Beginners Fly Fishing Glossary A's
Fly-Fishing can often be confusing to beginners to the sport because fly-fishermen talk and write in a strange language using words not always in standard use. To help take some of the confusion out of the terms bandied about by fly fishermen we have compiled this fly fishing glossary.
[ A ] [ B ] [ C ] [ D ] [ E ] [ F ] [ G ] [ H ] [ I ] [ J ] [ K ] [ L ] [ M ] [ N ] [ O ] [ P ] [ Q ] [ R ] [ S ] [ T ] [ U ] [ V ] [ W ] [ X ] [ Y ] [ Z ]
Action: An elusive, but important characteristic of fly rods. Fly fishing rods are said to have fast or slow action. Fast action fly rods are generally stiffer overall, but bend more at the tip, generating higher line speeds longer casts, especially into the wind. Slow action fly rods, appear to flex their entire length, giving the sense of a more compliant feel.
Adams: A superb all round dry fly created by Leonard Hallady in the Michigan in the early 1920's. The Adams Fly however it is still is a modern looking fly available as Adams Dry Fly Pattern and female Adams Female Dry Fly and in different variants including highly buoyant Adams Irresistable and mayfly like Adams Wulff. This is a standard fly fishing fly in our fly box and has caught fish all around the world, indeed sales show it is one of the most popular flies world-wide
Adult: the winged stage of aquatic insects; reproductive stage these are usually replicated with dry flies.
Albright knot: A common knot used for tying the backing to fly line.
Alder Fly: the Alder Fly is a large, sluggish fly often found on vegetation near to water.
Alexandra Pattern: The Alexandra fly pattern is old exciting fly pattern with an interesting history. The Alexander was first called ‘The lady of the lake’ then renamed after Queen Alexander having originally been tied around 1860. It is still best fished in lakes for Trout as a fry imitator, retrieve in a series of sharp irregular jerks, although it fishes well in rivers but mainly for Sea Trout where the pattern is used in Alexandra Snake flies in addition to the standard Alexandra wet fly pattern. The Alexandra will when sea trout fly fishing, rainbow trout fly fishing, salmon fly fishing and for lake trout and arctic char.
Allys Shrimp: a shrimp fly pattern, the Allys Shrimp range was developed By Scottish fly tyer Alastair (Ally) Gowans, Ally then created the Allys Cascade for a bet which has become a succcessful fly in ots own flight. The Allys Shrimp and Cascade styles have now been used to create a range of Salmon Flies and Snake Flies.
Amherst Pheasant: The Lady Amherst's pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) is a bird of the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. These are native to south western China and Burma, closely related to the golden pheasant, the Amherst is used for fly tying particularly the Amherst Centre Tail, Amherst Head Piece and the Amherst Pheasant Tippet Feathers particularly for salmon flies
Anadromous: A term to describe fish that travel from the sea upriver to spawn in fresh water like salmon. Fish that migrate from freshwater to the sea for spawning are catadromous.
Anti-Reverse: A feature of fly reels where the handle does not turn as flyline is pulled out from the reel.
Antron: Antron has a tri-lobal cross section, and is essentially a nylon material. This design permits lots of internal reflections. It comes in various fiber diameters and softnesses and is used for fly tying as Antron Dubbing, parachute posts and body wool.
Arctic Char: is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. It breeds in fresh water, and populations can be either landlocked or anadromous, migrating to the sea. Arctic Char one of the rarest fish species in Britain, found only in deep, cold, glacial lakes.
Arctic Fox: The arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox. Is is a small fox with a thick coat that turns white in winter, found on the tundra of North America and Eurasia.
Asian Blue Kingfisher: Found; Indian Subcontinent and southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines The Asian Blue Kingfisher has blue ear coverts; cobalt-blue upperparts; white neck blaze; rufous underparts and is used in fly tying.
Attractor A style or variety of fishing fly that is effective in eliciting strikes, but has few apparent characteristics of a natural food item. Often an attractor is flashy and bigger than life, many trout lures or streamers are called attractor patterns..
Arbor The center part of a fly reel where backing line is wound first then the fly line, modern reels are often Large Arbour Reels which means you can add lots of backing and it helps reduces flyline tangle and memory.
Arbor knot: A knot used for tying backing to the arbor of the fly fishing reel.
Return to Top
