8 fly fishing myths and misconceptions | Hatch Magazine
November 23, 2025 
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There’s an old Mark Twain quote that’s particularly relevant for those of us who fly fish for trout.
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
If you watch fly fishing instructional videos, or read articles and blog posts about the sport, it won’t take long before you run across some really bad advice.
Sometimes that advice is so ridiculous that it’s essentially self-limiting. More often than not, though, it sounds just plausible enough that unsuspecting anglers will take it to heart and share it with other folks. Which is a major reason why there are so many problematic myths and misconceptions floating around our sport.
With that in mind, let’s shine a bright light on some of the most egregious “conventional wisdom” that permeates our trout fishing.
Flies
An awful lot of anglers believe that their success will be assured if they can just find, and employ, the perfect fly. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that’s simply not true. You can fish the “magic fly” — whatever the “magic fly” might be — all day long, but unless you fish it with some degree of skill and perseverance, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Now don’t get me wrong. Flies are important, and you should always pick a fly that’s appropriate for the conditions and the situation. But fly choice alone is never, ever enough. A great fly fished poorly will guarantee poor results. That’s just the way it works.
Fast Action Fly Rods
I jumped on the internet the other day and found the following descriptions of various fast action rods: “Immense casting power.” “Incredibly accurate.” “Greater range.” “Maximum versatility.” “Quick recovery.” “Bold and powerful.”
Sounds great, right? What’s not to love? After all, marketing departments and advertising agencies have been beating the “fast action” drum for years.
That said, there’s another side to this particular story. It takes way more effort to bend fast action rods than moderate action rods, and it also requires more skill to cast one effectively. Fast action rods are less forgiving. They also tire you out quicker. Oh, and they tend to perform poorly at normal trout fishing distances.
At the same time, fast action rods transmit less information to the caster. They exacerbate bad timing. They don’t load well with true-to-weight fly lines. And in case you haven’t heard, they’re not nearly as much fun to cast, or to fish, as more moderate action rods.
That said, we should always look on the bright side. In a pinch, fast action rods can double as wading staffs.
We Should Strive To Make Fly Fishing As Easy As Possible
There are certain things that we really do want to be easy. For example, getting in to see your doctor when you’re sick. Pulling up an accurate weather forecast before your next fishing trip. Finding someplace to grab a beer and a decent burger when you get off the river at dark. Fly fishing, though, is a horse of a different color. We should never want it to be easy.
Why? Because when we fish with a fly rod, we are consciously choosing to use equipment and techniques that are more interesting, and challenging, and — ultimately — satisfying. We’re opting for a style of fishing the emphasizes the process over the results. We are solving puzzles, and living in the moment, and pushing ourselves to make the best possible cast and drift. If fly fishing were easy, it would be boring as hell and it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun. Never forget that. Our fishing is not supposed to be easy.
Of course, if you really do want easy fishing, you have options. You can always grab a container of worms and head out with your spinning gear. But please don’t complain that fly fishing is hard. It’s supposed to be hard. Which is one of the things that makes it so enjoyable.
Using Two Flies At Once Doubles Our Chances of Success
Nope. There are certainly times when it helps to fish two flies simultaneously, and other times when it hurts, but fishing two flies at once rarely doubles our chance of success.
Why? Because fishing two flies at once makes drag far more likely, and negatively impacts our casting accuracy, and increases the odds that we’ll end up with tangled leaders & tippets.
Long story short, there are definitely times when it helps to fish two flies at once … but despite what you may hear from your fellow anglers, doing so will almost never double your odds for a successful day on the water.
Fly Casting Is Over-Rated
Fact or fiction? Well, I guess that depends on your perspective. You definitely don’t need to cast well to put fish in the net. Poor-to-mediocre fly casters have caught a lot of fish over the years. A lot of fish. At the same time, though, good casters invariably catch more fish, and have more fun, than poor casters.
Which leaves us with a choice. For those of us who are satisfied with mediocrity, fly casting may indeed be over-rated. But for those of us who want to get the most enjoyment from our time on the river, putting in the work to become a better caster is the obvious choice.
Weight Forward Fly Lines Are Better Than Double Taper Fly Lines
Whether you label this particular assertion as a myth may well depend on your definition of the word “better.” If you believe that “better” equates to fly lines that increase profits for our fly line manufacturers, then, yes, weight forward fly lines are indeed the best possible choice. On the other hand, double taper fly lines deliver equal-to-superior performance, and offer far more value, for most trout anglers. Which means that if you want to ensure that the companies that make fly lines have higher profits, then weight forward lines are indeed superior. On the other hand, DT lines tend to offer equal-to-better performance, and more value, for most trout-focused fly fishers.
Don’t False Cast More Than Absolutely Necessary
I’ve always found it a little suspicious that the majority of folks who tell us to limit our false casting are poor-to-mediocre fly casters. Regardless, please keep in mind that there are any number of excellent reasons to false cast, and that we should never overlook the fact that false casting, done well, is incredibly enjoyable. Long story short, fly fishers should false cast as much as they want. If you don’t want to false cast, then keep your false casting to a minimum. If you enjoy it, however, then false cast to your heart’s content.
Success Is All About Size & Numbers
I was in a drift boat with a fly fishing guide last year and he asked how I’d differentiate a good guide from a fair-to-poor guide. While I shared a couple of thoughts with him, one particular criteria seems awfully relevant right now.
Good guides ask their clients what they want from their time on the water. Less-good guides don’t. They simply assume that their clients want to catch as many large trout as possible, and they don’t even bother to ask what will make their clients happy.
Sadly, that same mistake is pervasive throughout our sport — and it leads to an obvious question.
How do we define success?
Well, sometimes it is indeed the size of the fish we just caught, or the number of trout we brought to hand. But other times it’s something very different. Maybe we want to spend quality time with an old friend. Maybe we want to explore new water, or visit a favorite stream that we’ve fished for decades. Maybe we want to solve a puzzle, or challenge ourselves, or spend a few hours living completely in the moment. Maybe we want to wash away the detritus of modern life, or immerse ourselves in the wonder and grandeur of nature.
There are a ton of reasons why we fish. Which means that we, individually, get to define success in whatever way we choose. We’re not limited to narrow quantitative parameters. Truly, we’re not. We don’t have to reduce our fly fishing to a handful of numbers that, more often than not, fail to encompass the totality of our experience on the water.
Please keep that in mind the next time you go fishing.