When we speak of fishing flies, what exactly do we mean? These are basically lures that are made to look like favorite meals for the fish. They may be in the form of insects or even other smaller fish. What is important is for the flies to resemble the natural food enough to attract the fish. This is the basic principle that has been used since time immemorial.

Both fishermen and fly makers employ a lot of creativity in their designs, which is awe inspiring even to the anglers. These artificial devices are very practical yet they are often great works of art in themselves.

This illustration from a book published in the 18th century shows flies that look quite familiar.

Here are some of the flies you might want to use.

• Dry fly: This type of lure is meant to float on the surface of the water, appearing to the fish, say, like a dragonfly. Fish often take the opportunity before the thing “flies away.” The goal is to make the lure too attractive for the fish to ignore. The dry fly is most commonly used in fresh water fishing where the surface is calm.
• Wet fly: This type of lure is intended to sink slightly below the water’s surface. Such a lure may be in the form of a nymph, which is a young insect whose wings have not yet developed. The real ones usually crawl on underwater rocks, which is a great attraction to such species as trout.
• Terrestrial flies: These are designed to look like things that do not normally live on or in water but just close by it like Lady Bugs, Beetles, and Crickets. Every once in a while such creatures accidentally fall in the water, which is what the lures emulate.
• Streamers: These lures essentially resemble other types of fish. They can be used in both fresh and salt water fishing.

Of course, there are some flies that are not made to look like animals; some resemble different types of plants that are delicacies to the fish.

There are lots of books about making your own fishing flies. In fact it make a great hobby for when you can’t go fishing. You can let your creativity shine as you come up with your own unique fishing flies. You can even sell your flies at flea markets or on Ebay. Go ahead and give it try!

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As any angler knows, successful fly fishing relies in large part on the types of fishing flies you use. Of course, most anglers also realize figuring out which flies to use with which species of fish is anything but simple. Selecting just the right fishing flies for the eating habits of the species in a given locality is an art unto itself, but there are some general guidelines that can help you get started. Click to continue »

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