One of the main methods used to catch fish in Scotland and Northern England is fly fishing.

Fly fishing is a way of catching fish using an artificial “fly”. The “fly” looks like something that lives in the water that the fish will bite (and get “hooked” onto). To get the “fly” out to where the fish are requires a fly fishing rod, fly fishing line, leader and a special fly fishing casting method.

How Fly Fishing Works

Fly fishing rods and lines are unlike other fishing rods and lines as they are longer and more flexible, and the fishing line is far thicker and heavier. When fishing, the rod acts as a spring to “spring” the line out onto the water (and out to the fish). The rod can only do this because a fly fishing line is far heavier than other fishing lines. A special fly fishing casting method has to be used to spring the line out correctly. Because the line is heavier and thicker it is easy for fish to see it. That is why about 8-9ft of clear nylon (normal fishing line – known as a leader when fly fishing) is attached to the end of the fly fishing line and the artificial fly is then tied to the end of the leader so that fish, which struggle to see the leader as it blends in with the surroundings, don’t notice the fly line when looking at the fishing fly.


Buying a fly fishing rod, reel, line, etc.

Fly fishing equipment can be expensive but doesn’t have to be. At the bottom of the page is a link to the cheapest fly fishing kit from the UK that we can find on the internet.
However before you visit the link you should know the following:-

•There are different sizes and weights of fly fishing rod, reel and line and you need to know what size of rod suits you and how to match up a rod with the correct reel and line to get the best out of your fly fishing.
•Each fly fishing rod is designed to cast fly fishing lines, or lines, of a certain weight and likewise each reel is designed to hold line, or lines, of a certain weight.
•The fly fishing rods, reels and lines will have the appropriate weight written on them so you can match them all up.
•The weight will be described as a number which starts at 1 (lightest) and goes up to 12 and beyond (heaviest). The number will usually have the letters “AFTM” written before them.
•For example a fly fishing rod rated AFTM 6/7 is suitable for either an AFTM 6 or AFTM 7 weight fly fishing line (some rods can cast more than one weight of line).

A fly fishing rod, reel and line rated for an AFTM of 6 or 7 is usually best for beginners.

Go to your local angling shop to get advice on a starter kit.