starting fly fishing

Ive been toyin around with the idea of starting fly fishing all winter. Got some gift cards and know what im going to do with them! I want to fish for bass and panfish in local ponds and creeks. I have lots of questions so bear with me!
Is a "tapered leader" simply a piece of mono? could i use regular 4-6lb line as a leader?

What are some essential flies i should get?

on my baitcasters i put a singular line on them, but as ive been doing my homework and have seen backing, fly line, leader, and tippet. my question is i need to know what i need on a reel?

thanks

You've probably heard of the expression "turning over a fly". The goal with casting your fly line is for the unfurl completely, or "turn over", straight. If it doesn't do this, the fly plops down into the water in a nest of line, which is less natural looking and can cause you to miss strikes while pulling in the slack line.

Your fly line acts like a bullwhip, graduating (or tapering) to a smaller and smaller diameter until the end. This allows the line to force the fly out and settle on the water naturally. A tapered leader goes from about the thickness of 30lb mono down to 4lb flouro at the fly end (the "tippet"). You'll definitely need a tapered leader. If you want to save a few bucks, cut the last 18 inches off and retie it back on the leader. That's the part you'll use up ALL the TIME due to tying on flies. I tie a loop knot in the leader, and, when it gets too short, I tie on another piece of 4-6lb flouro to replace it instead of replacing the whole tapered leader.

Burt...my suggestion to you would be to check out the fly fishing archives here on the site. There have been some excellent discussions regarding the fly fishing basics. Check those out, and if you still have some questions, let us know. Welcome to the FFin brotherhood! Warning.....IT'S ADDICTIVE!!! :D

-Rich

thanks guys...ill post when i get my rod&reel!!!!

Burt, if you have the time and feel like making the trip from Danville, you might want to check out the fly fishing show Saturday the 26th.

Here is more info if you are interested.

[URL]http://www.derbycityflyfishers.com/[/URL]