"What flies do I pick?" bullshit reposted coz I'm lazy like that.

A paraphrased streamside discussion over one lunch break:

"I just have one question for you..."
"What's that," I responded far less irritated than I would for most newbies.
"What flies do you use...?"

I told him to come here and hunt up the old post I made about beginner flies.

I'm just making this lame-ass self-reblogging to bump it up top for the year, and because I can. Mostly because I can. Suck it, its my blog and you can make your own if you don't like it.

If you're desperate for more insect knowledge, grab a copy of Charlie Meck's "Pocketguide to Pennsylvania Hatches" or whatever its called. Its small, and its handy and you'll soon reach a point where you too can say, "its brownish, and its about this big...so, this fly'll do." Or you'll speak Latin at other assholes who need more useful things to occupy their minds. Whatever.

Tying. You can't afford endangered shit unless you want to buy endangered shit.

Single step, thousand miles, all zen and shit.

Tie flies. Save money. Loose alot,  all that.

You ask around, and everyone tells you to buy the tools, exert financial discipline, and only what you need. A select few tell tales of woe, and others go cheap.

They're all right.

You can get going as cheap as you want tying flies, or you can go crazy. I went the latter, and it was all pointless, but fun. Really you only need a few basic tools, then the materials for the flies you want. Or, go crazy. Or, jump start, buy a crappy kit and then go back and spend too much the next month or two, anyways.

Knotted, tapered leaders. An excercise in minuetae.

Amazingly, not all from Stackpole.

When I first started, I used the extruded mono leaders. I mostly made a mess of things, and didn't have a clue. Someone, somewhere, talked about furled leaders and I bought a Blue Sky furled leader.

It was awesome. I was sold. I rocked the piss out of those for quite some time, last year learning how to handfurl my own in a much simpler method. Someday I'll explain that.

However, I wanted to perfect them, and to perfect them I wanted to understand leader design better. To do that, you have to delve into the world of hand tied leaders.

So, after a trip to the store, I was ready to start.

Hatches, matches, and the introduction of the LVLS Book Club.

Flies, yes. Fish, no.

So, there's life in the air, and maybe something on the water, but now that you've got a box full of stupid little hooks bedazzled in the most expensive feathers you could buy, what the hell do you do now?

If you read a book or hang out like one of the wallflowers in the fly shop, you know that Serious Flyfishers seem to experience glossolalia at these sort of junctures. They stand around, speaking in tongues, and getting quite animated over intricacies that most people shouldn't give a shit about. Why not? Because it doesn't have to be that hard.

The phrase match the hatch is, in my not so humble opinion, one of the most trite and over used in our sport. Its valid, sure, and its helpful, but its such a stumbling block that people think having a degree in entomology is an important part of this sport.

Its not. Just having a pair of working eyes and a few neurons that still fire is.

Seriously.

Beginning fly fishing, buying the fiddly bits.

You've got the combo. Everyone starts with a combo. Well, lots of people. Some people go to the fly shop and do it by just waving a hand and letting the sales person get on with the salesing. Not an option for everyone, certainly not if you're a budget kind of guy. That guy can skip this post. That guy probably never would've put the words in the google to get here to read this post, either.

So, you got the combo from the box store, or as a gift from someone who thought you'd like it. Remember this moment, because when you're eyeball deep in jungle cock someday, you'll want to recall this time when you were naieve and innocent and didn't wonder if you needed to re-buy all your equipment because you bought the silver finish instead of the titanium.

Because, yeah, the combo while exceedingly important, that's only the first part.  Your typical fisherman with a vest packed solid with gear, this is not an accident, dude, that's by purpose.

Didn't say it was neccessary, though. You'd be surprised how little is neccessary.

Yarn style indicators.

Bobber-style indicators, such as the Thingamabobber, are nice but can be expensive. Yarn indicators are quick and easy to make durable, land softer and can be almost as buoyant.

Simply wrapping poly yarn with thread can be done in under a minute to yield a simple, and effective, indicator. Best off, they're free and can be customized in any colour you want, and are painfully simple to make.

The simplistic version can be tied in only a few minutes, with any form of yarn and thread.

Free fly tying lessons.

This could be you!

For our local Lehigh Valley fly fishing residents, the local LL Bean store in the Promenade Mall (Center Valley) offers a free 26 week tying course.

Its good stuff, you're responsible for tools but all materials (save thread) will be provided. You'll be taken from a simple San Juan worm on day 1 to a very ornate woven stonefly nymph on the last day, as well as making some friends and maybe some fishing partners. I also can promise you that you will end up with a box of very fishable flies, and the ability to understand what you're doing, versus some abortive messes you'll come up with looking at the stupid book that came with your kit (what, me?).

Unacceptable weather, also fly selection for dummies.

• Your made in china label is showing.

Isn't it amazing, just a week ago I was singing the praises of spring, only to be given snow this week? Not that I was able to enjoy any of it, what with having to work late each night last week, and not being able to call off like the rest of the free world and feign illness (with doctors notes if you're in WI or wherever that is). Oh, sure, there was a weekend, but one day was spent with gale force winds, and the next was spent looking at a blown out stream.

Not that I didn't go out and try, but it wasn't to be. I did let some little kids cast my fly rod, because that seemed like the right thing to do. Whens the last time you let some random stranger try your fishing gear? I challenge you to hand it over to someone who walks by and randomly expresses interest. Do your hobby a favour, people. 

Or don't,  what the hell do I care?

Anyways, this is the part of the post where I do something useful. Its the goal, generally.  Actually, the goal is to somehow figure out a way to line my pockets, and I imagine some sort of linkage to some sort of retailer is a way to do it, but thats more effort than I can put forth, so whatever...and thus, until then, I can claim nothing but altruistic designs.

I remember a few years ago, I walked into a big box store, pulled out a stack of gift cards and got stupid. I had no idea what any of this stuff was, but I knew I needed it. I picked out some tackle, then stared in mute horror at the wall of flies.

I had no clue what they were, none. Not any. I had to go in blind based on what they looked like, it wasn't pretty for a guy who hadn't seriously fished in 15+ years.

So, that said, "beginner flies," or "what flies do I use in fly fishing?" I wish someone had done this for me, or, y'know, I put forth some basic research into "starter flies."