Fly Fishing In The United Kingdom

Fly fishing requires skill, understanding, patience and a little common sense, but not as much as you may think and it is possible to get started after a brief introduction to the techniques. The first thing to know is that you will need slightly different equipment than used in other forms of fishing.

Although Wikipedia states that fly fishing requires the use of an especially long fly rod most anglers will know that this is simply not true as fly fishing rods can be as short as a few feet. Obviously much depends on where you go and while an enormously long rod would be beneficial on the open river fishing for salmon it would actually be highly dangerous to use such a fly-fishing rod when fishing for brown trout with a high bank behind you and overhanging branches, in which case you would use a much shorter fly fishing rod and a different type of cast to ensure you do not end up in a tangled mess!

When fly fishing you also use a different type of fishing line. If you are used to spinning or bait fishing you will be aware that it is the weight of the spinner, lure or bait that carries the hook through the air but in fly fishing it is actually the weight of the line that carries the hook.

The first thing to understand about fly fishing in the United Kingdom of Great Britain is understanding the laws to which you must abide and you will find out more about this topic on our main fishing page in the section Fishing Law In The United Kingdom

Once you have all of the required licences and permits/permissions you can begin to think about the more fun aspects of the sport. The United Kingdom has a long history in fly fishing. It was first written about at the very end of the 15th century and by the 19th century fly fishing clubs had begun to appear and in some regions (such as the Highlands of Scotland) the tourism associated with the sport quickly became a vital part of the local economy. Throughout the 20th century fly fishing technology advanced and such things as new materials and production methods made the sport affordable for all but the very poorest folk.

Today there is much talk of decline in angling and while some areas of the sport display all the features of decline other areas are seeing an increase in interest. Although fly fishing is generally seen as "an old man's sport" in Britain the recent developments in techniques, such as "reservoir-style" fly fishing, and the practice of Catch-and-release have made the sport more appealing to newcomers (due to the increased chance of a catch and the for eco-friendly approach to the sport etc.).

As mentioned above the "reservoir-style" of fly fishing is becoming increasingly popular. Previously the technique of fly-fishing involved the tempting of the fish (usually trout or salmon) to the surface of the water by allowing the fly to float on the surface film, this type of fly fishing is commonly called the loch-style. Loch-style fly-fishing employs the use of flies which float (floaters) whereas reservoir-style fly fishing requires flies which sink below the surface (sinkers).

Loch-style fly fishing flies are often very small and in subdued colours emulating the natural appearance of a fly. There are some very famous fly patterns which use tried and tested colours and materials and have unusual names such as the salmon flies "Willie Gunn" and "Hairy Mary" or the sea trout flies "Silver Invicta" or "Stoat's Tail". An experienced angler will have a selection of such flies and will instinctively know which flies are best suited to a particular place or type of weather.

Reservoir-style fly fishing flies are generally larger and more boldly coloured. The reason for this is rather obvious when you think about it, the deeper you go in water the less light there is so the more difficult it is to see the fly (well that is the theory!).

Methods of fly fishing need to change depending on the type of terrain and weather. The angler needs to adapt his/her casting method accordingly which means that they can use the forward cast, curve-cast or side-cast, single or double-haul cast, the tuck cast or the roll cast as well as the technique known as Spey casting.

Methods of fly fishing need to change depending on the type of terrain and weather. The angler needs to adapt his/her casting method accordingly which means that they can use the forward cast, curve-cast or side-cast, single or double-haul cast, the tuck cast or the roll cast as well as the technique known as Spey casting.

The three main types of fishing are Game, Coarse and Sea fishing. Game fish in the United Kingdom include the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar); the brown trout (Salmo trutta) and the migratory sub-species sea trout (also Salmo trutta), the arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) and rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss). Also the grayling (Thymallus thymallus) is often included in the category of Game fish although it can also be classed as a Coarse fish along with pike, perch, roach and other fish. Coarse fishing is not as popular in Scotland as it is elsewhere in Britain. Sea fish which take the fly include various sharks, cod (Gadus morhua), pollack (Pollachious pollachius), whiting (Merlangius merlangus), haddock (Melanogramus aeglefinus) and, probably the easiest fish to catch with the fly, mackerel (Scomber scombrus). Fly fishing at sea can give great sport, especially if you are fishing for the common skate (Raja batis) or the Thornback ray (Raja clavata) and increasingly bass (Dcentrachus labrax) and grey mullet (Chelon labrosus).

Fly fishing can be enjoyed on virtually any stretch of water where there are fish (that take the fly) to be caught. The sport can be enjoyed across Britain in freshwater or seawater however most people would agree that the finest fly-fishing is to be had in Scotland. Scotland gets more rainfall than elsewhere in the UK and there is an abundance of water across the country (see our main page on fishing for the facts).

Fly fishing in lochs (or lakes in places other than Scotland) can provide a peaceful day's fishing for any angler and while there are plenty of peaceful places to be found on a river there are often times when the sound of water rushing over stones is almost deafening but wherever you go fly-fishing you can be sure of beautiful scenery and, I promise you, there will be fish there, somewhere, it's just up to you to catch them!

Fly fishing is an enormous topic and we shall be adding more to this section as soon as we can. We are a not-for-profit organisation which uses revenues to maintain our sites and expand them if you would like to help us by improving this section please contact us.