Fly fishing with the wife

[rycoma]

So my wife says she wants to get her license this year. Now I pose this question to all of you. What should I do to help her in this endeavour..also I think this will help to get my boys more interested in the sport. I'm not to worried about teaching her casting I have instructed a few others over the years and have more then enough extra equipment for her to use. I just don't want her to end up hating this cause you all know how sensitive us guys are.

[Flieguy]

make sure she stays warm, comfortable, and dry.

take her somewhere pretty and somewhere easy to fish (I know, easier said than done) and keep it simple. no 8 hour days on the water.

take her several different places and then ask her what she likes best.

spoil her: if she likes pink, get her a pink rod and/or reel. If she like starbucks, take her to starbucks before you head to your hotspot. etc...

My girlfriend even fishes alone sometimes, but usually just spin casting if I'm not there. She likes fishing, and I hope your wife does too.

[MTB_FlyFisher]

Some excellent advice above.

a few things to add:
- She won't care about the size of her first fish.
- She will care if she actually gets to touch one she caught on her first day out.
- no-one likes dealing with tangles.

So I'd basically suggest picking one of your favorite streams that opens on the 16th of June that doesn't have the biggest of water. Less water means that the places for fishes to hang out are much more visible to a non-fisher, and the fish that tend to inhibit the upper reaches of these streams aren't really very presentation-shy.

Rig her up with a single dry fly only, no dropper. Also, make sure to tie on the brightest and highest floating dry fly you have (stimulator always seems to be a favorite). Don't even bother with a dropper since those can make casting a bit of a pain for a first-timer and with thinner water most fish will be looking up anyway.

Also, make sure that you stop fishing when SHE is done for the day. A 4 hour day may seem like a short one for you, but chances are she may be thinking differently at the 2 hour mark.

[goldscud]

Cutts are a great fish for newbies. Don't bother fishing yourself and try to help her learn where the fish like to live. Then you can help her get the fly to float over those spots.

[Flieguy]

Originally Posted by goldscud

Cutts are a great fish for newbies. Don't bother fishing yourself and try to help her learn where the fish like to live. Then you can help her get the fly to float over those spots.

I had the same thought, as they will rise for a dry 9 days out of 10.

above picture is Anika's first cuttie, and first fish on a dry fly.

[J D]

Warning taking your wife fishing can create problems at home

When they catch a bigger fish than you will be teased about it every chance they get

[MTB_FlyFisher]

LOL - it's not even the first time she catches a bigger one than you do, it's those first few days out when you're helping her learn and think that she's fully concentrating on fishing.

She's not.

She's secretly keeping count of how many fishes you've each caught so that she can forever tell people how on her first day out she caught way more than you did. She'll neglect to mention how you spent the entire day pointing out the prime water and coaching her how to get a fly to drift over the spot. She won't mention that you let her use the 4 wt for the tiny stream you both fished while you were fishing with the only other rod you owned - a 6 wt, just to make sure she was enjoying herself. She won't mention that you watched and helped her fish for about 2 hours and were really only tossing flies at the water for 30 min. Nope, all of these things will be conveniently forgotten the first time you get together with some friends and they ask her how her first day out was and she replies "It was great. And you'll never believe this but I caught wayyyyy more fish than he did the very first time I picked up a rod".

And you'll smile and grin and shut the heck up and let her have her moment. Because you'll see the gleam in her eye when she starts talking about her first day on the water.

And you'll have the rest of your life to prove that you can catch more than she can!

[chucky]

All good points above, not much more to add...

Depending in how much hiking she likes doing, maybe avoid these nice spots that require bush wacking and wading for an hour before reaching them...
Also definitively resist the urge to fish much yourself!! If you know the good spots let her cast first and get the best chance of catching the ones you know are there...

Good luck!

[BPman]

If she wants to learn fly fishing, take her to the Sam Livingston Hatchery where they have the beginner's fishing pond - civilized, close to home and a high probability of catching some - or at least seeing some. You might get lucky too!

[rycoma]

Yeah I stand a better chance catching a salmon in the bow then getting "lucky"

[greatbigdiddy]

Originally Posted by rycoma

Yeah I stand a better chance catching a salmon in the bow then getting "lucky"

LOL!!

I got "lucky" 6 times the other night.

[BobLoblaw]

Originally Posted by rycoma

I'm not to worried about teaching her casting I have instructed a few others over the years...

This is flawed thinking, friend.
I don't care if you have instructed a thousand others; none of those were your wife. I don't know if you've noticed, but wives don't like when husbands tell them how to do something. Better to pay for lessons & let a complete stranger do the teaching.

Scenario #1-

You:"Set!"

WifeyBursts into tears)"Stop yelling at me!!!"

Scenario #2-

Dirty trout bum instructor:"SET! SET! SET!!!!"

WifeyGiggles)"Darn! I missed another one! This is so exciting!"


See the difference?

[pipco]

My wife and I always have fun when fishing together. I introduced her to fishing and we both took up flyfishing a few years ago.
Though we don't always go out together as she figures I'm somewhat crazed leaving at 4 or 5 in the morning and fishing for 12-14 hours.

I once asked her the secret to keeping her interested in my passion/obsession.

A surprising and simple answer.

"You always make the lunches"

My reason for making the lunches is to get us to our destination that much quicker ( I'm always up for fishing at poop the bed early and she dawdles a bit) but apparently the lunch is that is important to her.



Get them into fish as soon as possible to keep them interested, be extra patient, refrain from giving too much advice and make lunch.

Oh, and always have a good sense of humour when she kicks your butt using a pink, weird fly that looked "really sparkly" you would have never considered trying.


stan

[Sideofabarn]

Good ideas folks. The GF has become more interested in fishing, has caught lakers and bows, and even tolerates hard water! She recently expressed an offhanded interest in trying fly fishing, so that may be my goal for this year, and get her into some goldeyes somewhere around Edmonton

[Flight01]

Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

This is flawed thinking, friend.
I don't care if you have instructed a thousand others; none of those were your wife. I don't know if you've noticed, but wives don't like when husbands tell them how to do something. Better to pay for lessons & let a complete stranger do the teaching.

Scenario #1-

You:"Set!"

WifeyBursts into tears)"Stop yelling at me!!!"

Scenario #2-

Dirty trout bum instructor:"SET! SET! SET!!!!"

WifeyGiggles)"Darn! I missed another one! This is so exciting!"


See the difference?

Confucius says: " listen to this guy" ^^^^^^^

[MrDave]

Rent a canoe and take her to a stocked pond. One of those places that isn't going to get rough.
This way she avoids the trees and such when she is casting. Nothing beats a newby catching a fish on a flubbed back cast.
I took the Mrs out to Open Creek dam several years back and she caught her first trout on the fly in 3 flips of the rod. She's hooked for life.
Also try to make it a slightly romantic day too. Always makes the ladies day brighter if it has a nice shore lunch.

[J D]

Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

This is flawed thinking, friend.
I don't care if you have instructed a thousand others; none of those were your wife. I don't know if you've noticed, but wives don't like when husbands tell them how to do something. Better to pay for lessons & let a complete stranger do the teaching.

Scenario #1-

You:"Set!"

WifeyBursts into tears)"Stop yelling at me!!!"

Scenario #2-

Dirty trout bum instructor:"SET! SET! SET!!!!"

WifeyGiggles)"Darn! I missed another one! This is so exciting!"


See the difference?

This can be very true ^^

It really depends on your wife though. Mine as long as I take it slow I can teach her but if it is made too serious it becomes a problem.

She does listen to others better than me no doubt.

[WhitefishLady]

Originally Posted by BobLoblaw

This is flawed thinking, friend.
I don't care if you have instructed a thousand others; none of those were your wife. I don't know if you've noticed, but wives don't like when husbands tell them how to do something. Better to pay for lessons & let a complete stranger do the teaching.

Scenario #1-

You:"Set!"

WifeyBursts into tears)"Stop yelling at me!!!"

Scenario #2-

Dirty trout bum instructor:"SET! SET! SET!!!!"

WifeyGiggles)"Darn! I missed another one! This is so exciting!"


See the difference?

X10!!! As a girl I can really vouch for this! Unless you are a really patient guy prepare for some bickering and possibly crying. We do not like our husbands/boyfriends telling us what to do. We are sensitive creatures. Have her get lessons from a guide!

To be fair I completely understand that the constant tangles and such when teaching new person is frustrating. But it's a different dynamic when it is your wife. My husband taught me and he is not very patient. Turned out ok though as I'm now a fly fishing fanatic but could have gone a lot smoother.

That's great though that she wants to learn she will most likely love it then no more fights about how much gear your buying!

[Reeltime]

I had experienced this fly fish desire with my wife three years ago. I was down in Montana trying on a new fly vest and was just not satisfied with what was offered. My wife watched with interest and asked a few questions about why I was so fussy about the pockets and pouches.

Cabela's opened up then and while in Edmonton I found a vest to my liking. I put it on and turned around to show her to ask how it looked. To my amazement she had a vest on as well and said "I think I want to get into this fly fishing sport". I was pretty pleased, my wife was always the outdoors type and loves to camp, this will work perfectly. Well in a matter of a hour we had her rigged up. She picked out what she liked and I let the sales rep advise her on what was what and she was pleased with her outfit.

The moment I heard "Hubby, get the frying pan" for her first trout I knew I had a new fishing partner for life.

Any word's of advice I could give is let her discover the sport by herself, encourage her to ask questions but don't make a big lesson of it. Girls are quick to catch on and will apply the new skills learned immediately. They will ask for more lessons when they are ready.

[theycallmeNoah]

Originally Posted by pipco

"You always make the lunches"

My reason for making the lunches is to get us to our destination that much quicker ( I'm always up for fishing at poop the bed early and she dawdles a bit) but apparently the lunch is that is important to her.

My husband always makes the lunches and gets the gear ready because I am not much of a morning person.

I'm just learning to flyfish myself. My husband is a great teacher but I feel bad because flyfishing with me is WORK for him. I don't want to take his enjoyment away from him. It is for that reason that I want to take lessons with someone else.

[kissarmygeneral]

Originally Posted by Reeltime

I had experienced this fly fish desire with my wife three years ago. I was down in Montana trying on a new fly vest and was just not satisfied with what was offered. My wife watched with interest and asked a few questions about why I was so fussy about the pockets and pouches.

Cabela's opened up then and while in Edmonton I found a vest to my liking. I put it on and turned around to show her to ask how it looked. To my amazement she had a vest on as well and said "I think I want to get into this fly fishing sport". I was pretty pleased, my wife was always the outdoors type and loves to camp, this will work perfectly. Well in a matter of a hour we had her rigged up. She picked out what she liked and I let the sales rep advise her on what was what and she was pleased with her outfit.

The moment I heard "Hubby, get the frying pan" for her first trout I knew I had a new fishing partner for life.

Any word's of advice I could give is let her discover the sport by herself, encourage her to ask questions but don't make a big lesson of it. Girls are quick to catch on and will apply the new skills learned immediately. They will ask for more lessons when they are ready.

I love this, well said.