ARTICLE 5

Fly fishing is an ancient and popular fishing sports enjoyed around the world especially in countries like the United States, England, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, New Zealand, Mongolia and Russia.

Fly fishing is an extremely enjoyable especially to nature loves. The fly fisher has several choices of baits called flies.

Flies are fish lures or baits that mimic insects and small animals to attract fish and therefore yield good catch. There are five kinds of flies:

The Dry Fly

A dry fly is made to look like insects floating on the water although they can also look like larger animals like snakes, mice and frogs. Most smaller dry flies are tied on light hooks to they could float easily. Most dry flies are immediately dried once pulled out of the water by removing absorbed water in methods called amadou and dessicant.

The Wet Fly

A wet fly is used to mimic insects under the surface of the water such as emerging insects, drown insects of aquatic insects. A wet fly may be fished upstream, down stream or across stream depending on the current.

Streamer

A streamer fly is used to imitate injured fish that are attractive to certain species of predatory fish and larger types compared to other flies. Many kinds of fish are aggressive enough to bite streamers especially when they are protecting spawning areas. Some are simply curious about their meal. The Atlantic Salmon fly is an example of a streamer fly. Fly fishing with streamer fly is almost the same as with using a spoon lure.

Terrestrial

A terrestrial fly is a fly tied to imitate a ground insect that has fallen in the water or has drowned. Terrestrial flies may be tied to the hook as dry or we flies according to what is appropriate for fishing. Ants, beetles, cicadas, crickets and grasshoppers are common insects used as terrestrial flies. Terrestrial flies are not meticulous to prepare because terrestrial insects are not accustomed to the water. For instance, a grasshopper landing hard on water struggles to extricate itself and eventually downs so it is normally fished out without noticeable movement.

Nymph

A nymph is prepared as a bait to mimic insects in its larval form. Some examples of these insects include mayfly, caddis fly and diptera. Nymph flies are typically tied to a heavy hook to keep it from floating. This type of fly poses a bigger challenge especially to beginning fly fishers because the small size and light weight can be a big test of the angler’s skills.

Flies can be easily bought at many shops around the world. The oldest and most famous shops can be found in the United States and England. In the United States, the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont is one of the oldest and most famous shops for artificial flies and fly fishing equipment. It was founded in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis. In Europe, The Farlows of London, which was established in 1840 is a favorite shop of fly fishing enthusiasts.