1. A three to six weight rod lined with a double taper or a weight forward floating line should be adequate for most of your fishing here on the White or Norfork. Use tippet it will save your leader.
2. Keep it to a minimum by this I mean only take to the water what you need. Have you ever seen somebody standing in the river digging all through their vest and pockets when they could have been catching fish. One or two small fly boxes, net, tippet, extra leader, weight, indicators, nippers and pair of forceps is about all you need. Spend your time fishing not digging through the fly shop your carrying in your back.
3. The biggest mistake I see people make is, that they are standing where they should be fishing and fishing where they should be standing. A lot of people will walk right through a pod of fish so that they can cast to where there are no fish. Ever watch those people who enter the water and B-line it to the other side? Well what if they came in on the other side? Where would they end up?
4. Leave that super fast casting rod at home, and bring a medium or medium fast action rod to fish with. You will be amazed at how many more fish you bring to your net. Fast action rods are great for throwing that super long cast say 100 foot to 150 foot, but when it comes to setting the hook or fighting that big fish your going to appreciate the extra flex that medium action rod has. It is simple fast rods flex less and put more pressure on the tippet, slower rods flex more through out the rod and less pressure on the tippet. That equates to less thrown hooks and less break-offs which equals more fish landed.
5. Use your NET I have seen 'Oh to many try land a fish with there hands only to break them off right at their hand or worse break the tip off their rod. Makes you wonder what they use that perfectly good net hanging off their back for? Butterflies?
6. Limit your false casting, pick it up, one false cast and lay it down or better yet pick it up and lay it back down. Its as simple as it sounds. Believe it or not the fish can see your line whipping across above them. They don't know what it is, for all they know it is a bald eagle or blue heron or something else that makes their living catching fish and their not about to stick around to find out.
7. Don't beat the water, by this I mean don't keep picking up your line and re-casting. If you make what you consider a bad cast don't pick it back and re-cast. Let it fish out, let the water rest behind it, who knows you might even catch a fish. The fish can feel every vibration in the water ( like a fly or a line hitting the water ) and in short time they will deem it un-natural and take off.
8. Learn to tie the basic knots, blood knot, surgeon knot, nail knot, perfection loop and the improved clinch knot. Learn them and when and where to use them. There is an old saying that goes "Many a good fish has been lost to a bad knot" one of the truest statements in fly fishing.
9. Watch other fishermen pay close attention to what they do and where they do it. You will learn a lot, 90% of the time it is what not to do, which is just as important as what to do.
10. Take the time to watch the water you are about to fish. Look at the water, look in the water,
above the water surface, all around the water. Look for the feeding lies. Look for the holding lies. Get down on your knees and look in the water. Look for trout food such as sowbugs, scuds, worms, crayfish and sculpins see what size and color they are. If you are fishing with a guide, ask them to show you. Most guides will be more then willing and happy at the chance to teach and show you.
If they pull out a stomach pump and attempt to pump a trout's stomach just tell them no thanks and hire yourself a new guide. Chance's are if that is all that they can teach you, then they most likely won't be able to teach you to be a better fly fisherman either and that part of the reason you hired them in the first place. If you take the time and look close enough the fish will tell you where they are and what they are feeding on. Try it, you will be amazed at what you see.
