"Tom Nakashima" wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
. net...
I plan on learing to fly fish this spring and I don't know anyone in this
area that does fly fishes. I ordered some videos and have been buying
magazines. I picked up a 7ft. 4w fly rod at Walmart and plan on learning
fishing for bluegills and I don't know anywhere close that even stock
trout. I (I'm in southern ILL) What kind of flies etc would you
recomend??? From what I've read WF line would be easier to learn to cast.
Any tips & suggestions would be greatly appreceated.
Thanks, Mike


Greetings Mike,
The 7wt may be too short of a rod to start with to learn the correct

***Sorry, I meant 7 ft. not 7wt. *****

mechanics of the cast. I would start with a 8.5' or 9' fly rod. in a
5 or 6wt. The reason being is you have to learn to load the rod and
it's much easier in those lengths. After you learn the basics and
understand the cast, I would suggest looking at sorter length fly rods.

The other thing I've learned is when starting, is to not pick-up any
bad habits. There are a lot of videos out on the market, but only
a handful which I would consider worthwhile.

All good fly-casters have developed their own style after learning
the basics and understanding the mechanics of the cast. If I could give
a suggestion on where to start, I would suggest to purchase Mel Krieger's
book called The Essence of Fly Casting. The descriptions and photos
are easy to understand.

Off the records, I had quite a few bad habits when I started. Mel Krieger
corrected me on my basics, it was like learning how to cast all over
again.
And to learning to break a bad habit is worst than starting fresh.

Remember, there are no shortcuts in fly-casting, what you put into it
is what you'll get out of it.
Good Luck and great fishing, it's a wonderful relaxing hobby.
fwiw,
-tom