Big Y Fly Fishing Blog

If there’s one part of fly fishing that confuses almost every beginner, it’s leader and tippet sizes. What does 5X mean? Why are leaders different lengths? Do I need fluorocarbon? It can feel like a secret code — but the good news is that once you learn the basics, it all becomes simple and consistent.

This guide breaks down exactly what leader and tippet are, how X-sizing works, how long your leader should be, and how to choose the right setup for the fishing you’re doing.

If you're new to fly fishing, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Waders, boots, nets, floatant, tippet rings, strike indicators, fly boxes, packs, nippers… the list goes on. Walk into a fly shop and it can feel like you need a whole garage full of gear before you ever make your first cast.

How Do I Cast a Fly Rod? A Beginner’s Guide to Fly Casting Basics Learning to cast a fly rod is one of the most rewarding parts of fly fishing. It looks elegant when done well, but don’t let that intimidate you—fly casting is simply a set of smooth, repeatable...

If you’re new to fly fishing, choosing the right fly might feel like cracking a secret code. Trout eat insects with names like Blue-Winged Olive, Pale Morning Dun, and Zebra Midge. Bass eat streamers, poppers, frogs, and things that look like they crawled out of a swamp. And there are thousands of patterns to pick from.

If you’re new to fly fishing, you’ve probably asked the same question every beginner hits sooner or later: “What fly rod should I buy?” With so many lengths and weights, it can feel overwhelming — but it doesn’t need to be. Most anglers only need one good, versatile rod to get started.

Fly fishing can look intimidating from the outside — all the fancy casts, long leaders, and mysterious bug names. But the truth? It’s one of the most enjoyable, beginner-friendly ways to get outside, unwind, and catch fish. You don’t need expensive gear. You don’t need elite casting skills. You just need a few basics and a willingness to try something new.

If you’ve ever walked past a river and seen someone making long, elegant loops of line through the air, you’ve witnessed fly fishing—the art-forward, sometimes frustrating, often addicting cousin of conventional fishing. But what actually is fly fishing, and why does it look so different from the bobbers-and-worms approach most folks grew up with?

Understanding Hook Sizes in Fly Fishing: A Beginner’s Guide If you’re new to fly fishing, hook sizes can feel a little backwards—sometimes literally. The numbers run in opposite directions, different brands size things differently, and a size 8 in one hook style might not match a size 8 in another....

In February 2025, Big Y Fly Co hosted our first shop trip to Christmas Island. For a lot of anglers, this is the big trip. It’s a sort of rite of passage—one of those places that leaves a mark on you and changes the way you think about saltwater fly fishing. If you’ve put in a week on Christmas Island, nobody will ever question your devotion to this whole fly-fishing thing again.

This write-up is a debrief, an explainer, and a handful of things we learned that might help make your first trip to CXI go as smoothly as ours did. If you want a packing list or gear list, we’ve got a blog post for that.

It’s been on the radar for years. Watching someone battle a marlin on an old 80’s TV show is one of my earliest childhood memories. A friend once described chasing marlin on the fly as fly fishing’s “final boss,” and that’s always stuck with me. This year, we finally made...

Big Y Fly Co. vs Big Retail Brands: What You’re Really Paying For Ever wonder why you’re paying $2.00–$7.50 for a single fly at a big box retailer—but can get the same pattern from us for under a buck? We get asked that all the time. And here’s the short...

MPX vs. Premier Gold vs. Hydros Trout: Which Fly Line Should You Actually Fish? Choosing a fly line these days is like picking a craft IPA—too many options, and they all claim to be the best. But when it comes to trusted, all-around trout lines, three names consistently dominate:Scientific Anglers...