Newbie ?

If you are a beginner, or thinking about taking up fly fishing, you have a few ways of learning what it is all about. If, like me, you come to it from a course fishing background you are almost half way there. You understand fish and fishing, you know how to tie a few knots, you know how to play a fish and how to handle it. Basically, all you need to do is learn to fly cast, what flies to use, where and when, are things you pick up quite quickly as you go fishing. If you are especially lucky you will tag along with someone who knows what they are doing and, with luck, your fly fishing education will be quite rapid. You don’t have to have a casting lesson or two but I think you will save yourself a lot of painful and frustrating hours if you do.

 If you are a true novice to any type of fishing then starting fly fishing may seem pretty daunting. What rod, reel, line, what’s a leader? What fly? When ,where and how. So many questions, and answers you don’t understand. Find an Instructor. After a couple of hours you may have more questions than answers, it doesn’t matter, you have put your foot on the ladder and the only way is up.

 Which ever you are you can count yourself lucky that you live in the age of the computer. There is such easy access to information via the Internet that it will make your head spin. Joining a forum may be a bit daunting the first time you do it but you can remain anonymous if you want, just pick a user name. I have a couple that don’t relate to my name. I originally used a user name because I thought it was the thing to do. On Sexyloops I am ‘Victor’, as in grumpy old git Victor Meldrew. Nice joke, I thought, only no-one ever got it, mainly because the Board ( the Sexyloops forum) is so international no-one had heard of poor old Victor, now I am stuck with him as my Alta ego, so, be careful what name you choose.

 This will probably be my last post for a week or more, I am off up to Bonny Scotland to meet up with the bunch of reprobates, most of whom I call friends, that inhabit the Sexyloops Board. The Annual ‘loops get together, and this time I’m fishing, I don’t care what the weather does to try and put me off.