Fly Fishing: A beginner's experience

In this blog post, I’ll discuss fly fishing for salmon and steelhead, which are large, migratory fish that seasonally travel to freshwater to spawn. Fly Fishing for these two species is a completely different ball game from moderate-sized fish such as ordinary trout or bass. I learned this the hard way in the beginning of my fly fishing journey.

Salmon and steelhead are strong fish known for their incredible fights. I still vividly remember the first time I hooked into a Chinook, which was on a 5wt fly rod. I instantly regretted it, and tried to fight him for nearly 15 minutes. My rod simply did not have the backbone to land him and he ended up breaking off my tippet. The next day, I consulted the owner of my local fly shop and decided not to fish for salmon or steelhead again until getting a stronger setup.

For salmon and steelhead, I’ve found that beads are most effective, but some anglers also use bright-colored streamers called intruders. When salmon enter freshwater to travel upstream and spawn, they stop feeding completely and only strike out of territorial aggression. So, when they see a big, bright pink streamer or an egg drifting too close to their territory, they will instinctively attack it. If you’re using beads, its best to rig them just like you would a heavy nymph-rig (strike indicator and splitshot). Many anglers will also use multiple beads.