Fly Fishing, is it better at catching fish or just more fun?
My 9 yr old just got obsessed with fish. I'm wondering if people fly fish because it's a better method of catching a fish, or if it's just more or less a unique sport?
I'm going to get him a kid starter rod and reel with bait; I have a friend that will loan me his fly fishing rod so I don't have to pay for gear just to try it. My friend said bait like roe, worms, and putty catch more fish, and that after 2 years of fly fishing he went back to normal bait.

What's your experience?

mainly for freshwater, good for flowing water because everything is set up to float on top of the water so you dont get snagged on rocks. limited distance because you dont use weights and since theres no weight at the end of the line, you are manually pulling the line out 3 feet at a time in a fluid motion to while you keep all the line in the air until you have enough line to get the fly to where you want. the reel has no gear ratio so one revolution wil bring in very little line in compared to a casting or spinning reel that has a 5:1 gear ratio. so the same amount of line in a spinning reel will literally take about 5 times as much work on a fly reel.

Fly angling isn't spin-fishing.  More like trout-hunting.  You have to figure out where to put the fly to get their undivided attention, where you think they should be laying up.  They have to see something they want to eat or that gains their attention.

Trout eat 70%+ of their diet from sub-surface organisms we can't see -- where spin-fishing excels.  Snagging a fat old Brown trout with a dry fly is a boat-load more fun.

I`ve fished all my life and IMHO fly fishing is more about the experience. It takes a lot of practice to be really proficient at it. I`m not sure if a giant bass smashing a topwater plug is better than a perfectly cast fly snagging a giant brown but I tend to like wading with a fly rod over pounding the water all day with my baitcaster.

I just got back from a 2 1/2 day Smallmouth trip with a guy who uses a spinning rod.
Fished a large river. Fishing was so-so all the time. we each landed about 50-60 fish. I landed the largest, just short of 20".
I used a 9 ft 8 wt with poppers for about 90% of the time and he used a spinning rod with a worm about 70% of the time.
At times I was doing better and other times he was best.
We used his boat, Bass boat, 150hp, trolling motor and he controlled it while fishing. He often put me in situations that made casting hard (he would be in my back cast) or he was leading the boat along shore getting the first cast.  Rarely after he "mined" the active fish did I ever get a hit. We spent alot of time in areas that I would never fish. Also he liked to have the boat drift slower than the current so he could work more areas. This screwed me as I couldn't get long drifts, I had to mend line or recast.

He was impressed at watching the fish hit a popper. Some would come up slowly and sip in the popper while we were watching the whole time. Or as the popper hit the water you could see a fish rush out from cover next to shore leaving a wake and then smash the popper. After seeing this type of action he would switch over to a surface lure at times. He would get hits on his surface lures but very few hook ups. Maybe 20% would get hooked. This amazed him as I would get about 95% hook ups with a single hook and he had 2 treble hooks on his lures. Another thing is at times I would leave my popper in the water just hanging down in the current or generally ignoring it only to get a fish. I called this my secret weapon, "benign indifference". He had to work his lures I usually would cast out my popper and just let it sit, float with the current. Maybe add just a slight twitch every 30 seconds or so.

Its not a matter which is better as my grandpa said, "every dog has his day".
But he and I walked away agreeing on some things.

1) Spinning works better for deeper water just generally casting aimlessly looking for a fish while fly fishing works better in shallow water targeting high probability locations. I am much better at reading the water and spotting theses areas than he was. I exclusively look for them he didn't. At times I would be frustrated with the locations we would fish. Good for worm fishing not good for poppers.

2) his lures needed manipulation to get hits, my popper didn't. Therefore for what ever reason lure control or lack of it and getting a good drift is much more important to a fly fisherman.

3) He realized that he only fishes a small portion of the river that suits his style fishing or that is all he can get to in his boat. I fish the same river in my boat, 12 ft v hull rowboat with 6hp engine, but I can go just about anywhere. I have had to drag my boat over a log jam once. He is severely limited by his boat choice, I'm not. So he is missing alot of different fishing opportunities.

At first he thought he knew it all about smallmouth fishing in that river, he thought he was going to out fish me by a long shot. After we walked away he now realizes that both styles of fishing have their strong points and weaknesses. In the areas he beat me he now knows its because that type of water is not conducive to fly fishing. I out fished him at times much to his surprise.

The short answer is yes and no.

Fly fishing is as much about how you catch the fish as it is about anything else.

At first catch ratios will be much lower.

After a while you find you catch as many as the next guy.

In the end you catch more and bigger fish.

It is an evolution as an angler.

YMMV

FWIW,

Teaching kids from the start to fly fish can be epic. With a hatch like a stonefly hatch the fish are dumb and aggressive. It is very visual and the kids I have done it with were instantly addicted.

It's more about the experience as a whole IMHO. I like the skill that's required to learn the craft and fighting the fish with the butt of the rod is much more exciting. Where fly fishing excels over conventional is the ability to cast 60+ feet with ease into the wind and the ability to take another shot at a moving/missed fish within seconds. The ability to pick up 50-60ft of line and lay it back out in front of a moving fish in one fluid motion for another shot is a unparalleled.

That's why you can wet fly fish...like nymphing...

Fly fishing is more about the fishing than the catching....

For me, fly fishing is a huge stress reliever. It’s cheaper than talking to a shrink too

The amount of concentration required gets everything else out of your head, not to mention how beautiful most places are that I fly fish, mainly for trout on blueline streams.

I've been somewhat successful in not jumping neck deep into fly fishing... yet.

It definitely takes more practice, but the added level of tying your own flies just adds to the enjoyment and relaxation.

I like it because not everyone can do it and do it well and it get's me off the beaten path away from all the idiots into some really serene backwoods places most folks do not venture too.

I enjoy using a fly rod for trout sometimes but I tend to use them more often for bass and bluegill. Bass on an 8 weight rod or Bluegill on a 4 weight is some of the most fun you can have while fishing.

A deer hair mouse or popping bug for bass and sponge rubber spiders or mini poppers for bluegill will keep you entertained for hours on a good day.

I have recently gotten back into flyfishin. Just panfish and bass so far but man i forgot how much fun it was. Bout to head out now and pull some bull bream

I got into it, like i did archery hunting.
To challenge myself.
Started saltwater flyfishing, then freshwater.
Now, im into going after trout.
Doesnt take long to learn...
But

Breaking spin fishing habits is what kills it for some.
Started teaching a buddy this weekend.
After 30 minutes he was doing well enough imho to score if i put him in the water.

None of us picked up a rod and reel and turned into bill dance or flip pallet over night.

Dont whip it, dont over power it, wrist straight and follow through.

There is so much cheap but good gear out there these days vs when i got into it.

I built my own rods,tied my own flys all of it.
Then my daughter was born
But now im getting back to it.
Getting my 1st trout..on fly..on my rod..with my brother..in beautiful mountain streams, away from the world was the most relaxing thing ive done in years.....

6ft6 2/3wt i made and my 1st trout.

Attached File

If you're out for food, spin fish.

If you're looking to take a walk and unwind, fly fish.

Was born on the coast so i learned how to use a Ambassadeur 5000 at a young age and have hardly used a spincaster but i find this much more enjoyable like you said. You don't catch em all but it's about the fishing and letting loose that i enjoy. Fried up a mess lastnight and am still paying for it

AND...there's not much more rewarding than catching a fish on a fly you tied with your own hands.

You think black rifle disease is bad? Try fly tying or making soft plastics.

I have been fly fishing close to 30 years, people that start either hate it or love it or they just don't want to put the time into learning it.   It is quite a few steps above tossing a chunk of power bait out there.

That said I use a bait casting rod for Steelhead..

Why?
Don't think you can catch them on a fly rod or that its easier using Bait?

I just enjoy it.  Sometimes a guy with a spinning rod will do better than me.  And some days, they can't hold a candle to me.

Big numbers day....

Great video. Thanks.

Some of the rivers I fish out here are pretty big.   And it's more effective if you want to catch one using a vibrax or egg cluster bouncing on the btm.   The other thing is it is usually really freaking cold so the eyes tend to freeze up.    I have tried it, just makes for long days on a cold river and no fish.    Wen I lived in Alaska it was s different story.

I've fished flies with a spin rod before just using a tiny bobber to float the leader.

I left fishing other than salt water for a while.  Fly fishing really raised my interest and now that's pretty much all I prefer.  There's something about getting the right cast and mend.  Pulling the fish in is another whole experience on its own.

Going to tomorrow, high of 41, if I catch something it's a total bonus.  I should have went today it was 51, oh well, I won't be at work.

I am familiar with freezing eyes.
I fish smaller rivers.
At times the center pin guys kill it with egg sacks other days flies will be best.
Every dog has its day.

We here in the Great lakes area have an advantage that we have lake run Browns to target along with the Rainbows/Steelhead.
Days are that the Ranbows/Steelhead are slow but the Browns are on fire.
Browns run bigger but don't fight nearly as good over all.

In my years of doing both, I found that sometimes the fly outperforms the spinner, and sometimes the spinner outperforms.

There have been memorable days when the fly outperforms. A buddy who was a major bass fisher took me to a trophy bass lake, once.  We both float tubed.  He threw buzzbaits, topwaters, plastic worms, etc.

I asked the fly shop what I should bring.  They said a big blood leach.  That’s all I fished.  I out caught him 2 to one.

Sometimes it goes the other way.

I think it's better.

I've done it on rivers, lakes, streams. Once you get good, it's super fun to place your fly in the exact spot you want it.

Match your tackle with the bugs that are currently in the environment, you're gonna catch a lot of fish.