If you've been fly fishing for any length of time, then you probably tie your own flies.

Chances are, you have a large workspace set aside for fly tying -- like a fly tying table or workbench. 

Here are some tips for keeping that workspace neat and tidy, as well as some of the must-have items you should have at your fly tying bench.

One of the most important aspects of fly fishing is knot tying. If knots are not tied appropriately for the situation at hand or if they aren't tied correctly, then you're not likely to land many fish.

Here are some tips for tying knots, plus links to the best sites for learning to tie your own fly fishing knots -- including animated photos and videos!

Tying your own fishing flies is an art that can be mastered with practice.

When you tie your own flies, it makes fly fishing more interesting. And when you learn to tie flies that lure fish to your line, you have a great feeling of accomplishment.

Before you begin tying flies, there are the most important tools you will need.

The oldest form of fly fishing is wet fly casting.

The wet fly has been traced back hundreds of years by historians. Check out the history of fly fishing, which is especially interesting during the era between 1800 and 1850.

Beginners to fly fishing are often more successful when using a wet fly, but the technique can't be learned in a day. No matter how much you use your wet fly technique over time, there will still be much to learn.

So you’ve decided to take up fly fishing?

You’ve bought the necessary fly fishing gear for beginners and now you’re searching for a few tips to help you catch a bunch of fish.

Let’s take a look at some ways to make your first fly fishing adventures more enjoyable ...and successful!

If you have recently taken up fly fishing it’s imperative that you’re able to read the water surface activity, also known as “reading the rise.” 

This allows you to know exactly what the fish are doing and also when their activity changes.

What exactly is the rise? The rise is the movement a fish makes when it comes to the water's surface to take an insect.

Why should you know how to read the rise? Because the fish’s activity lets you know which tactics to use in order to catch fish.

When casting to a rising fish, don't target the rise rings. Put your fly at least 3-4 feet in front of where you saw the fish last rise, remembering to give yourself time to thrown an upstream mend into the line if needed.
Source: Fly Fishing Tips

You've probably seen it before. You are on the river or lake. You see all kinds of insects flying around. You see bugs in the air, bugs on the water. 

Right about then you're thinking, "I need to match the hatch" to catch these fish. Which for the uninitiated means try to match the live flies you are witnessing with a good imitation. Maybe. Or, maybe you need to go 180 the other direction.

Stay with me here...

Fly fishing is a sport that can be enjoyed by the entire family. The age that a child learns to fly fish is really irrelevant.

What you need to know is:

If your child is ready to learn the skills associated with fly fishing; and

If your child is strong enough to hold the fly rod.

If your child possesses these traits, then she is ready to be taught the art of fly fishing.

Some kids are ready to learn fly fishing basics when they are 7 or 8 years old. Others will need more time and may be as old as 12 or 13 before they're ready to experience their first fly fishing adventure.

If you plan on taking up the sport of fly fishing, the equipment you choose will be imperative to your success.

Here are some tips to help you find the best gear and equipment for your first fly fishing outings...

Drawing Flies 365 - A fly a day.
That's the challenge DrawingFlies365 blog owner Jeff Kennedy has issued himself. You gotta see this man's art.

I can't remember which fly fishing website I was surfing when I found this a couple of days ago. Jeff Kennedy has decided he is going to draw/paint/sketch/ a fly a day for a year.

Fly Fishing Hatch Charts can be a great tool for helping you plan a fly fishing trip.  Using a hatch chart can help you determine what kind of bugs are hatching, in what part of the country, during what time of the year.

Basically, a hatch chart is a graph or calendar, marked with that information, based on bug activity from previous years.  Look at this one and you'll see what I mean. I helped put this one together for the area of Montana I guide in the most.

A Hatch Chart For Southwestern Montana

Free Trout Fishing Flies, Well, Almost!

At full retail, you could expect to pay Orvis at least $2.00/fly. Not today. Today you can have this entire assortment for only $9.95. I'm not trying to sound like an infomercial here but these are great flies for only 50 cents each and you get free shipping too! It's a SWEET deal!

I have bought flies from Orvis in the past. They have always been well tied flies using good materials. I also bought one of my favorite fly reels, the Orvis Battenkill Mid Arbor, from them. Love that reel.

Orvis is a great source for fly fishing tackle.

If you have never been to The Orvis Website , you should give it a try. If you have been there or are already a customer there, you know what I mean. Not only can you find just about anything you need as far as flyfishing tackle goes, but they also have some great informational pages. For example, the story on Rosenbauer's Rabbit's Foot Emerger and Parachute.

Another thing about Orvis - They spend a great deal of money every year to help with environmental issues, stream rehabilitation projects and outdoors education. I like that about them. Check out their Conservation Efforts Page and see for yourself.

I love to give gifts. I hate to go shopping.

I don't like to go shopping for gifts. I like to go buying. What I mean is, I hate to go to a store and wander around aisle after aisle without something specific in mind. Every time I do that, I find myself walking in circles like an adventurer with a broken compass. It seems as if every aisle starts to look the same, just like trees in the forest. Searching, hoping something will catch my eye and shout "Hey, you! Mr. clueless lost man! Buy me! I'm the perfect thing. BUY MEEEeeee!!!!" Nope, I hate that part. I like to have a pretty good idea of what I want to buy for someone long before I go to a store. Once I know what I want, I'll go to a store, inspect the item up close and if it suits my expectations, I make the purchase. Hopefully they gift wrap because that is another thing I'm not fond of doing.

Seeing as how Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I'm taking some advice from a blogger friend of mine. Her name is Meridith and her family likes to fly fish. She sometimes writes about it on her website about Brentwood, TN. Check it out. She gave me the idea about putting together a list of Valentine's Day gift ideas for fly fishermen/women. That got me to thinking about fly fishing oriented gifts I have been given. Some good, some well intentioned but not so good. The beautiful and the ugly. Here's a list of 10 ideas that cover both ends of the map. In this list you'll find fly fishing gifts under $10 to over $1000. To my fellow shopping haters, quit walking in circles with that dazed look in your eyes. Here, my gift-seeking adventurers, is your compass.

These is a list of 7 products I really like and 3 that I could have lived without. I hope you find it useful.

"Ron, I'm no expert but if you want me to, I think I can help you with your cast." he said. He put it as politely as anyone could have. It was the first day I had met the man face to face and he has become one of my finest friends. Everybody calls him Dan, so I do too.

I first met Dan on a fly fishing website where folks would post fishing reports and share tips and techniques. We wrote back and forth several times and eventually planned a day's fishing together. We met on the banks of the Caney Fork river, strung up our rods and waded into the river to a spot he knew well. He'd been catching lots of rainbow and brown trout in the area and said it should be a good day. I was pumped. I was also a little nervous. It was my first time fly fishing.

Fast-forward about two hours into the morning. I watched him catch and release at least a half dozen fish as I struggled to get my fly in front of a feeding trout. I'd whip my rod back and forth a few times and let my fly splash down. Usually way too short of the target, usually with a big splash that would spook any trout within 20 yards. It was often in a tangled mess, more often amidst a tangled mess of expletives mumbled barely under my breath. I was standing waist deep in a river of frustration and he could tell it was getting to me. He let me struggle a while trying to figure it out on my own then offered his assistance in a quiet, unassuming way that belies his skill and expertise.

You are just about ready to go fishing...

Aside from a few practice casts, all you need now is to tie on a fly.

You've got your rod and reel and fly line. Next you need to have a leader tied to the end of your fly line.

What Is A Leader?

A leader is usually more like regular old fishing line you may be familiar with. It's usually clear and tapered. Thick at the butt end, which is the end you connect to the fly line and much thinner at the terminal, or tippet end. They are tapered to help transfer the casting energy and present the fly properly. They call it turning over the fly.

The terminal end is where you tie either a fly or some tippet material depending on the type of fishing you will be doing and the type of water you will be working. You can buy leaders in many lengths. The most common two are probably 9 feet and 7 1/2 feet. I use longer leaders in waters that run more clear and with smaller flies. Leaders run from simple single strand mono-filament to multi stranded affairs called furled leaders. I've never used a furled leader, but some folks swear by them. I'll find one and try it and report back. Now then, let's talk about tippet.

It was a long time ago when the guy behind the counter at the White's Auto Store asked me if I wanted a fast one or a slow one. A really long time ago. I was totally confounded and confused and didn't have an answer for him. I had no idea there were fast ones and slow ones and half fast ones. I was a young bundle of nerves, anxiety and clueless all rolled into one. I just wanted to buy a fly rod and catch a fish.

Let's see if I can spare you some of that anxiety in preparation of your quest to purchase a fly rod.

"You want a fast one or slow one? I got two here. Gonna be strippin' wets or you think yer gonna be driftin' a dry to risers most of the time?" queried the man behind the counter. I stood in silence. I had that deer in the headlights feeling inside my brain. I didn't understand a word he had said. He continued "Come on now boy, yer gonna have to give me a hint iffin you want me ta help ya."

"I, uhhh, I'm not, ahh, sure. I don't know." was all I could muster. "I just want to buy a fly rod."