Hello everyone:
I am just learning to cast and do not have a boat. I have two questions:
* What are some good places to fly fish from with out a boat in the Tallahassee area?
* How does one begin to learn what flys are appropriate for a given area?
Thanks!
Jerimiah
Freshwater shore/dock casting?
Moderators: bman, Chalk, Tom Keels
Re: Freshwater shore/dock casting?
I think I have heard lake Piney Z has some shore access. You'll probably want to verify that. Oh and if your adventurous there are some nice ponds back in the national forest, but I couldn't ever find those again or give instructions to get there.
Flies for freshwater pretty simple, small and large topwater poppers for bream and bass, white works pretty well in general. Weedless streamers and zonkers for deeper bass.
Stock up on cheap stuff, your going to be putting a lot in the grass and tree's if your trying to learn while shore casting. I taught myself to cast long ago as a kid on private ponds, one of which has a tree that has claimed 100's of flies.
Your best bet is getting a lot of practice done in a nice clean casting area, and by that I mean a yard or field that has 100 ft front and rear clearance. Learning to flycast is frustrating enough on its own, you dont need your environment causing any when your beginning, you will get plenty of that later. Its also critically important to get stuff right when you begin, I taught myself with zero guidance and picked up some bad habits. I did manage to come out ok 15 years later, but it can be bad for some people. There are some good websites nowadays, such as http://www.sexyloops.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; that has some basic pointers.
If you have the equipment and time, there are some much better shore accessible fishing areas in saltwater. There are several spots behind St George Island that you can wade and sight fish, plus there are no tree's
Flies for freshwater pretty simple, small and large topwater poppers for bream and bass, white works pretty well in general. Weedless streamers and zonkers for deeper bass.
Stock up on cheap stuff, your going to be putting a lot in the grass and tree's if your trying to learn while shore casting. I taught myself to cast long ago as a kid on private ponds, one of which has a tree that has claimed 100's of flies.
Your best bet is getting a lot of practice done in a nice clean casting area, and by that I mean a yard or field that has 100 ft front and rear clearance. Learning to flycast is frustrating enough on its own, you dont need your environment causing any when your beginning, you will get plenty of that later. Its also critically important to get stuff right when you begin, I taught myself with zero guidance and picked up some bad habits. I did manage to come out ok 15 years later, but it can be bad for some people. There are some good websites nowadays, such as http://www.sexyloops.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; that has some basic pointers.
If you have the equipment and time, there are some much better shore accessible fishing areas in saltwater. There are several spots behind St George Island that you can wade and sight fish, plus there are no tree's
Re: Freshwater shore/dock casting?
When I started out I spent some time casting at Lake Piney Z. You can park at the parking lot and then walk around the right side of the lake. There are a few dikes (that don't have trees on them) that protrude out into the lake about 50 yards or so that you can cast from. Never caught any bass there, but used to do pretty well on bream with poppers around the lilly pads late in the evening. Also caught a mudfish on a deep clouser there.
Re: Freshwater shore/dock casting?
Thanks for the replies!
Piney Z it is!
I'll post a pick of my first catch.
First catch that is not a weed, branch or lilly pad.
Jerimiah
Piney Z it is!
I'll post a pick of my first catch.
First catch that is not a weed, branch or lilly pad.
Jerimiah
Re: Freshwater shore/dock casting?
Piney Z is a great place to practice on the water and there are some county ramps on Lake Talquin with docks that are accessable. Lake Jackson may have some water available from shore also and there are some private ponds available. Many of the city parks have grass areas that are great for practicing casting and there are some instructors who can help. The local fly fishing club has clinics and outings from time to time where you can get great tips on casting correctly. It is generally better to know how to cast before you get on the water and you loose less flys that way.
Go to http://www.fbbflyfishers.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and see if you would like to be a part of the club. We will do what we can to help you.
Tallyfly
Go to http://www.fbbflyfishers.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and see if you would like to be a part of the club. We will do what we can to help you.
Tallyfly