Fly Fishing Equipment and Set-Up

Essential Fly Fishing Equipment 

There is so much choice of what fly fishing equipment to use for your day out on the river, it can be quite daunting and difficult to decide what to buy. Angling publications are testing and showcasing new tackle every month, but there is no definitive answer to the equipment question, as personal preferences will always come into play. Here are my thoughts…

Rod

Rods come in a variety of lengths, weights and materials. My favourite is a 9 ft, 5 weight, carbon rod with a good quality, cork, half wells handle. I find that this rod has enough backbone to get a good line out on the middle Test and enough length to manage the line on the surface and to avoid the fringe. Yet it’s light enough and short enough to fish shorter lines from the more restrictive banks of the Itchen. Whatever you choose you should match your fly line to it (see below). I like the ease of a 4-piece rod and I value a good rod tube to keep it safe. Ferrule line-up dots are a real bonus too.

Line

If you have a 5 weight rod, you should generally match it with a 5 weight line. There is an argument for overloading your rod with a 6 weight line though. This helps to load the rod quickly with less line out of the tip ring; something that might help if you’re fishing a short line. However, whilst double-tapered lines used to be favoured, now, weight forward lines are very popular and would be my choice. Due to the nature of their taper, with a shorter head, they tend to load the rod quickly enough in all circumstances.

Reel

I prefer large arbour reels, again, matched to the line weight. On the bank I’m forever taking line off the reel and putting it back on as I work up the river, so it’s essential that line pick up is fast – it’s a real bonus too when you need to get your line on the reel quickly when playing a big fish. Another benefit is that the large arbour limits line memory (coiling) as you take line off the reel. Remember, it’s important to load enough backing on the reel so that your fly line sits just below the rim of the reel when fully rewound. 

Fly fishing accessories

There are many different solutions to carrying your fly boxes and other accessories: slings, bags, necklaces, backpacks, front packs, hip packs and waistcoats are all out there and each has its advocates. Personally, I still like the humble waistcoat. Again, there’s a huge choice and many manufacturers, but what I look for is: internal and external pockets for fly boxes and tippet, D-rings and a fly patch, loop at the top of the back for my net, large vented pockets at the back for a waterproof and a bass bag.  So what do I take and why?

• Fly boxes – a dry fly box and a nymph box is all I need although I do have a separate box for my mayflies;
• Tippet material – I use fluorocarbon tippet material attached to a manufactured,  fluorocarbon, tapered leader.  I carry 7 lb and 5 lb – more of that later;
• Scissors – you will need something to cut your tippet and I like to use scissors, the sort with a kind of plier nose to them.  This enables me to squash down barbs on hooks of bought flies and is useful for if a hook gets stuck deeply.  Some people favour nippers which I too prefer in the saltwater environment.
• Catch and release tool – I only use barbless hooks (or crushed) and I have a tool to help me quickly remove the hook without touching the fish.  The fish benefit by not being handled and those brown trout teeth stay well away from my fingers!
• Amadou patch – for drying my dry flies once they get saturated.  Some people prefer powders;
• Fly Floatant – I use Gink, but don’t apply too much, it’s counter-productive;
• Priest – a good, weighty priest is essential if you want to keep your fish;
• Bass bag – When I take fish, I use a bass bag to keep them fresh, but there are other options such as cool bags and the like;
• Net – On the Test it’s advantageous to have a long handled net to get over the fringe.  Mine is telescopic and hangs on the back of my waistcoat;
• Fly patch – I have a fly patch both to dry my flies and to give me easy access to my favourite patterns.  Be careful they don’t drop out though!