by L. Woodrow Ross

Created on: November 07, 2010

Similar to  many activities, fly fishing has terminology that is unique to the sport. Understanding the terms is a good step toward becoming a knowlegeable fly fisherman.

A first step would be to understand the names of the pieces of equipment. "Weight" refers to the size of the rod and line in reference to the size of fish targeted. "Backing" is the line placed directly on the arbor of the reel. It assures that if a large fish makes a strong run that takes all of the fly line, the backing will come into play and provide an additional safety margin.

"Leader" is the monofilament or fluorocarbon line attached to the fly line and is transparent and almost invisible in the water. "Tippet" is the extremely fine monofilament attached to the leader and is the weakest link in the entire line system, but is necessary to make the fly appear lifelike.

"Dry flies" are imitations of insects that float on top of the water. "Emergers" are flies that sit in the surface film and are more visible to fish. "Nymphs" are subsurface flies that imitation aquatic insects. "Wet flies" are also sub-surface flies, but are lighter than nymphs. "Streamers" are large sub-surface flies that imitate small fish and other prey of large fish. "Terrestrials" are imitations of land-based insects such as grasshoppers, ants, beetles and inchworms.

Casting techniques also have their own terminology. "Mends" are casting techniques that minimize drag of flies due to effects of the current. "Roll cast" and "steeple cast" are casts that are used when a full backcast cannot be used due to trees and brush behind the fisherman. "Double Haul" is a cast used to achieve long distance or casting into the wind.

Terms associated with "reading the water" are often used. "Pocket water" refers to cascades or falls with many little pools or pockets. "Riffles" are rapids and areas where water is highly oxygenated and good places to fish when water is warm. "Seams" are where fast water and slow water meet. Insects collect along these areas and are good places to fish. "Eddies" are circular currents, usually at bends. Insects collect in these areas and fish feed there. Large fish may be delicately sipping flies from the eddy. Also, due to the circular movement of the water, the fish will be facing downstream.

These are but a few of the terms that are unique to fly fishing, and learning them will enrich your fishing and make you a better student of the sport.

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