The sport of fly fishing has been around for years and years. In medieval times, anglers fished for food, but the sport has evolved over the years to become a real test of skills. Anyone who has become involved in the sport of fly fishing knows how addictive in can be – but in a very good way!
Fly fishing is markedly different from regular fishing. With plain fishing, you use lures and often live bait to bring fish to your line and hook them. When you are fly fishing, you use a fly that resembles a real insect that the fish feed on naturally. The line is longer and you mimic the movement of the fly or insect on top of the water so that the fish thinks they are biting at a real insect.
Casting is constant in fly fishing. You put the fly out in the water and then draw it back several times so that the fish thinks the fly is landing on the water and then taking off again. With regular fishing, you cast your line and let it rest until the fish bites making the bobber sink into the water.
You can catch some pretty hefty fish using either method, but when you are fly fishing, you have the opportunity to “battle” the fish for survival. This can be extremely satisfying as man battles nature for the top position.
Flies are made out of natural materials in fly fishing while regular fishing utilizes latex and plastic lures made out of man-made materials. Many avid fly fishermen say that the fish are much more attracted to the natural lure rather than the man-made ones. This, they say, makes fly fishing an amazingly satisfying sport.
You can fish just about anywhere – a local pond, a lake, or even a reservoir. When you are fly fishing, you will want to go where the fish are most plentiful. That means traveling (perhaps) to rivers and streams where fish like trout and walleye are known to live. The challenge in fly fishing lies in making the fly look real to the fish below water.
Fly fishing in remote places like Alaska and Canada are great vacation getaways. You can plan a fly fishing trip to many different spots including Mexico, South America, and even Russia. That can be a great adventure – much more so than just fishing your local lake or pond.
Chess has been called “the sport of kings”, but many avid fly fishermen consider fly fishing to be the real sport of kings. It takes skill, finesse, and a lot of patience to get good at fly fishing. Thousands of anglers couldn’t agree more. When you’ve been fly fishing once, you’ll want to go back over and over and over again. May the fish bite well for you!
To read about pictures of fishing and fly fishing knots, visit the Tips For Fishing site.