Tag Archives: Fly Fish

Carp Fishing Basics

Fly Fishing in Cincinnati ? Come and Join the Fun!

Spend a day learning to fly fish and open up the door to a lifetime of angling adventures and memories. Upon completion of this full day, comprehensive school, you will be skilled and confident enough to pack up your fly fishing gear and head out to enjoy a trip on the water of your choosing. The elements of the sport we feel are essential for beginners and cover in the school are as follows:

· Equipment Knowledge and Selection

· Casting Techniques & Presentation

· Reading Water

· Wading Techniques

· Fishing Knots

· Fly & Leader Selection

· Fly Presentation

· Proper Fish Fighting Techniques

· Lots of time spent fishing!

The setting for our fly fishing schools is a sportsman club in Manchester, Indiana. The location is a short drive from Cincinnati, Ohio. The club is comprised of 1000 pristine acres of rolling hillsides housing 14 ponds and a man-made trout stream. The waters are home to largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, panfish, trout, carp, and catfish. In addition to the breathtaking scenery, a newly remodeled lodge with full amenities is at our disposal.

The fly fishing schools run from March-August. The cost of the school is $175 and includes all fly fishing equipment, a hearty lunch, and beverages. Accommodations at the lodge or nearby casino hotels are available, and we would be happy to make those arrangements for you. The schools are limited to 4 or 5 participants, ensuring a lot of personal attention.

2008 Introductory Fly Fishing School dates:

March 29th

April 5th

April 12th

May 10th

June 7th

June 28th

July 12th

August 2nd

The following items are recommended items for the beginning flyfishing school:

· Flyrod and reel if you own one. If not, one is provided as part of the class.

· Sunglasses-Polarized sunglasses are strongly recommended as they help cut the glare on the water allowing you to “see through” the water.

· Sunscreen

· Hat

· Hiking shoes or similar. Recommend against wearing open-toe shoes

· Bug Spray-usually not bad but you never can tell.

· Camera

· Any personal medications

· Clothing recommendation is long pants (lightweight) and a short sleeve shirt (no bright colors)

· Rain gear if appropriate.

(If you have any questions regarding what to wear or bring, please do not hesitate to call and ask us. We will be more than happy to review the checklist with you.)

To reserve a slot for an upcoming school, please call us at 513-871-3474. If you cannot attend any of the available dates above, you can email or call us and we will place your name on a list and contact you if we open additional school dates. Private schools are also an option if the dates above do not fit your schedule.

For more information, feel free to contact the school instructor, Brian Barnard, at Brian@BestGear.com.

Brian Barnard is a Federation of Fly Fishers licensed instructor at Best Gear, an online supplier of field and stream apparel and Kentucky fly fishing and Ohio fly fishing experts.

Related Blogs

Fishing Tips

Recreational Fly Fishing

Fish eat bugs, plain and simple. So why not try to catch a fish by mimicking a bug? Thats what fly fishermen have been doing for centuries. Fly fishing began as a method to catch salmonids, which include mostly salmon and trout. Today fishermen use this method to attract a variety of fish ranging from carp to saltwater fish off the coast of Caribbean islands.


Fly fishing differs from traditional lure fishing in a couple of different ways. First of all, the fly fisherman has a longer, lighter rod and a heavier line. The fly fisherman will use his lines weight to cast his incredibly light weight bait: a hand tied fly, whereas lure fisherman will use the weight of their bait to cast their line.


The fly fisherman will aim to mimic a live bug by slapping their line against the water, causing a commotion on the top of the water and hopefully attracting fish to their realistically made flies. The flies come in a variety of colors and styles, ranging from felt and feather construction designs that look like frogs, minnows, and even shrimp. Additionally, flies come in two varieties: dry and wet. The dry fly, like it states, floats on top of the water and does not tip below the waters surface, while the wet fly will find itself submerged underwater thanks to the fishermens drastic cast.


Fly fishing is a genuine art. It takes time, practice, and skill to make the task look both doable and easy. A fly fisherman will start with his rod in front of him. He will hold a length of string in his free hand, and then swing the road behind him, directly to an angle behind his head. Then he will swing the rod forward to an approximate 45 degree angle, allowing the free line to move forward and slap against the water. As stated before, he hopes that this disturbance will mimic that of a bug on the waters surface and draw his food to his line.


Fly fishermen have a variety of methods and terms for casting. Different types of casts are used for different reasons. For example, a fly fisherman may want to use a false cast to draw a different kind of lazy fish to them.


The right kind of fly will also make a difference to a fisherman. Some fisherman scratch their creative itch by creating their own flies while others rely on the experts to tie them the best kind of fish, egg, worm, or mouse for their fly.


Regardless of how they cast or what they use for a fly or even where they fish, every fly fisherman will cite the incredible benefits of fly fishing with relaxation topping out the list.

Resources of fly fishing can be found at: www.excitingflyfishing.comand here

Fishing Tips

An Introduction to the Art of Fly-fishing

Fly fishing differs from regular fishing because you don’t use a heavy lure and a light line. Instead, using a fake fly on the end of the line, you cast out a heavy line with a thinner leader on the end. Often a color of ribbon, thread, or fur is tied to the fly. This gives fish the impression that what they see is a bug that they eat. Fly fishing lines are much heavier than regular fishing line, but are often designed to float. There are two types of fly fishing. Dry fly fishing involves the fly remaining on the surface of the water. Wet water fly fishing involves sinking the fly down into the water. Both methods are very effective. The use of the techniques is up to the person fishing and the circumstances on “fishing trips.

Fly fishing is practiced throughout the United States and Canada. The most common states for fly fishing are Montana, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, California, and Alaska. This is because of the amount of fish flowing through the Rocky Mountain area. West Yellowstone is considered the major hub for great fly fishing. More fish are caught here than any other location. Areas of Canada including Alberta as well as other water areas throughout the world are great locations for fly fishing.

Fly fishing is a great sport enjoyed by fisherman all over the world. This method of fishing requires artificial flies, and a rod that is very flexible. The sport of fly fishing has been around since at least 200 A.D. The first knowledge of the sport is found in books written during that time period. Today the sport remains very popular. Most people fly fish for trout, salmon, and bass.

This sport of fly fishing continues to be very popular, with no sign of letting up any time soon. Fly fishing enthusiasts spend lots of time and money fly fishing. They buy the best equipment and travel to the best fishing locations, hoping to be lucky enough to catch that great fish swimming upstream.

Stevie James is an experienced fisherman who has set up a Free Fishing Information website to offer free tips, techniques and tutorials that will really help you on the way to more successful and more enjoyable fishing!

Fishing Strategies

How To Fly Fish For Carp

Fly fishing for carp is awesome and frustrating at the same time. Carp have a really uncanny ability to spit out baits they deem suspicious before you have a chance to set your hook.  Although it’s a very exciting thing to see, it can also be heartbreaking to see a large carp disregard your bait and quickly swim away. If you do hook one, however, hold on for deal life and hold on to that trembling, vibrating fishing pole!

Carp regularly come to the surface looking for food and the best baits to lure them there are breads, chic peas, salmon eggs and canned corn. These are all inexpensive baits as well.  These baits must be securely attached to a #4 or #6 hook.  It’s advisable to break your bread into small portions, dampen it, seal it in a sandwich bag, and let it sit in the sun for about an hour or so.  Since different breads have different textures,you’ll have to experiment to know which one will stay firm enough to cast.  Another great bait are the pellets which you can buy ready to use.  These are simply store made versions of classic baits, all rolled into a convenient, and smelly pellet!

Carp tend to scare easily, so when they begin to swim around your bait, be careful not to jerk the bait and scare them away.  The longer they analyze the bait, the more comfortable they’ll become.  This is the fisherman’s best chance for a nice strike.  This tactic can be very useful if using zig rigs.

If a carp takes your bait, quickly rebait your hook and cast back in.  Don’t cast directly on top of the feeding carp or they will surely scatter.  Cast away from the feeding area then slowly reel the bait into position.  Slowly reel your bait into the middle of the feeding carp, and try hard to keep it as close to the surface as possible.  You may want to rig it 6-8 inches unter a float to ensure it sits close to the surface. 

Here are some tips that have been helpful to me:

-Use smaller amounts of bait for carp.  They nibble at the bait, and a big chunk will allow them to nibble for a long time before getting to the hook.  You don’t want them to get their fill without taking your hook.

-Use heavyweight line and a steel leader.  Carp tend to rub their teeth and gums together after they bite, and this can break your line.  I recommend at least thirty pound test line, as carp are voracious fighters.

-Dip a piece of sponge in some fish scent (can be bought at any bait 7 tackle store) and hang the sponge above your hook.  The scent will help the carp find the bait-and your hook.

-Using a float is a good idea because it helps keep your bait close to the surface and it’s easy to find your rig.  You can also tell right away when you get a bite.

-When fly fishing for carp, use a standard five second count after your fly or bait hits the water.  If you don’t get any hits, increase it to ten seconds.  Carp tend to practice restraint if they are unsure of a bait.  Those extra seconds could mean the difference between getting a bite or not. 

In the end, it really isn’t the bait that’s most important but how the bait is fished.  Throwing some bait into the water before fishing, also called “chumming”, can also be an effective technique to draw carp to your fishing area.  This makes the carp think that there is an excessive amount of food for them there and before you know it there will be a large school of them ready to feed.  The number one key to fishing is patience.  If you can wait them out and wait for them to realize there is food available, you’ll definitely catch a big carp.

If you would like to learn more about fishing for carp and read some more fly fishing tips, visit: Fishing Tips For Beginners

Carp Fishing Equipment

Fishing 101: The Essential Guide to Learning How to Fish

Product Description

If you’re finally ready to learn how to fish the right way… how to select the right fishing spots … which tackle gets the best results… or how to choose to most appropriate bait… then you’ve found the right book!

Have you ever wondered whether fishing can be fun again? When you fish, you can… enjoy the great outdoors from the edge of a lake or stream, fly-fish in your waders, or even take in the fresh salty air while deep-sea fishing.
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Fishing 101: The Essential Guide to Learning How to Fish