Since we all know that spooked fish will never take a fly, here are some tips for making sure you can sneak up on ‘em.

1) Don’t rip the water on pick-up.
2) Walk lightly – don’t stomp near the shore.
3) Avoid casting shadows on the water.
4) Gently present your fly to the water surface.
5) Release fish heading away from your fishing hole.  Much like a cattle stampede, spooked fish spook others.
6) Cast upstream and a bit to either side of your target.  They will not see or smell you (if you’re wading).
7) Sometimes a short break to let the pool settle is worth it.
8) Keep in mind that a trout can hear an insect strike the surface, so every splash and plunk is noticed.

Leader and Tippet Length

I just left my favorite lake 3 hours ago and had to post this up right away.  This is exactly the type of experience that I wanted to share with other beginners - hopefully this is helpful to someone.

Starting out this afternoon with a 9' leader, about 12" of tippet and a stimulator, I stood near a boat dock casting toward the shadows.  It didn't take more than 2 or 3 casts and I could see that the fish were plentiful and interested.  I worked the stimulator, got a hit or two, but became convinced that the size 8 hook was too much.  I cut the tippet, tied on a small (maybe #14) fly.  Got no interest.  Ok, so they wanted something more "buggy"... well I forgot my main fly box, and only had a small variety of fairly disappointing flies.  I tied on fly after fly, exhausting the tippet, then eating into the leader.  No biggie, it was still pretty long.

I have been reading and hearing a bunch about being safe while fly fishing.  Hats and glasses are a must, especially for the novice (me).  Also, it is a good idea to bend down the barb on your fly hooks.  This way if someone gets hooked it will pull straight out.  The other benefit to bending down or filing off the barb is that setting the hook will be easier.  A too-light hookset motion or excess slack in your fly line can mean the difference when reacting to a strike and the new, more streamlined hook will penetrate easier.