"Larry Pedrick" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I'm new to the group and I just thought I'd say hello. I haven't
fly-fished before, but I'm thinking alot lately of getting into it.
My father fly-fished but wasn't well enough to really teach me, and I
need a reason to get out into the woods.

I live in the Atlanta area, so I'll be mostly sticking to N. Ga and
surrounding areas. I'm sure I'll be asking lots of dumb questions; I
checked but did not see an FAQ for this group. I've bought a book,
"Trout Fishing in North Georgia", by Jimmy Jacobs, to get started.


Before you worry too much about gear, find a good group of fly fishermen and
get involved. Here's a good place to start: http://www.tu.org is the
national Trout Unlimited organization. Pick the "join/renew" tab and search
for chapters in Georgia. Or you can just find the Georgia Council Chairman
and send an e-mail asking for info. They will have plenty of work that needs
to be done, and will probably be a pretty good bunch of people, besides.
Joining in some of TU's stream restoration and conservation projects is a
wonderful way to make friends who will show you the ropes.

Don't go overboard on gear - showing up decked out in the best that Orvis
can offer is a tip-off that you have more money than experience. Capitalize
on what your father probably did. You don't need a reason to get into the
woods - just do it. Get the L.L. Bean Fly Fishing Handbook, then get a cheap
rod and tackle at Wal-Mart or somewhere and see how you like it. If you're
like most of us, you'll enjoy it so much that you will invest in some
high-quality gear and really start to appreciate the sport.

Main thing to remember is that the best thing about fly fishing for trout is
that the fish live in clean water in pretty places, and that fly fishermen
are *generally* pretty good folks to hang around with.

Bob