On Thursday, May 17, 2012 4:07:57 AM UTC+8, M wrote:
I'm new to fly fishing. First thing, of many, I need to practice is casting. I was thinking of practising in a nearby field with my new dry fly line (without leader). Is this likely to damage my line?

I'd also like to practice on water, again without leader and fly - can I do this without a rod license or venue license... assuming of course I also don't have any leaders or flies about my person?!

Thanks for any help

Practicing on the grass is common, but it's a useless exercise without the leader, as the whole idea is to get good at controlling the leader behavior, not to just get the fly line out there.

Tie on a leader, and tie a little piece of yarn to the tip of it. Not so large that it has its own aerodynamics and can 'catch the wind'....its SOLE purpose is to help you see the tip of the leader as you cast. Also, do not use a strip of cloth or anything that is flat, as it will make a 'wing' and twist your leader around like a rope and knot it up like you won't believe. Use yarn: about 1.5 inches, and tie off close to one end of it.

Whatever leader you use will be useless for fishing afterwards, and you will need to wipe down the fly line thoroughly with warm water and a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid. A google search will give you lots of insights on how to wash a line...you need to get the pollen and sap from the grass off the line. so wash it carefully. A small amount of soap and water won't hurt it, but stretching it out as you wipe it will...be gentle but firm, like you're scrubbing some heavy dirt off of a baby's skin.

As far as practicing on water: as long as you don't have a hook on, I'm pretty sure you don't need a license to fish. But I'd go further and not even carry any flies with you....so no one thinks you just broke off. Better to have a little piece of plastic tied on instead, but also...check your local laws. Don't take my word for it.

Oh, and casting over water without a leader on is also useless.

--riverman