When you unpack a new electronic device it comes with a “start here” guide because most folks don’t read manuals until they are in trouble. Same goes for fly fishing, except most folks read the books and watch the videos but can’t remember what they read or saw when they get to the river.

I want to present to you a “start here” guide to fly fishing. I trust you can get your waders and boots on by yourself, so I’ll leave that alone. I’ll start at the part where you’re dressed.

It’s always a good idea to get some local beta before you go out. Fly shops, newspaper columns and radio shows offer great current advise. I’d say they can give you 80%. The other 20% encompasses the changing conditions that are happening NOW. Without this local knowledge you are starting from scratch.

To get the right combination of line, leader and fly you need to look at conditions on the river – not at the truck. It is tempting to set up everything ahead of time, but it rarely gets you the right setup. I try to be prepared but not overpacked and do carry two reels: one with floating line and the other with an intermediate sink line. This give me the option to fish streamers with the intermediate sink line if I want.

Fly fishing is a great way to connect with nature. This is where we are going to start. By observing condtions. We need to find what the fish are eating, how they are behaving and how to approach them. All three factors will be combined into our set up and presentation.

Clues to what the fish are feeding on is above, on and below the water. Above the water look for visible hatches or birds eating bugs. Dry flies are called for in these conditions. Examine the surface and see if there are bugs on it either emerging or on the film.

Look for the bulges and ripples from feeding trout. A bulge will indicate trout feeding right below the surface. Ripples indicate the fish is eating on the surface. The former will be good for wet flies or emergers, the later for dries. If no action is found above or on the water the trout are feeding below the water. Investigate under rocks and see what crawls out. An aquarium net is great for seeing what is in the surface film or below. You now have an idea what and where the fish are eating.

Water clarity is important. The clearer the water the more the trout will spook. Be careful on your approach and use a long thin leader. Stained or discolored water calls for a shorter leader.

Now that we know the conditions we can set up out line and leader. Dry flies will fish with a floating line, 9-12′ leader and 6x tippet. Wet flies or nymphs will fish with the same line but a 7.5′ leader and 4x tippet. You are now ready to get the line wet.

If there is no evidence of any activity from trout or bugs, and there are plenty of days like this, try streamers of nymphs. I use the intermediate sink line and a 7.5′ leader for streamers. This gets them down in the water column. Nymphs are generally fished floating line, a split shot weight above the fly and a strike indicator.

Find the seams in the stream. Look for bubbles or a debris path that will indicate the main current flow. Trout will hold right outside of the main current.

Follow these steps before you tie on your fly and your catch rate will increase.

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