If you are curious about fly fishing, one of the first questions you may ask is, “is fly fishing hard?” The answer to that question may be relative to what your definition of “hard” or “difficult” is, your willingness to learn, how quickly you get frustrated, and the style of fly fishing you’re interested in pursuing.

Can anyone fly fish? Absolutely. Do some people pick it up faster than others? Sure. Is it more difficult than conventional fishing? Yes. Just like anything worth doing, there is a bit of a learning curve and practice is required for all.

So, is fly fishing hard?

Short Answer: No, fly fishing is not hard.

Long Answer:

In order to answer the question “is fly fishing hard?”, first let’s just get it out there that we’re talking about fishing, not brain surgery. We’re out to catch fish for fun and that’s really all we care about, so putting too much emphasis on the difficulty of fly fishing would be grossly inappropriate to things in the world that are actually hard and difficult. Running a marathon is hard. Getting into Harvard is hard. Figuring out what your girlfriend wants to eat for dinner is hard. Fly fishing is fishing, so it can’t be that hard!

So now that we have an open minded positive attitude toward fly fishing, answering the question on the difficulty of fly fishing should be more straightforward. No, fly fishing is not hard- but it can be tricky, especially to the beginner.

Debunking Misconceptions about Fly Fishing

Many people think fly fishing is complex and overly intricate. It is often assumed that all fly anglers grew up fly fishing, had years of experience, or simply had it in their blood. Personally, I was certainly guilty of having these misguided preconceptions before I had ever touched a fly rod.

Despite these presumptions when I began, I wanted to try it out. I bought my first setup and gave it a shot. 

Like anyone trying something for the first time, I went through a period of frustration. Casting was difficult, constantly getting stuck in trees was annoying, and undoing tangles with very thin tippet made sitting on a cactus look enjoyable. It certainly was more difficult than casting a worm on a bobber with a spinning rod.

But once I got the hang of casting, it became addicting, especially when I hooked my first fish (that 11-inch rainbow trout felt like a world record blue marlin). While the learning curve in fly fishing that can be frustrating, once you break through the hump, it becomes much easier, enjoyable, and quickly becomes second nature. 

Fly fishing is just fishing a different way. The conception that fly fishing is intimidatingly complex, difficult, and requires years of work knowledge, and experience is simply not true. Anyone can do it and anyone can learn it quickly.

While fly fishing is more difficult than conventional fishing, it is not rocket science. You don’t need a PhD in entomology or the hand eye coordination of an elite athlete. Some things are harder than others and in order to help manage expectations for those beginning their journeys, I’ve broken down the hardest things about fly fishing and how you can shorten the learning curve so you can start catching fish as soon as possible.

The Hardest Parts of Fly Fishing

Some elements of fly fishing are more difficult than others. Assembling a rod, stringing line, and enjoying the outdoors are certainly the easiest parts of fly fishing while other challenges present themselves when pursuing fish on the fly.

The three most difficult parts of fly fishing are casting, tying knots, and getting drifts right, with casting being the trickiest skill to get down.

Casting

Casting is by far the hardest part about fly fishing. 

Some pick it up quicker than others and it’s certainly possible that you can get it immediately. I have a friend who never had fly fished in his life and within five minutes (to my delight and also envy), was casting perfect, tight loops and catching fish left and right.

While that is not the standard, it’s also not that uncommon. From my experience, people can pick up basic casting within a couple of hours. While it may take a much longer time to cast with the ease and grace of Lefty Kreh, you certainly can develop a cast that will catch fish within an afternoon. 

In my opinion, the trickiest part of the cast for beginners is that the feeling of letting the line do the work and not trying to cast the fly like a traditional lure. In fly fishing, you’re casting the weight of the fly line, as opposed to weight of the lure in conventional fishing. Once you get the feel of the weight of the line, casting becomes much easier.

How to Improve Your Fly Cast

The obvious and most helpful advice is to practice. Get out in your yard or a park, give yourself plenty of room and let it rip. Pick out targets at which to cast and get your fly as close to that target as you can. It’s surprising how quickly you can improve if you actually get out there and do it!

There are a ton of awesome videos out there when it comes to improving your fly cast. This is one of my favorites:

Tying Knots

Tying knots can be a frustrating element in fly fishing, especially when you’re dealing with very thin materials. Compared to traditional fishing, you’re using much smaller diameter line and tying with thin, delicate tippets can take some getting used to. 

I remember getting frustrated tying knots with such small tippet, especially with how much I was breaking off as a beginner. Breaking off several times, retying with tippet the size of dental floss, and not catching many fish as a beginner is one of those moments that has you questioning, “what the hell am I doing??” But trust me, breaking through that barrier is worth it and you do get better with time and practice. Tying perfectly seated knots actually becomes enjoyable.

How to Improve your Knot Tying

Again, the obvious and most helpful answer is to practice. In addition to that, I would recommend tying simple knots and getting good at those. In my experience, you really only need three simple knots to perfect in order to fly fish.

The three basic knots you will need are:

• Clinch Knot: Tippet to Fly
• Loop Knot: Tippet to Streamer
• Surgeon’s Knot: Leader to Tippet

Clinch Knot

A very common knot that you will use when you tie your tippet to your fly. This is the go-to knot for tying on your nymphs, wet flies, and dry flies. 

Loop Knot

The go-to knot for tying your tippet to streamers. This knot adds movement to the fly by allowing the hook eye to move freely, as opposed to a knot tied down to the hook eye. This is important for streamer fishing, but not necessary for dry fly or nymph fishing.

Surgeon’s Knot

This knot is perfect for connecting your leader to your tippet. As you cut, retie, or break off, you’ll slowly eat away at your tippet so being to add more is a necessary skill.

Good to know but not necessary: Perfection Loop

Perfection loops are used to create a loop to connect your leader to your fly line. This is not absolutely necessary to know as prepackaged leaders already come with a loop. The Perfection Loop is good to know if you somehow break it off, or if you start to tie your own leaders.

The clinch knot, loop knot, and surgeons knot are the three basic knots are all you need to catch fish. There are a ton of other knots you can use and you learn more the deeper you get into it but you really only need those three.

Getting Drifts Right

Getting your drifts right when you are nymphing or dry fly fishing is another difficult element of fly fishing and is the most technical style of fly fishing. When nymphing, in order to make your flies look natural, you must focus on two primary elements: the drift and the depth. The same holds true for dry-fly fishing, minus the element of depth as we want the fly to drift consistently atop the surface.

Getting drifts right can be tricky. Your fly needs to be drift down the current naturally and any abnormal movement of the fly will look foreign to a fish and they’ll be much less likely to bite.

Not all parts of a river move at the same speed. When nymphing or dry fly fishing, you’ll be casting into the an area you think holds fish- but that section may be moving faster or slower than other parts of the river. 

Getting your presentation right with the proper combination of drift and depth is vital to catching fish. Nearly all experienced fly anglers would say that it is the most important element in fishing (check out Three Laws of Fly Fishing), even more important than the actual fly you choose. Getting your presentation right takes practice and experimentation on the water.

How to Improve your Drifts

In order to get your drifts right, you need to mend your line. Essentially this means moving your line with your rod either up or downstream to prevent your fly line from pulling the fly. This will allow your fly to drift naturally in the current it in which it is riding. 

Getting your drifts right with conflicting current speeds can be frustrating, but fear not. There are tons of great videos out there to help you through this, my favorite of which is from the Godfather Tom Rosenbauer.

In addition, keep in mind these factors:

• Keep as much fly line off the water as you can
• Make as few mends as possible
• Make your mends smooth and easy
• Fish areas with consistent currents, if possible
• Look for debris or foam in the water and get your bobber or dry fly to move at that speed
• If you aren’t catching fish and can’t get your drifts right, keep it simple and fish a Wooly Bugger! No mends needed!

Nymphing (aka “indicator fishing) poses the additional challenge of getting to the right depth. Nymphs live towards the bottom of the river (most of the time), so any morsel of food drifting in the middle or at the top of the water column will not look edible to the fish.

To get your nymph down to the correct level, follow this simple rule:

• The distance between your bobber and fly (or split shot) should be 1.5-2 times the depth of the water.

So, if you are fishing 2 feet of water, make sure the bobber is 3 to 4 feet away from your fly or split shot. This can take some experimentation and the proper depth depends on the weight of your fly and the speed of the river. 

You’ll know you are at the right depth if:

• You “tick” bottom, meaning the bobber occasionally flickers up/down on the surface. If you don’t see any ticking, you’re not on the bottom and need to get deeper. If you get hung up every cast, you’re too deep and need to shorten it up.

Getting your fly to the right depth takes some trial and error and can be a frustrating element of fly fishing. Be patient and don’t be afraid to try something different if you are not catching fish!

Benefits of Fly Fishing vs Conventional Fishing

Don’t get me wrong, I love all styles of fishing. Conventional or fly, fishing offers a sense of connection to the outdoors, a challenging pursuit of wild fish, and an opportunity to meet great people along the way.

People will argue which style is more effective. This will depend on a variety of factors including the skill level of the angler, the fish you are targeting, and the conditions of the water you are fishing. At the end of the day, the effectiveness of fly fishing or conventional fishing comes down to personal preference.

Conventional fishing offers these benefits as well, but I have found that fly fishing heightens the experience. The technicality and finicky-ness of fly fishing can be imposing for the beginner and aggravating at times for all, but nothing can replace catching a fish on a fly rod.

Conclusion

Is fly fishing hard? No. It requires practice, practice, practice, but is not hard. Some elements of fly fishing are more difficult than others. Learning to cast is by far the most difficult part of fly fishing but improving your casting doesn’t necessarily require a lot of time.

With patience, consistency, and focused practice, you will be able to cast sufficiently and be able to catch fish in no time. The nuances of fly fishing are built over time and with experience and curiosity, your knowledge and skills will accrue the more you get out there. Part of what makes fly fishing so enjoyable is the fact that it is tricky, which in turn makes catching fish on the fly that much more satisfying.

Extra Tips for Beginners

• Practice casting as much as you can before you hit the water
  • Shoot for casting around 40 feet consistently.
• If possible, fish for aggressive fish like bluegill when starting fly fishing.
  • Fishing for aggressive fish that don’t care as much about fly presentation will help you gain confidence.
• Go with an experienced fly angler.
  • The most help I got that got me through the learning curve was fishing with my buddies.
• Fish with a Wooly Bugger
  • There’s no wrong way to fish a Wooly Bugger and you can get a great feel for line control, mending, and stripping while always having the opportunity to catch a fish.