly don’t get too picky.

2. Leader material, build-up, length and knots

My mantra has always been to ‘keep things simple’. Life can be hectic and busy enough, so I try to ensure that my fishing life is as simple as possible, so that I can enjoy it to its fullest. Back when I guided professionally, I tried to impart the very same vision to my clients. Don’t overthink it and keep things simple.

Leader make-up and design, brand choice, and knots are all very personal things, and there are a million and one opinions. Sad as it may sound, I love sitting in a pub, enjoying a beer, discussing leader make-ups. The amount of information you’re able to pick up from these chats allows you to improve your leader make-up further.

Again, and in order to attempt to keep things simple, I have two leader make-ups for my two scenarios:

1. Small streams - I use a Rio Powerflex 9ft 6X tapered leader, and I trim approximately 2ft off the butt-end. Add your fly to the end, and fish. Easy. When the leader inevitably becomes shorter due to fly changes, I add a tippet ring via Improved Clinch Knot to the thinner end and add 2ft of 6X tippet via Improved Clinch Knot. That’s it. The leader is connected to the fly line via a loop-to-loop connection (welded loop on the fly line and a Perfection Loop on the butt of the leader). This setup has served me well for more than twenty years.

2. Larger rivers - I use a Rio Powerflex 12ft 4X tapered leader, a tippet ring to the thin end via Improved Clinch Knot, and a minimum of 2ft of 6X tippet via Improved Clinch Knot. Where I’m targetting fish with small dry flies/emergers (sub-size #20), I might drop down to 7X, and this is where rods with softer tips are critical and ensure.

3. Approach and stealth

In my eyes, this is, without a doubt, the most crucial aspect of fly fishing. With more emphasis seemingly placed on the latest killer fly patterns these days, approach and stealth often get overlooked. At the end of the day, if you spook your target before you’re even able to make your first cast, then stop, slow down, and let’s think about what’s happening.

The trout is one of the most naturally spooky animals on the planet, and their lives have depended on this instinct since before the last ice age. So good is their level of ‘discovery prevention’ in fact, that trout haven’t needed to evolve much during this time. You might say, the trout is the pinnacle of ‘easily spooked’.

When approaching a section of water, I will always try to inspect it from a distance first, behind cover and, where needed, using a pair of binoculars. As you get closer to the water, a trout will be able to feel any vibrations from heavy footfalls. They will notice any sharp movements in foliage or silhouettes, and they will undoubtedly be able to hear you and your fishing buddy discussing the events from your previous week as you shout to each other from up and down the river. As you watch a feeding fish suddenly stop without any disturbance on the water, be under no illusion - you just spooked that fish.

As mentioned, I am an out and out dry fly fisherman. I love it. I love casting dry flies and tricking a feeding wild trout into taking my imitation. So why would I want to mess up all the hard work, the expense of fly rods, reels and lines, the countless hours of casting practice, by being noisy? Fly fishing (and especially dry fly fishing) should be about calm and stillness. There is no need to rush. Watch in silence.

If you have spotted a feeding fish, your approach should be made as slowly and as low as possible. If you don’t have to wade, don’t wade. Simple. If you have to wade, try and enter the water as quietly as possible, utilise broken water to hide your entry and footsteps and keep low. 

When fishing small streams, I always wear a pair of brush-cutter style knee/shinpads. They allow me to stay as low as possible and have been the only reason I’ve been able to catch certain fish over the years.

Again, stealth (in my eyes) is THE most critical skill a fly angler can look to develop next to casting, but more on the latter a little later.

Wade like your burgling a house and position yourself accordingly. Lastly, remember, enjoy the silence.

For further reading, I can wholeheartedly recommend the below books:

• Trout Sense, Jason Randall

• The Trout and the Fly, Clarke and Goddard

• Understanding Trout Behavior, Clark and Goddard

• Trout and Flies - Getting Closer, Peter Hayes, Don Stazicker

4. Reading the water

Much like stealth and approach, understanding trout and their habitat is another critical skill that every angler should work to develop, even if it’s just the basics. Fishing isn’t just about sexy loops and big fish. As anglers, we need to be able to identify the areas where fish may hold-up and, more importantly, why they choose such areas.

Suppose you turn up to a pool and see rising fish. Perfect. Instead of jumping in and casting to each rise, use these moments to sit back and make a few notes. We all have mobile phones, so take it out, take a photo of the pool for future reference if you like, and take a few notes specifying what you see:

• Is the pool calm and slow?

• Is it running faster, with more broken water?

• Are the rises in or near any ‘seams’ of water (where faster water meets slower water)?

• Are the rises in or near a feeding lane (the area of water dotted with white flecks)?

• Are the rises in or near any obstructions, rocks, large woody debris, branches, etc.?

• Are the rises in or near any drop-offs, darker/deeper water?

• Are the rises out in the open, or are they in or near that overhanging branch?

How many times have we visited the same pool the next day/week/month, and it’s been entirely different? Perhaps there are zero rises. I’ll make a bet with you that the fish are still there, and if you’ve taken your notes (or have an excellent memory), you now know where they might be located. You’ll then be able to sit and watch (possibly with your binoculars) and wait for a rise. Failing that, you can target the locations in the above list ith a bushier, attractor-style dry fly.

I’ve given you a few tips regarding where a trout might be located in the above list, and in fact, trout love obstructions. Larger rocks, for example, create pockets of slower water which fish can utilise to expend far less energy, and they also offer security from those predators further up the food chain. Such places are often in front, to the side, and certainly behind obstructions. Likewise, shaded areas and overhanging branches will also offer security, whereas, feeding lanes are labelled such for just that reason; they trap food and become conveyer belts of hors d’oeuvres.

If you find areas boasting all such elements (even if they’re the size of a car bonnet/hood), you might want to watch for a few minutes.

For further reading, I can wholeheartedly recommend the below books:

• Reading Trout Water, Dave Hughes

• Trout and Flies - Getting Closer, Peter Hayes, Don Stazicker

5. Casting ability; which casts are essential

I mentioned earlier that if you spook your target before you even make your first cast, then stop, slow down, and let’s think about what’s happening. Once you’ve gotten yourself into position, don’t rush. I will often sit and wait for the trout to rise again, at least twice, before I make a cast. 

When it comes to making a cast, we need to present our imitations gently, with as little disturbance as possible, and allow them to drift naturally (i.e., without drag). Of course, this topic has resulted in countless books on the subject, so I’ll be quick, and will attempt to continue with my theme of keeping things simple.

Firstly, we all understand that visible rises usually take place downstream of a fish’s holding position, right? As such, the location of the rise itself will never be the position of a holding trout. The fish will identify potential food candidates from below and at a distance from the oncoming items. At this point, the fish will decide whether to position itself, rise, and eat said potential food candidate downstream of its lie.

The distance a fish will move for a potential food item will also depend on the type of water it is holding in. For example, if the fish is holding in slacker, slower water, it might opt to move a great distance, inspecting the candidate as it goes (more so if this water is heavily fished). If the fish is holding in, under, or to the side of faster, more broken water, it might have to employ shorter, sharper, smash and grab techniques to take the item.

As they are always facing into the oncoming current waiting for approaching food, I will always approach from downstream.

Again, in keeping things simple, I try to get as close to the fish as possible, but without spooking it. There is a fine line. My goal here is to simplify the casting element - the shorter the cast, the more efficient my striking action will be, and the more I will be able to reduce the number of conflicting currents which could affect my line and, consequently, the drift of my fly.

When casting I will, more often than not (and depending on the water), introduce some form of aerial mend. For example, when fishing slower, calmer water with little in the way of conflicting currents, I may opt to fish up and across and will add an upstream reach mend into my cast (i.e., Reach Cast) before the fly lands. This cast is one of my favourites for simplicity, as it helps to increase our drifts before drag is able to set in, as well as helping to keep the fly line, leader, and tippet away from the trout’s window of vision.

Where I have to cast across complex/multiple currents, a Wiggle Cast can be employed, essentially adding slack to the entire line. It is this slack line which is moved by the current before the current is able to affect the drift of the fly.

Lastly, let’s talk about the roll cast. On small wild streams, this can be a get out of jail card as a presentation cast in its own right; however, I often employ this as a ‘lifting off’ technique.

In the ten years of guiding, I often worked with my clients to reduce their fly line’s disturbance on the water. Much of this disturbance was created by lifting the line from the water too quickly before the next cast. The line, if torn from the water quickly, will make a disturbance, can drown your dry flies, and will undoubtedly spook fish. Instead of simply lifting your line from the water in a stripping fashion, a smooth roll cast will silently roll the fly line off the water. From here you can go straight into an overhead cast, changing direction between false casts if you wish, before eventually presenting your fly once more.

This is one of my primary casting techniques. It isn’t to present the fly (not always, anyway) but is to calmly and quietly remove the fly from the surface at the end of each drift.

So, to keep things simple, I will leave you with those two casts (the Reach Cast and Wiggle Cast), but also remember the other ‘real-world’ example of how we might utilise the Roll Cast.

For further reading/watching, I can wholeheartedly recommend the DVD, Casts that Catch Fish, as Carl McNeil details slack-line casts superbly, and much better than I’m able to within this article.

6. Entomology; what we should know?

I won’t ever call myself an entomologist; I don’t have the capacity to remember the myriad of Latin names, orders, species, sub-species, etc. I’ll leave that up to those who know better, of which I sometimes rely on for recognition and identification when I get stuck. That said, I am as mesmerised by these tiny invertebrates as I am by trout. Well, almost.

There is a plethora of books and readily available online information, so I’ll quite often take photos of invertebrates for identification at home if I’m not sure when I’m out on the water.

That said, and rather than focussing on specific species, I try to keep things simple by identifying the size and the invertebrate family - upwings (Ephemeroptera), caddis (Trichoptera), true flies and midge (Diptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), or terrestrials. This will become important when we discuss fly selection a little later.

I understand as much that upwings enjoy highly oxygenated water, so hatches can take place below these riffley areas. In silted areas, burrowers such as Mayfly/Danica will opt to live, whereas specific families of caddis can emerge waterborne with other sub-species opting to crawl up onto surrounding vegetation/stones.

Use your surroundings to identify what invertebrates are present. Turn a few rocks to determine what nymphs are present; look under the leaves on nearby trees for resting duns as they wait to emerge into their spinner form later that evening or the next morning; check any bankside rocks or blades of grass for caddis or stonefly shucks, or look up to check for spinners waiting to drop. Feeding birds are also another key indicator. 

The evidence of invertebrate life is everywhere; you just need to know where to look. Learning is the fun part.

For further reading, I can wholeheartedly recommend the below books:

• Matching the Hatch, Pay O’Reilly

7. Rise forms. Can they tell us something?

Absolutely they can and, unlike the broader world of entomology, understanding rise forms is an area I work hard to understand more with each visit to the river.

Violent splashy rises can sometimes tell us that a fish is immature, whilst at the same time, it could be a fish trying to drown a bigger invertebrate. I’ve been in situations where I’ve not quite spooked a fish, but she certainly knows I’m there, so rises become more desperate, splashy affairs.

Small movements of water, those bulges which don’t quite equate to a substantial rise, could be viewed as trout taking emerging invertebrates sub-surface.

Again, rise forms have been studied by greater minds than I, but if you take a few extra minutes to review these rise forms, you will be able to identify whether a fish is feeding sub-surface or taking naturals above the surface film. This will dictate your fly pattern choice. 

For further reading, I can wholeheartedly recommend the below books:

• In the Ring of the Rise, Vince Marinaro

• The Trout and the Fly, Clarke and Goddard

• Understanding Trout Behavior, Clark and Goddard

• Trout and Flies - Getting Closer, Peter Hayes, Don Stazicker

8. Fly selection; size; shape; materials; essential flies; favourite fly

Okay, so if you know me, you know I’m as addicted to fly tying as I am fishing. It allows me to tweak patterns after each visit to the river, and when I’m prevented from fishing or washed-off, I can reconnect to the fishing world by tying a few flies. That said, and in reality, I only tend to use a handful of patterns, just in different sizes.

More a fan of silhouette over colour, I utilise imitations which approximate the size and shape of the naturals. 

I’m also a big fan of rooster hackles and CDC. Both are superb for adding buoyancy to our flies in their own ways; paraduns, Klinkhamers, or hackled caddis patterns are superb for faster, more broken waters such as small streams or pocket water, whereas, CDC is perfect for calmer water, giving our artificials a little more subtle, more realistic feel.

Suppose I were to choose a handful of patterns. In that case, I’d opt for a paradun (colour unimportant) in sizes #16-#24 to cover any surface-trapped duns or spinners. CDC emergers such as shuttlecocks in sizes #16-#24 with a squirrel thorax for a buggy, messy emerger profile will work for both emerging ephemera or midge, and Klinkhamers (big ones) in sizes #8-#12, will work well for the opportunistic wild trout on small mountain streams.

And my favourite fly? That’s a real tough one, but my love for chicken hackle keeps pulling me back to paraduns. With a small collection of paraduns in different sizes, I’d be confident in fishing a wide variety of waters.

And, ladies and gents, we reach our final imitation consideration - confidence. Fish what you’re confident fishing, and have fun.

9. Presentation and drifts

As mentioned earlier when discussing casting, a lot of presentation and drift work comes from a) the position I purposefully put myself in, and b) the cast I choose to give me the most drag-free presentation.

10. Upstream or downstream?

I will always approach rising fish from downstream, and why wouldn’t I? As we discussed earlier, trout will always face the oncoming current, whether that be in a traditional looking run, or a back eddy facing downstream. As such, my casts are usually made from below too, as I attempt to stay out of the trout’s field of vision.

There are occasions, however, where an approach from upstream can be advantageous, or merely the only way you’re going to invoke a rise. Try as I might, over the years I’ve cast at a few rising fish from below to no result: different casts, different positions, different flies. No result, but the fish continues to rise. Why?

I discussed this once with one of my early mentors and, as ever, his experience helped me understand what might be happening. ‘Was it a windy day?’ he asked. ‘Funnily enough, yes’, I answered, ‘there was an upstream wind’. ‘Could it be, then, that the naturals were affected by this and were being forced to face upstream?’

On my next occasion in this very same situation I, again, tried casting from below but hit the same problem. Remembering our discussion, I crept upstream, made a downstream pile cast, and the fish took on the first drift. Thanks, Mark.

11. Fighting fish

After all that hard work, locating a rising fish, creeping and crawling into position, and making a cast that ensures a maximum amount of drag-free and natural drift, you’ve invoked a rise, hooked the fish, and now the most nerve-wracking moment hits—the fight.

I’m an advocate of not messing around. Get the fish in as quickly and as safely as possible. The rods mentioned in an earlier section enable me to bully where necessary; however, if there’s one thing I’ve learned during my time fishing - some fish demand that you move. Don’t stay put when you can make the fight easier by running. Literally. I’ve found myself in a few situations where I’ve needed to think ‘if a fish takes my fly, where is she (and I) going to run?’

Again, an emphasis must also be placed on fish welfare. With the utilisation of side-strain, fighting the fish horizontally rather than vertically with a high rod-tip will guide the fish to you, rather than trying to drag it in. Such side-strain will also help when attempting to guide fish away from obstructions, roots, etc.

A lot of rods these days boast slightly softer tips which help prevent light tippets from snapping; however, the rod must have enough backbone to fight the fish appropriately.

Trout are amazing creatures, so once the fish is in the net, give it the respect it deserves and let it recover. Keep it wet; there’s no need to lift it for a grip and grin. They always look more beautiful when wet anyway. It goes without saying, trout don’t live on rocks or grass, so there’s no need to take a picture of them lying on such.

Finally, fly dry fly fishing is amazing. It brings so much enjoyment (and addition), but don’t overthink it. Keep things simple and enjoy your time on the water.

All who cast to rising trout are rich beyond measure. For a moment, at least