Reference
A plain-English fly fishing glossary
The vocabulary is the barrier far more often than the casting is.
The water and the cast
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Seam | The line where fast water runs alongside slow water. Where fish hold. |
| Drift line | The visible ribbon of foam and debris tracking down a seam. |
| Mend | Flicking a loop of line upstream after the cast to stop the current dragging the fly. |
| Drag | The fly being pulled unnaturally across the current by the line. The main reason fish refuse. |
| Dead drift | A fly travelling at exactly the speed of the current, under no tension. |
| Pocket water | Broken water around boulders, full of small holding spots. |
The insects
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Nymph | The underwater larval stage of an aquatic insect, and the flies that imitate it. |
| Emerger | An insect in the act of hatching, stuck in the surface film. Often what fish are actually eating. |
| Dun | A freshly hatched adult mayfly on the surface, wings up, drying them. |
| Spinner | The final adult mayfly stage, which mates and falls spent on the water. |
| Terrestrial | A land insect blown onto the water — hoppers, ants, beetles. |
The tackle and the fly
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tippet | The fine end section of leader that the fly is tied to. |
| X rating | Tippet diameter. Bigger number means thinner: 6X is finer than 4X. |
| Hackle | Feather wound round the hook to suggest legs and, on a dry fly, to float it. |
| Dubbing | Fine fur or synthetic fibre twisted onto thread to form a fly's body. |
| Bead head | A metal bead at the head of a fly to sink it. Tungsten sinks about twice as fast as brass. |
| Sighter | Brightly coloured leader section watched for takes when euro nymphing. |
| Floatant | Gel or powder that keeps a dry fly in the surface film. |