You’ve decided to take the plunge into the world of fly fishing, bought your first rod and reel and now may be wondering, “what other fly fishing gear do I need?” 

There are a ton of awesome fly fishing tools and gadgets, some of which are not vital but do make fishing more convenient and efficient. If you’re a beginner and don’t want to buy every doohickey (though trust me, you will at some point), it is wise to pick up some accessories that are necessary. They will help you catch fish, but most importantly, several of these accessories will keep you and the fish safe.

In this article we’ll talk about the essential accessories for beginner fly fishing anglers, along with some tips on how to use them and which ones to purchase.

Must-Have Accessories for Beginners

You’ve got your rod, reel, leader, tippet and flies. Those are the necessities in order to catch fish, without them, you’re just going on a walk in the woods. Along with those vitals, you will need a few other items that will help you fish effectively and safely.

Also, check out Fly Fishing Accessories to Streamline Your Game.

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Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses are great for enhancing your vision into the water and required for protecting your eyes. 

Polarized lenses are a chemically treated type of lens that reduces glare. Now I’m no scientist or optometrist, but I did find it interesting that when sunlight is reflected off a smooth, flat, reflective surface (like water), most of those light waves hit your eyes horizontally. Polarized lenses block these horizontal light waves, which in turn minimizes the glare.

So how does this help us with fishing? 

To the naked eye, gazing at the water on a bright sunny day can be blinding. Because fish live in the water (duh), we’ll be spending most of our fishing day staring across and into the water. Polarized glasses reduce this glare on the water and you would be surprised how much better you can see into the water with polarized glasses on once your eyes get adjusted to them.

Polarized sunglasses ultimately decrease the strain we put on our eyes while enhancing our ability to see into the water for longer periods of time. This is vital for spotting fish, underwater structure, and delaying the development of the crow’s feet around your eyes (for those worried about that kind of thing).

Great Options for Polarized Sunglasses

I personally love Costa sunglasses, though they do come with a high price tag. I think they’re 100% worth it and if you take care of them and don’t lose them, they’ll last years. In general, you get what you pay for with polarized sunglasses and it’s ultimately worth the investment for quality, durability, and performance.

Other reputable brands in the fly fishing include Smith, Wiley X, and Oakley. Here are a couple great options:

• Costa Del Mar Fantail Sunglasses
• Oakley Sunglasses Matte Black Frame, 57MM
• Wiley X WX Twisted Ballistic Black Ops Sunglasses
• Smith Lowdown 2 Sunglasses

Tips on Polarized Sunglasses

• Make sure you get a pair you feel good about. While the fish may not care that you look awesome with your shades on, you’ll want a pair that makes you feel confident. Look good fish good!
• Polarized sunglasses in come in wide range of tints. Stick with an amber or brown tint to the most visibility into the water.

Nippers

Nippers cut your fishing line. You’ll use these things endlessly during a day of cutting and retying and if you are anything like me, you’ll also probably donate a bunch to the river or lake. I always carry a couple pairs just in case this happens.

Fingernail clippers work great as well, though I will say the curved blades of fingernail clippers leaves a frustratingly short little nub of line. Nippers typically come with straight blades to prevent this.

I typically carry two pairs of nippers, one for small, narrow tippet and one for thicker stuff. Cutting 15 lb braid with a small pair of nippers is like trying to cut a thick toenail with small, dainty fingernail clippers.

Forceps

Forceps protect both the fish and you. Forceps allow you to reach and grab hold of flies to remove them. They let you get a firm grip on the sometimes tiny flies and prevent your relatively giant fingers from spreading the fish’s jaw too wide open. Plus, if the fish you target have teeth, forceps let you keep your fingers intact.

Any pair of small pliers or even tweezers will get the job done and keep in mind that (similar to nippers), you will likely contribute many pairs of these to your local body of water. I bring an extra pair in case this happens and don’t typically spend a ton of money on forceps.

Pick up a couple pairs of DEXSUR Forceps, or grab whatever you have laying around the house. Forceps are necessary and you shouldn’t leave home without them.

Forceps are also great at crimping down split shot. Speaking of split shot…

Split Shot

Tips When Using Split Shot

• Use as little split shot as possible. Split shot can affect your casting and adds an inedible element to your fishing presentation, so keep it to a minimum.
• Tie a knot just below your shot to prevent slippage. Split shot notoriously slides up and down your fly line. Simply tie a surgeons knot (link) 8-12 inches above your first fly and your shot will stay put.
• Get a variety pack (Sunshine Fishing Split Shot is great) to give yourself options of sizes. You’ll get a feel for what size split shot you use most often and can buy the individual packs from there. 

Landing Net

Landing nets allow you to secure fish in a safe, timely manner. They’re a necessary tool for handling fish and let you remove hooks easily and in the case of toothy critters or fish with sharp fins, can save your fingers. 

Landing nets ultimately put less stress on the fish. When you catch a fish, they put up a fight and will do anything to reach safety. Landing allow you to quickly get control of the fish and shortens the amount of time the fish is stressed. I’ve forgotten a net several times on fishing excursions and have found that my lack of a net unnecessarily prolonged the fight of the fish and increased the strain and distress put on our swimming friends. Landing nets solve this issue.

Nets come in a variety of sizes and styles. Choose the one most appropriate for the size fish you are targeting. There’s no need to lug around a net meant for Steelhead when you are catching 2 pound smallmouth. Similarly, using a net meant for small panfish when chasing large trout is pointless and can actually put more stress on the fish if you try to cram them into those tight quarters.

Tips for Choosing the Right Net

Here are some helpful tips when choosing and using a landing net

• Get a net with rubber netting
  • Rubber mesh is softer than traditional cloth nets that is much better for the fish. Harsh cloth nets scrape off the protective slime on fish that is used is many anatomical functions, including reducing drag while swimming and fighting off disease and parasites.
  • Rubber mesh is also much easier to remove hooks from. Getting a hook stuck in cloth mesh is a nightmare and you’ll end up cutting the mesh to keep the hooks out.
• Get a net with a decent handle
  • Nets with a handle are extremely helpful in controlling the net and provides the necessary reach to capture the fish. If a net has a stubby handle, you’ll need to get the fish directly next you prolonging the fight unnecessarily and can put undue stress on your rod and potentially break it.
• Get the fish to swim into the net
  • Target the fish’s head when netting it. You’d be surprised how easily a fish can swim away when you try to scoop it from the tail. 
• Avoid “stabbing” at the fish
  • Erratically stabbing at the fish to catch it can lead to you hitting the fish, or breaking the line and having the fish swim away with a hook in its mouth. Gently scoop the fish with the net already in the water for a smooth capture.

I personally use the SF Fly Fishing Landing Net. It’s great for all around use (I mostly fish for trout and bass) at a very affordable price. It also comes with a durable clip and magnetic release for easy transportation and access.

Floatant

Used mostly in trout fishing, floatant keeps your dry flies drifting on the water surface. After a while, dry flies begin to get soaked by the water and begin to sink under the water surface. Despite believing at the time that you could mimic a sinking Mayfly with this technique, fish rarely (if ever) eat flies when this happens. Floatant keeps your dry flies drifting on the top all day long.

Simply apply a small amount of the gel or shake your fly in the powder before your begin fishing. In a pinch you can use lip balm, but I’ve found it doesn’t work quite as well as floatant. 

For gel floatant, I like Loon Aquel Floatant or the OG Gink Fly Floatant. Both work great and are readily available on Amazon or at most fly shops. For powder floatant, Umpqua Dry Shake Fly Floatant is extremely effective.

Tips for Using Floatant

• Apply floatant before fishing and the second you think your fly is beginning to sink.
• Use the powder floatant, like Umpqua Dry Shake Fly Floatant for dry flies made with CDC.Umpqua Dry Shake Fly Floatant
• For most flies, the combo of adding powder floatant, then gel floatant is a great combo for extended floating time.

Indicators

Indicators are floating materials attached to your leader that help you detect when a fish has taken your fly. Simply attach your indicator to your leader 1.5-2 times the depth of the water from your fly, cast, and wait for the indicator to flicker, dive, or stop, signaling a fish has taken a bite.

Sound familiar? Indicators are bobbers in fancy fly-fishing talk.

Indicators are vital if you are nymph fishing. They allow your flies to drift at the appropriate depth and are your detection system for if a fish has taken your fly.

Indicators come in a variety of sizes, styles, and materials. There are a ton of options out there, all with the same goal: to help you detect fish strikes.

For beginners, these are my favorite, easy to use, no hassle, all around indicators:

Conclusion

Fly fishing accessories are an important part of the experience. They help you fish more efficiently, effectively, and safely. There are a ton of awesome accessories out there, most of which you will ultimately purchase once you get addicted to the pastime.

Though not all fly fishing accessories are absolutely vital, the accessories listed above are the necessary ones. With these tools along with your rod, reel, leader tippet and flies, you’ll be fully equipped to catch fish.

What are your favorite fly fishing accessories?