Fly Fishing Tackle Shop Article

There are many things to look for in a fly fishing tackle shop including fast turnaround times and of course bargain offers. And, what's more, the fly fishing tackle shop must also have the best selection. If you plan on visiting an online store then check out Carlsons that though it is a British shop it can nevertheless still provide you with some very interesting online deals.

The selection at this fly fishing tackle store is truly extensive and you can find every last item you can think of. From the fly tying as well Bivvies to different trout fishing flies this is one shop that has it all. Here, you can also shop for trout flies handheld, rods and reels and a wide assortment of accessories including fly lines and boxes as well as game bags and more.

As for rods you can shop at this shop for Grey rods, Reddington and Vision rods as too Sea rods and the entire range of specialist fly fishing rods.

In addition, this store provides you with a wide variety of options in regard to reels that are sometimes made from aluminum or which can also be made from reinforced nylon. The list of accessories available at Carlsons is also exhaustive and hugely impressive.

From sinkants and floatants and conditioner to strike indicators to leader, loops, backing and even fluorocarbon there is plenty to choose from. You can even shop for precision molded fly boxes and the Richard Wheatley Fly box is also readily available here.

A rod case is an essential item of gear and this too can be purchased here. For fewer than twenty dollars you can certainly find a good quality rod case that will help protect your rod and also help you to carry other essential items of tackle in a secure and safe manner.

The right saltwater fly fishing tackle is vital to the success of your endeavors. This means that you have to be well informed about what kind of tackle you should be using because the wrong tackle could mean that you might end up spending all your time with the line in the water but at the end of day you will come up empty-handed. So, learn about things such as the weight of the line, the size and strength of the rod and learn about the right fly fishing reel as well and only then head for the ocean.

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An Old Alarm Clock and Fly Fishing

I suppose it was inevitable that I would do the research and write an article on the history of fly fishing.  I grew up wanting to know what makes things tick and quite literally I made my first discovered at the age of eight.  It was to my great delight, when I became the rightful owner of a large alarm clock that ‘‘ticked ‘and obtained the permission to dissect it to discover where the ticking sound came from.  If you are a Baby Boomer like me, then you know I'm referring to a time prior to the digital age, when clocks had all those moving parts and a wonderful ‘‘tick tock'‘ sound.

Now if you are an avid fan of fly fishing like me, you know there is no better thrill than wading out into a body of water and pitting you're casting skills in snaring a beautiful fish in their own natural habitat!  I suppose man has been fishing in some way or another since the beginning of time, however it's the sport of fly fishing that captures the imagination and there is nothing quite as popular as the art of fly fishing.  A quick search of Google reveals over thirty three million inquiries on the subject, so like the old alarm clock; I decided to see where all the ‘‘ticking'‘ comes from.

‘‘They fasten red (crimson red) wool around a hook, and fix onto the wool two feathers which grow under a cock's wattles, and which in color are like wax.  Their rod is six feet long, and their line is the same length.  Then they throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the color, comes straight at it, thinking from the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful; when, however, it opens its jaws, it is caught by the hook, and enjoys a bitter repast, a captive.'‘ Translated from a piece of literature dating back to 1558 the above is a reference to a Macedonian fly that was observed to hover over water and when it landed on the water, it floated there long enough for a fish to take it.  As far as we know this is the earliest reference to the observance of a type of fly that could be used to catch fish.

Around Medieval Times a text was found referring to the catching of trout and grayling using a '‘feathered hook'‘.  Other texts identify fly fishing as the chosen method of commoners from 1360 onwards.

The earliest rods were about six feet in length. This was a rod that was ideal for fishing on overgrown rivers where there is no clear back-cast, but the main reason for was that six feet is about the maximum length of straight hazel shoot, which was the basic material available at that time.

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It wasn't until the eighteenth century that silk lines appeared. Up until silk was available, early anglers fished with knotted from horsehair lines.  These lines would have been about the same length as their rods, and most likely the fly was tied directly onto the end of the horsehair.  The fly would float at first, and then sink to a depth of a few centimeters.  A reference to casting a fly was made in 1620 in the form of footnotes to a poem, ‘‘… a line twice your rod's length of three hairs' thickness,  in open water free from trees on a dark windy afternoon,  and if you have learned the cast of the fly,'‘  The concept of the ‘‘dry fly'‘and the ‘‘wet fly'‘were centuries in to the future.

Rings first appeared on rods towards the end of the seventeenth century. The invention gave anglers much more control over the line while a fish was being played, however it had little effect on casting distances.

Jointed rods were becoming more common by the latter half of the eighteenth century. These were often made of wood, sometimes reinforced with brass, and were terribly unreliable.  Trout fly rods were still much longer in these early years and were as much as fourteen to seventeen feet.  The majority of them were shorter rods.  A typical rod might have measure twelve foot long for fishing with lines that terminated in two hairs or more; nine feet for fishing with single hairs ‘‘for the small fly'‘, and seventeen feet long for salmon.  An experienced angler might reckon to throw twelve yards of line with one hand, and or seventeen with both, while using a sixteen foot rod.

The tackle trade had become well established by the eighteenth century, and sold every conceivable item a fly fisher would have needed, as well as many that they didn't need.  In the last half of the century, the multiplying reel was developed. The multiplying reel gave the angler a much higher rate of retrieve, but most designs had brass gears, which ground to shreds under any kind of strain, leaving the fisherman in a horrible state of affair for much of that period.

In the early days anglers had had to twist their own fly lines, generally out of horsehair. During the industrial revolution a variety of tapered manufactured lines became available which could be cast with greater accuracy. By 1850, tapered reel lines were pretty much standard issue and it was pretty much a routine for anglers to reverse a fly line when one end had worn out.

The years 1851 to 1900 were a time of great change in the world of fly fishing.  The false cast was discovered, the dry fly technique emerged, split cane rods were perfected, and ‘‘modern'‘ reels were developed.  The winds of change began to blow in 1857, when Stewart, a young Scotsman, suggested upstream wet fly fishing with for 'a light stiff, single-handed rod of about ten feet long.  The discovery of the false-cast and the beginnings of dry fly fishing began the trend towards shorter trout rods that led to the split-cane rods of Halford's generation.

With Aluminum came a brief practice for using of all sorts of exotic materials. Rubber was in popular use for fly-reel construction between the years 1851 (when Goodyear put in his first patent for rubber processing), to around 1925.  American indigenous reels had almost completely replaced imported products by 1845.

The 1850s marked the beginning of the end of long double-handed trout rods, although they didn't totally fall from favor for at least another forty years.  At the turn of the century the hexagonal split-cane rod was the dominant design, with single, double and steel-centered builds available on request.

In the 1890s, the development of wet trout fly fishing effectively stalled, and dry fly fishing was to drive the technology of the next century.

Glass-fiber rods first appeared in the late 1940's, but it took a while for the new material to be adopted. In 1949, polyvinyl chloride became available, and the first nylon fly line appeared.  In 1952, the discovery of a method of altering the thickness of the PVC coat on the new lines allowed the taper on these lines to be controlled to a precise amount, and the invention of ways to alter the specific gravity of the PVC coating produced a line with greater flexibility than anyone had ever dreamed of in a fly line.

The early years of the twentieth century were a time of great innovation, and the design of the fly reel was greatly improved. At long last, technology was up to the job, and the designers were free to experiment.

Today you can't pick up a fly rod without taking part in history, so next time you cast your line and flick your fly into the future you are part of the ever developing and exciting history of fly fishing!

 

Fly Fishing - an Introduction

 

Over the last 2000 years humans have employed numerous methods of archery, fishing and hunting in order to find food. Over that time, fly fishing has become seen by many anglers as the essential method of fishing requiring skill, patience and stealth. Indeed trout fishing is by far the most rewarding fishing whether boat fishing or bank fishing.

When compared to other forms of fishing and the fishing equipment required at the bank, fly fishing stands out above the rest due to the limited fishing equipment that is needed; allowing greater stretches of a river or lake to be explored in a session. By employing what is essentially a fishing lure presented in such a way as to convince the fish it is a living creature worth devouring encompasses all that relates to the history of archery, fishing and hunting.

Which Rod?

There are several things that you need to think about when choosing the right type

of fly fishing. Every reel and fly fishing rod has a certain function and knowing the function is critical to its success.

One of the first things that you need to consider is comfort. Is the rod that you're

using comfortable for you to hold? If you're shorter than about 5'5" you won't

want to use a rod that is seven feet. Choose a fly fishing rod length that is easy for you to hold and cast for a few hours at a time.

Most of the fly fishing rods on the market today are designed to allow you to feel when a fish takes the bait. The shaft of the fly fishing rod is called a "blank" and when the rod is first manufactured the blank is made from fiberglass, graphite, or other materials. Each

of these blanks has an action that is either: light, medium, medium/heavy, or

heavy. The upper portion will also have an action that is either: extra light, light,

or regular. Both ends of the blank are assembled and the final result is a fishing rod, complete with a handle and guide. No matter what type of rod that you're using, the "action" of the rod will refer to the "blank". The action of the rod will have a great

deal to do with the type of fishing that you're doing.

Now go to your local tackle shop and ask to try out a range of rods in order to decide which best suits yourself. This will be an individual thing and the only way is to try the rods bearing in mind .

Which Reel?

Reels – There are three main types of reels that you can choose from when it

comes to fly fishing: (1) baitcasting reels, (2) spinning reels, and (3) spincast reels. The reel that you choose will depend your own personal preferences.

Baitcasting reels: Baitcasting reels have better accuracy and control of the lure

than other reels. They are better equipped to handle lines that are ten or more

pounds in weight. The one thing to be aware of when using a baitcasting reel is

that they often have the tendency to snarl or fight back when the spool starts to

spin faster than the line that is being played out. This is particularly true if you are

casting into the wind.

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To prevent these backlashes, baitcasting reels have a magnetic braking feature but

you'll want to count more on the control of the spool tension, which is a knob that

is usually located right beside the handles. You'll need to set the spool tension

knob for each lure by holding the rod straight and disengaging the spool. Loosen

the tension just until the lure begins to drop down and then tighten the spool just a

bit.

When you're casting the reel you'll disengage the spool and then hold it tight with

your thumb. When you want the lure to move forward you'll simply loosen up on

the pressure. After some practice you'll learn to control the speed of the spool so

that you have better accuracy.

Spinning reels: Spinning reels are reels that have a spool that is stationary. The

line is spun onto the spool as a device called a "bail" rotates around it. Spinning

reels can be used for any size of line but more experienced fly fishers will use it

for lightweight lures with a weight less than ten pounds. Spinning reels tend to

perform a little better than baitcasting reels when you're casting into the wind.

One disadvantage of using a spinning reel is that there is the inevitable twisting of

the line which will create tangles and knots. When your line becomes twisted the

best thing that you can do is replace the line with a new one. One way that you can prevent some of these tangles from occurring is by putting the spool into a glass of

water for about 24 hours before you head out to go fishing, giving it a chance to

soak.

To cast the spinning reel, hold the handle of the rod with one hand, making sure

that the spinning reel is on the bottom side with your middle finger placed in front

of the "foot" of the reel. Slowly open up the bail and pull the line behind the first

knuckle of your index finger. Release the line by pulling your index finger into a

straight position. You can control how far you cast the line by letting the line

move along your index finger as close to the spool as possible as the line unwinds.

When you want to stop the line you simply push your finger against the lip of the

spool.

Spincast reels: Spincast reels are also known as "push button" reels. They are

closed-face and are very easy to use. They are almost impossible to tangle and can

be cast in smooth, long arcs without twisting. The main portion of the spool is

encased in a covering and it remains in one place while a pick-up pin spins around

the spool. When buying a spincast reel make sure that you don't buy the most

inexpensive one since you want to pay for good quality. Many beginner fly fishers

do well with a spincast reel.

To cast the spincast reel all you need to do is depress the push button and hold it

down. You'll release the button when you want your lure to move in a forward

position. Most spincast reels are able to be used with any weight lure or line size.

Which Line?

Most of the lines that you'll use for fly fishing will be made of nylon

monofilament. However, other lines are becoming just as popular such as lines

that are (1) braided, (2) co-filament, or (3) fused. No matter what type of line you

buy make sure that it's a "premium" line. Premium lines are more durable and

even than cheaper lines. You'll want to match the fishing line that you buy to the

following criteria and conditions:

· Strength: Strength is measured in the pounds of force that is needed to

break the line. You'll find that most lines will break at higher weights than

they are sold at.

· Resistance to Abrasion: When you're fishing in areas where there are a lot

of brush or rocks you'll want to use a line that won't break easily when it is

constantly rubbed.

· Line Diameter: The diameter of the line will affect the way the line is cast

as well as how deep your lure will run. Diameter also has an affect on the

visibility and stretching of the line. The thinner a line is the harder it will be

for the bass to see it. Thinner lines will also give some bait, such as grubs, a

more realistic flowing action. The one good thing about lines with a thicker

diameter is that they are better able to withstand abrasion.

· Stretch Lines: Stretch lines won't break as easily when they are being

pulled by a fish. They are beneficial in letting you detect strikes as well as

help you in setting hooks.

· Line Stiffness: The stiffness of the line is related to its stretch. The stiffer

the line is the harder it will be to cast. The advantage to having a stiff line is

that is more sensitive than flexible lines.

· Line visibility: In clear water it's important that your line is as invisible to

the fish as possible. However, you'll want to have a line that is highly visible when your fishing lures are on a subtle strike, such as worms, grubs,

and jigs. This is so that you can easily detect any movement on the line that

may indicate a fish is biting.

Holding your Rod Effectively

It’s important that you learn to hold your rod effectively under any fishing

conditions. You want to make sure that you maintain good control at all times

without gripping too hard. You can adjust the power of your hold when you’re in

the middle of a cast. This will allow you to minimize the vibrations of each

movement. With just a bit of practice you’ll be able to increase the tightness at the

same as you learn to relax your grip.

Which Bait?

Following is a list of some best bait choices as recommended by the experts:

? Grubs: Grubs are small lures that are usually used to catch larger fish.

Grubs are great for use in highland reservoirs where there is little cover for

the fish. The grub is much like a bare jig head that has a soft plastic body to

attach to the hook. You’ll want to use them most often in clear water

conditions.