Fly fishing

Fly fishing trout.

The fly fishing (fly fishing, in English) is a type of fishing that uses a rod and artificial lure called fly. Fly fishing is usually practiced in lakes, rivers and in the sea. It is also known as rat tail fishing.

Origins

The first mentions of fly fishing, cited in ancient oriental writings, appear to date back to 2000 B.C., during the Shang dynasty period, where the use of artificial flies to catch fish is mentioned.

However, it seems that it is universally accepted that the origins are located in Macedonia, in the 2nd century BC. C., where a writer named Claudio Eliano (Claudius Ealian), who lived between the years 230 and 170 narrates:

... I have heard of the way you fish in Macedonia and it is the following: between Baroca and Tasalónica runs a river called Astracus and in it there are fish of mottled skin; these fish feed on certain insects that are peculiar to the place and roll over the river, when one of these fish becomes aware of the presence of the insect, it is placed under it and nothing slowly towards the surface of the water and catches it in the same way that a wolf takes to a sheep of the farm. Fishermen do not use these animals as bait, as when caught, they lose color and wings and, therefore, they stop being attractive as food. They then wrap a hook in red wool and add two white cock feathers. Its rod is two meters long and the line of the same length. They throw this artifice into the water and the fish bites it captive.

It is known that in the early 13th century, German texts mention fishing for trout and graylings using a feathered hook. Other texts from 1360 identify fly-fishing as the method of choice for the townspeople, over a vast area stretching from the Swiss plains to what was once Syria.

There are at least a dozen ancient manuscripts documenting fly-fishing in Great Britain in the 14th and 15th centuries, but none of these texts describe the techniques used, merely referencing fly-fishing it was practiced on a relatively large scale and with a certain level of sophistication.

In Spain, the first written reference to the art of mounting artificial flies comes from the work Diálogo del cazador y del pescador, published by Fernando Basurto in 1539, in which the author claims the art of fishing versus hunting, and explains for the first time the process of mounting a fly using paddle hooks, silks for the body, and capon feathers to imitate the wings. The first work in which its author stops in detail to talk about this art is the Manuscript of Astorga, published in 1624 by Juan de Bergara. In it, the different types of feathers are defined and how to assemble 33 different models of flies. Among those mentioned in the manuscript are those of the Indian and brown roosters of León, considered some of the best in the world, and their market extends to many countries such as Argentina, Chile, the Czech Republic, France, Japan, the United States. or Norway, among others. This work was commented on and increased in 1825 by Luis Peña, in which he raised the number of possible lures to 41.

The techniques

The general technique is to project the lure with a movement of the rod, which is transmitted to the line or line in the form of a whip. Casting is primarily based on the type of line or line and not the fly. A light and particularly flexible rod is used to cast the lure. This cast consists of three basic steps, cast backwards, pause and cast forwards, the greater the distance we want to cast the lure, the longer the pause time we will have to perform, it is important not to exceed the two-hour position with the rod (on an imaginary hand watch) in the phase of the throw backwards.

Basically, the aim is to attract the fish with a lure that imitates, in this case, nymphs, pupae or drowned or dry insects, in a very natural and delicate way.

There are different lures depending on whether the fish is close to the surface, midwater or near the bottom due to the different evolutionary phases of aquatic insects, whether they are larvae, nymphs, emergent or adult insects. Hence, consider the two types of rat tail fishing modalities, drowned fly (for larva, nymph and emergent) or dry fly, when the insect has reached its maximum maturity and therefore is already capable of flying and perching on the water to deposit their egg-laying for the next generation of larvae.

Dry Mosque Adams.

• Fishing with Dry Mosca: It is a matter that the decoy floats over the water as insects do. To do this, hairs and feathers are used to help floating. The three most popular dried flies are the Royal Wulff, Elk Hair Caddis and Adams.

Mosca Ninfa Hare.

• Fishing with Ninfa: The decoy imitates the larvae of the flies in their aquatic life period. The nymph is made thicker, with few hairs or feathers. The three basic nymphs are: Zug Bug, Hare's Ear (Oreja de Liebre) and pheasant tail.

Mosca streamer Wooly Bugger.

• Fishing with Streamers: It's the easiest lure to use. Imitates small fish, crustaceans or anything that eats trouts. The most used streamers are: Zonker, Woolly Bugger, Marabou Muddler and Bucktails Streamers.

In fishing with nymphs and streamers, a weight (usually lead or buoy) is used to give weight to the flies and achieve depth when fishing.

And within all these characteristics, flies can also be classified as:

• Imitators.

• Attractors.

Modalities

With return or catch and release: it is a type of fishing, not only fly fishing, in which the caught fish is immediately released into the water so that it continues to live. In general, the fly fisherman is committed to the conservation of fish species. On the other hand, there are regulations regarding the return of fish, which vary from country to country. For example In Argentina, the salmonid fishing regulations say that all caught fish must be returned, unless otherwise expressly clarified for a particular environment. In Chile there are also rivers, for example the Petrohue and the Calcurrupe in the XIV region of Los Ríos, where the return of species is obligatory; however, in most of them, the law stipulates a maximum of 3 salmonid pieces per fisherman. At present, work is being done on the new fishing law to promote fly fishing and return fishing.

Team

A personal fishing tackle consisting of:

• Cañas: These are flexible and light rods, which are chosen according to their characteristics, the taste of the fisherman, conditions of the place, the specimen that is sought to fish and the weight of the line used.

The most appropriate lengths are between seven and eleven feet. Consolidated bamboo, carbon fiber, graphite, fiberglass or composite materials are used. In addition, they can be classified by their response action as fast, (only the front tip of the rod bent) mean, (the tip bends and makes it up to half of the rod approximately) and slow (it bends almost all the rod, up to close to the grip), the action will determine the distance that will travel the line depending on the time and force used on it.

• Line: It is the fundamental part of this fishing modality. It is a sedal with special characteristics of thickness and weight. They can be silk or synthetic. It is a heavy sedal that unites the line with the lure, which is called rat tail, and which receives this name because its thickness is decreasing to the union with the line. It is specially designed to throw the lure – of minimum weight – at a great distance without the need to add a ballast. It usually measures 27.4 meters. The part where the fly is tied at its tip is called leader, and its function is to trick the fish. To the extension of the line – which lengthens the 27.4 meters length – which allows to give more line in case of requiring it is called backing. There are floating lines to fish with dry fly and submersible lines at different depths. The most used line categories are:
  • Rocket Taper: They have the weight at the tip and are used to reach distance, are easy to launch and belong to the WF category.
  • Double Taper: They have the weight to the middle and the thin tips, used to fish in streams or streams, is characterized by its smooth and delicate presentation (DT).
  • Shooting Tapers: They have the weight on the tip and allow to reach a great distance, more than Rocket Taper. He's also from the WF family.

Dry moss, imitation of a grasshopper.

• Mosques: It is the artificial lure that can imitate a fly or anything that eats the fish like other insects, crustaceans or fish. It is manufactured manually with materials such as thread, feathers and various synthetic materials. It is characterized by little weight in relation to the line.

• Reels: Element that serves to store the line, some reels have brake to facilitate combat with the fish. The weight and dimensions of the reel must be matched to the reed.

• Wanderer: Waterproof material, from feet to chest, which allows the fisherman to enter into the river without getting wet, are usually made of PVC, neoprene or other material. The breathable materials, in general, are the most suitable. However, in low temperature rivers the neoprene is preferred due to its insulating capacity.

Fish Species to Catch

The species that can be fished through this modality must mainly be predatory. Above all, this modality was used for mountain trout fishing, more than anything due to the impossibility of fishing in other modalities due to the great clarity of the water and its low flow, from there it was derived since insects are the largest source of feeding of this salmonid. As this modality became general, it has been extended to other species due to its voracity or eating habits. Among the most fished and representative we can highlight:

• Truchas
• Salmon
• Cars
• Lucios
• Black bass
• Barbos
• Reos (Navy court)
• Pejerreyes
• Dorados
• Tarariras
• Several marine species such as tarpon, Bonefish (macabi), Jacks (jureles), snook (robalo) and barracuda, in tropical areas. In other areas, such as Uruguay, corvinas, pejerreyes, tongues and smoothies can be captured.