Brand new to fly fishing

[jwelds191]

Hello all,

I am brand new to fly fishing. For Christmas, my father bought me a St croix 6 wt, 9 ft rod with reel and all the line/tippets and stuff. But zero tackle (flies)?

I also have a lesson bought with the fly fishing guide out of Canmore so I can learn the basics and what not. Basically, what I'm wondering, is what kind of flies streamers imitations I should invest in for fishing the waters around here. Any tricks on matching the hatch or what works best? I fish Minnewanka and Maligne religiously on my spincast, but I can't wait to dive right into fly fishing as I'm sure once I hook up a few times I'll be hooked myself.

I'll also obviously be fishing the bow the most as I am from Calgary. Any help and input here would be most appreciated!!
Thank you in advance.

[vital shok]

If you google hatch charts various outfitters have guides on flys and when to use them Match the hatchets just a general guide .Country pleasures has a seminar on the bow on the 17 I believe on now River flys and how to fish them ect.also check out the fly fish Calgary forum lots of great info on there as well.

[Luxor]

Yes check out match the hatch charts for AB.
Ask questions at your local stores.
Read online and learn.
In time you'll be answering the questions you are asking.
Time well spent will be your teacher.
And experiment is a good lesson.
Learning how to present the fly is of the utmost importance.
Learning casting skills is extremely important.
Utube can teach you plenty.

[kmacisaac]

There is a small pocket guide available that maps out the bow and a lot of the good spots to park and start fishing. It has a month to month hatch chart in it which helps a lot. I think I paid around ten dollars for it and it's always in my waders. You can find it at a lot of the fly shops around the city... And if you're just getting started or you've been fishing a while, check out Jim McLennan's free casting clinic he puts on every spring. It's usually in a park some where and it's great if you're getting started or looking to work out the kinks and bad habits before the season gets going.

[rycoma]

First thing learn your casting and fly placement. Start with bg flies that you can see. Like elk hair caddis, hoppers,wulffs and stimulators. Hoppers and stimulators in 10's and 12's. Wulffs and regular dries start with 16 and 14. the most important thing is placement of the fly and no drag. You will be told about this in your lesson. Get some 18 gold ribbed hares ear and present tail nymphs that you can tie on under a hopper or stimulator. Don't try to learn to nymph with an indicator yet. It will take time lots of it and will frustrate you up front. Get a few streamers like wolly buggers and such they don't have to be huge again that will come later as you target larger and more selective fish.
Last thing the bow has big fish but is a monsterous river to learn on. It takes lots of time to learn it and be successful on it. It is a good River to practice your casting and mending on. There are much better rivers near you like the jumping pound or waiprious full of eager brookies and cutthroat. To keep it interesting.
Good luck to you and enjoy.

[openfire]

Wholesale sports is selling off their flies, a dozen for $6.00
Great place to start. The staff can help you pick some,

[billie]

I think Icky Fly Works' grab packs are a reasonable spot to start from scratch, and their prices are pretty reasonable.
http://www.ickyflyworks.ca/index.php?cPath=32

Pick up some head cement locally so you can dress their flies if and as needed.

GL, great sport.

[Okotokian]

1. Some of the fly shops package flies for particular bodies of water. I've seen packages for the Bow, for example.
2. Staff at a good fly shop can tell you what is commonly used and what is working right now.
3. Your instructor/guide can certainly give you advice on flies and equipment in general.
4. Jim McLennan's book http://www.amazon.ca/Fly-Fishing-Wes.../dp/0811726363

[jwelds191]

Thank you all for the information; it has been most helpful. And I'll look into what each have you have told me. Appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

Tight lines!! (Do fly fishermen say that? Lol)

[Flieguy]

I'd contact the guide you have planned that outing with and ask him for a short list of flies. Most guides will have a few favorites for the specific waters they guide on, it's their job to know the waters and the fish there.

I noticed a bead lanyard (necklace) at wholesale sports that was full of all the tools you need to start fly fishing, but I seem to recall the price was a tad steep....

As usual, I recommend Fish Tales off Mcleod, ask anybody there.

you can sometimes find stuff online for cheap, you'll need dry fly floatant, pliers or forceps (if you don't already have some), maybe some strike indicators, leader straighteners are nice, fly box, and maybe some extra tippet (I use 4x monofilament most of the time)