Thrasher's Fly Fishing Guide An Essential Handbook for All Skill Levels
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Susan Thrasher started fishing at a young age with her dad in East Tennessee and has been passionate about the outdoors all her life. In 2004, she started Southern Brookies Fly Fishing, a guide service and instructional school based in Nashville, Tennessee. She left a successful engineering career in 2015 to venture into the business full time. Her passion for fly fishing led her to serve as the cofounder of the Music City Fly Girls, a women’s fly fishing club, and to serve as the Middle Tennessee retreat leader for Casting for Recovery, a nonprofit organization focused on breast cancer survivors and the healing nature of fly fishing. Susan credits most of her teaching success with experience gained as an instructor at the Joan Wulff School of Fly Fishing, where she has been on staff for the past 15 years. She currently lives in East Nashville, Tennessee, just a short drive from her beloved Caney Fork River.<p>“This fly fishing guide is a brilliant escape from the stuffy tutorials often found in the fishing world. Told through real-life stories, the author’s passion and love of bringing new anglers into the fold is overshadowed only by her true dedication to the sport itself. This is a literary gem bound to become a pillar in today’s fly fishing landscape.”<br />
—Jen Ripple, editor, <i>Dun Magazine</i>
</p><p>“This book is enjoyable for the angler and adventurer alike. It is packed with information that is easy to learn and understand. Within the adventures, Susan conveys the camaraderie of fellow fisherman and the bond of women learning a male-dominated sport. She has the ability to make you feel that you were with her on the adventure. Her depth of knowledge and her concern for fellow fisherman is evident in each story. This is a great book that you will likely read over and over.”<br />
—Sheila Hassan, director, Wulff School of Fly Fishing
</p><p>“If fly fishing has had you curious but baffled, Susan’s stories will unlock its mysteries. As an astute fly fishing guide she shares her on-land and rowing-water tales that compel you to read and learn! From the cast to the fish, you’ll want this book as a keeper!”<br />
—Lori-Ann Murphy, co-founder, Reel Women
</p><p>“No matter where you are in your evolution as a fly fisher, Susan’s passion for her daily life as a teacher and guide gives a sense of your having been there with her, even as she leads you to ever-more-enjoyable stages of this lifetime sport.”<br />
—Joan Wulff, founder, Wulff School of Fly Fishing
</p><p>“Once one takes a fly rod into their hands and casts into the moving streams, and makes that cast that lifts and presents a beautiful fly into the open mouth of a fish—boom! You are hooked forever. And Susan is the one to teach you. Not only is she talented, smart, and beautiful—oh! and magical—she can teach us to fish. My sister, Becky, and I have seen her river, had a cup of tea with her, and viewed the vintage trailers she used for guests. Now my only job left is to fish with her.”<br />
—Maurrie Sussman, founder and president, Sisters on the Fly</p>
Your Informative (and Entertaining!) Guide to Fly Fishing
Fly fishing is a wonderful way to catch fish, and it is much simpler than you might think. More and more people are using this thrilling technique to catch trout, bluegill, sailfish, and more. You can count yourself among them. It just takes the right equipment, a little bit of know-how, and some practice. If you’ve never tried because you heard it’s “too hard,” then you are missing out! In Thrasher’s Fly Fishing Guide, professional fly fisher Susan Thrasher provides an all-in-one resource to get you on the water and fly fishing with success.
Inside You’ll Find:
- Introduction to the basics, including terminology and equipment
- Discussion of various methods, from dry fly fishing to Euro nymphing
- Personal stories and anecdotes to entertain and encourage
- Advanced tips, such as fly fishing from a kayak and understanding various fly line designs
- Recommendations on lodging, guides, and nearby activities for destination trips
Whether you’ve never hooked a fish or have spent your whole life casting a fly to that elusive brown trout, you’ll enjoy Thrasher’s engaging writing style, and you’ll appreciate her step-by-step approach that can take you from “never tried” to “let’s go again tomorrow!”
This all-in-one guide mixes entertaining anecdotes with essential information to teach readers how to begin and become successful at fly fishing.
Foreword
Introduction
1. You Have to Start Somewhere
2. Gear to Get You Started
3. Fly Fishing Techniques
4. Getting the Most from Your Guided Trip
5. Wintertime Fishing
6. Fly Fishing Clubs
7. Waders for All Situations
8. Not All Fly Lines Are Alike
9. Rod Selection
10. Getting a Grip
11. Leader, Tippet, and Friends
12. Knots to Know
13. Wading Safety
14. When Nature Calls
15. Playing and Landing Fish
16. Fish Identification
17. Etiquette on the River
18. Bodies of Water
19. Reading the Waters
20. Setting the Hook
21. A Few of My Favorite Things
22. Tips on Improving Your Hookups
23. Flies That Catch Fish
24. Photographing Your Catch
25. Knowing How the Fish Are Feeding
26. Fishing from a Kayak
27. Fly Tying
28. Packing for a Fly Fishing Trip
29. Tenkara Fishing
30. Teaching Kids to Fly Fish
31. Casting for Recovery
32. European Nymphing
33. The Missing Chapter: Casting
34. Fishing in Canada
Winding It Up
Glossary
Appendix: Resources & Contact Information
Index
About the Author
8. Not All Fly Lines Are Alike
While I was growing up, my parents owned and operated a small travel business called Bristol Tours. Daddy, a full-time pastor, started the business as part of his ministry, and my sister and I were fortunate enough to travel all around the country and to many overseas locations. I think this experience, along with the trip-planning gene that I undoubtedly inherited from my dad, is responsible for one of my favorite aspects of the Music City Fly Girls. The Fly Girls take at least one big trip each year, along with a few outings within driving distance from Nashville. My love of trip planning has taken our club on some unique fly fishing trips. For example, our spring outing one year was to fish for peacock bass in the canals of Miami, Florida.
Nashville winters are fairly mild, but we do get our share of cold, blustery days. So when I mentioned a trip to Miami, a large group immediately signed up. We packed our gear, boarded the plane, and headed toward warmer weather. Upon arrival, we climbed into our enormous, black Suburban rental, cranked up the music, and headed off to find our Airbnb. We were all pleasantly surprised to have discovered the beautiful house in Coconut Grove that would be our home for the long weekend. The neighborhood is known for having wild peacocks roaming the streets. We loved seeing this unusual sight.
After unpacking, we headed out to have a Cuban coffee and a sandwich at a local cafe that Fly Girl Marjorie Rice had raved about. This was followed by a visit to a local fly shop to stock up on flies for the weekend. The fly shop owner recommended using large Clouser minnows in sizes 2 and 4. These flies were much larger and heavier than what we were used to using. We found out quickly the next day that our 5-weight fly lines and rods did not have the punch needed to get these wind-resistant, heavy flies launched into the canal with much grace. We managed to make it work, but the casts were awkward and tiring. We would have done much better with 7- or 8-weights. This was a lesson learned for our next outing. Although we were ill-equipped, we made it work and came away with some beautiful fish on that trip.
As mentioned earlier, I purchased my first outfit all at once—rod, reel, and fly line. The fly shop owner generously agreed to include the fly line at no cost since I was purchasing a rod and reel from his shop. I watched as he wound the backing onto the reel and then attached the bright-green fly line. All I knew about the fly line was that it was free (sort of) and it was green.
Since then, I’ve studied different fly line designs, and I find them to be truly fascinating. Maybe it’s the engineer in me, but I love reading in depth about the tapers, densities, materials, and other key differences. If you geek out on this kind of thing too, then one of the best references I’ve discovered is a book called Modern Fly Lines by Bruce Richards. It’s part of the Lefty’s Little Library of Fly Fishing series. It is out of print, but you may be able to find a copy online or in a used-book store. For this chapter discussion, I’ll just be focusing on the design basics and terminology you will need to know. I’ll try not to overengineer it too much.
Fly lines come in various shapes and sizes, including those that float and those that sink. Knowing what fly line you need is really dependent on the type of fish you will be chasing, the flies you will be casting, and the fishing conditions.
Fly Line Design
Typical fly lines are 90 feet long. The process that goes into the construction of this 90 feet is pretty complex but, in simplistic terms, most fly lines have a braided multifilament nylon or Dacron core coated with plastic.
As seen in the diagram below, the 90-foot line is made up of a number of sections; each of these sections serves a specific purpose.
POINT The line begins with a point, sometimes referred to as the tip. This is a very short, level (constant-diameter) section that can be considered a sacrificial part of the line. It is also where the leader attaches to the line. Its primary purpose is to give you room to change out leaders and to avoid cutting into the heart of the taper, thus damaging the line. Some manufacturers have started putting loops at the end of the lines to attach leaders with a loop-to-loop connection.
FRONT TAPER After the point, the line begins to taper. This is known as the front taper and determines how gently or aggressively the fly will be presented.
BELLY The front taper transitions to the belly, the thickest part of the line. This is where most of the energy is stored.
BACK TAPER The belly section is followed by a back taper. This section transfers energy to the belly during the cast.
HEAD The point, front taper, belly, and back taper are collectively known as the head.
RUNNING LINE This is the long, thin, constant-diameter section, which is connected to the head of the line. This is the final section of the line and connects to the backing.
Whew, got all that? Who knew fly lines had so many parts? The line I have described and shown in the diagram on the opposite page is the popular weight-forward design, meaning most of the weight is in the front section of the line. Not all lines contain all of the sections noted above. Some designs have just a belly; some have a single taper and no running line. It’s important to know these things because the existence and length of these pieces and parts will affect your casting. You will see how this plays out as we go through three basic designs: level, double taper, and weight forward....