Like all types of fishing, it is as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.  To start catching fish there are 7 items that you have to have with you on the water.  These 7 items are

1)      A matching rod, reel, and line

a)      Your rod selection should be based on what you are targeting and the amount of time you spend fishing. General recommendation

i)        For Mountain trout a 4wt or 5wt.  On smaller streams or streams with lots of overhead cover a shorter(7 ½ to 8 ½ )  4wt rod can  make casting a little easier. 

ii)       For Bream and Bass a 5wt, 6wt, or 7wt are great options.  The 5wt is great for casting small to medium poppers and flies to bream and bass.  To cast the bigger flies to the large bucket mouths, a 6wt or 7wt are a better option.

iii)     7 wt or 8wt  is a good options for saltwater species such as puppy drum and sea trout

2)      Flies

a)      The selection of flies a person needs to stock is vast and based on the targets species.  There is no way to determine which flies will be best, however there are a couple that I also like to carry regardless of what I am fishing for. They are the Woolly Bugger and the San Juan Worm. 

i)        The woolly bugger is one of the most versatile patterns.  This pattern can imitate a large variety of aquatic animals such as Crayfish or baitfish.  It can be tied in any color with the traditional colors (and what I favor) are black and olive. 

ii)       All bodies of water have aquatic worms.  This is why earthworms and mealworms work so well.  The San Juan worm was created for the San Juan River in New Mexico.  It is such an effective pattern that it has been fished in almost every body of water.  These 1 ½  to 3’ long  worms  can be tied in any color.  The popular color is red for the bloodworms.  Brown and purple are also great colors to have.

b)      ADDITIONAL NOTE: The use of barbless hooks helps the fish and you.  A barbless does minimal damage and allows for easy release. 

3)      A Case To Hold Your Extra Flies

a)      A case serves two purposes:

i)        It transports the flies without  imbedding a hook in your body (an additional reason to use barbless hooks) and;

ii)       protects the  flies from damage

b)      The case doesn’t have to be expensive or big.  I do a lot of impromptu kayak fishing in the 110 acre lake behind our house.  The case that I use the most is an Altoid tin with strips of craft foam glued to it.  This case can hold a variety of flies and can be slid into a shirt or pants pocket easily.

c)       The only wrong fly box is the one that does not work for you.  I have a variety of boxes that range from my homemade Altoid tin, a GNC pill divider, to bass pro boxes.

4)      Tapered Leaders

a)      Tapered leaders have three sections: the butt, the taper, and the tippet.  The butt is the thickest part of the leader.  It attaches the leader to the fly line.  The taper is the junction that reduces the diameter of the leader to the tippet.  The tippet is where the fly is attached.  It is the thinnest part of the leader.

b)      There are two types of tapered leaders: knotted and knotless

i)        Knotless leaders are an extruded line that smoothly slims down from the butt to the tippet.

ii)       The knotted leader is multiple pieces of material tied together that get progressive smaller to form the taper and tippet.

c)       Leader size is labeled by the “X”.  There is some logic behind this system but it can get complicated.  The important thing to know is the larger the number the smaller (and weaker in lbs) the tippet.

d)      Many fly anglers may disagree with me, but tapered leaders are not always needed.  Tapered leaders are for delicate presentation that requires as little water disruption as possible such as when of a fly landing on the water or floating down stream naturally.  A length of 6 or 8 lbs mono is all that is required when throwing poppers to bream or bass.  When fishing weed beds and lily pads, I like to go up to a 15 lbs mono.  In the salt, it is possible to go even larger.

5)      Spare Tippet

a)      Every time that you change flies you will lose about 6 to 8 inches of tippet. Once the tippet is gone you can replace it with more or put on a different leader.

b)      A spare roll of tippet saves money.  Changing the leader every time the tippet runs out gets expensive.  Tying on new tippet is simple know to learn.

6)      forceps or small  long nose pliers

a)      If the fish is hooked in the corner of the mouth then these are not necessary.  But when a fish swallows a fly then these are necessary to remove it.  

b)      For smaller fish such as trout and bream, I recommend forceps.  This is because the jaws are thinner and able to reach farther into the mouth.  For the larger fish (and Flies), pliers work just fine. 

c)       A word of caution, flies are much more delicate than casting lures.  Use care when removing them so that they can be used to catch multiple fish.

7)      Nippers

a)      Nippers are important because they allow you to cut the tippet without the use of a knife.

b)      There are many types of nippers available.  A simple pair of nail trimmers works great for this.  I prefer the type that are marketed for fly fishing.  This is because they tend to come with other tools such as a post that can be used to clear head cement out of the eye of the hook.  Some even have hook sharpeners and knot tools attached.