I just started fly fishing and already prefer it over the spinning rig, but the wind was at 16 mph today and I felt like I'd have better luck chunking lures instead of flies.

How breezy does it have to be for you veteran fly fishermen to wait for better conditions?

anything above about 14 mph winds make fly fishing no fun in my opinion. if it's an occasional gust that's bearable but if it's sustained 14+ i will usually give up and break out the spinning rod.

I don't know, it looks pretty breezy today. I don't know if I can put a number on it. It kind of depends if you are wading, in a boat, kayak. Line management can get tough. If there is any swirl in the wind and the fly can smack you.

A reverse Belgian cast is good in the wind. Finding protected spots can help. Upsizing a rod weight rating or 2 helps. Fast rods help. Small water helps. Hard for me to put a number on the wind. Above 15kts gets tough. For every doubling of wind speed, the pressure exerted on you and the line quadruples. So a 20mph wind has 16 times more push being put upon you than a 5 mph wind.

Thanks FWBanger and Karstopo! I hadn't considered getting smacked by the fly, but it's just a matter of time I suppose... Really interesting info on how wind speed increases pressure on the fisherman and the line.

Beware the wind that's blowing into your casting shoulder.

For sure. In big wind, I sail 'em on my downwind side, especially with big flies. I don't want to eat one in the face.

Throwing flies in the wind is pretty rockstar, though. I mean, you can ditch for the conventional, but to stick with the fly is respectable sport I think. Go hard, go home, pop a cold one - fishless is no shame if it comes to that.

I just started fly fishing in earnest though, so I'm far from rockstar status...I'm still learning the scales.

Position yourself to cast downwind. Let the wind adssist your cast. You will not get a good back cast but the wind will carry your forward cast. The casting arm must be on the down wind side.

All I do is fly fish anymore, 20+ years. I'll fish in just about anything except lightning. With that said , ya don't have the wind blowing into your casting shoulder. Crush the barbs and fish till you pierce your ear with a fly. That's my .02 cents, LOL

the wind we been having out here in W. Texas I wouldn't even do a casting rod/reel unless I had a pound of weight on the line ! 29mph sustained with 40 gust today , really just kind of ruins your day !!

One more tip which has helped me, once you get comfortable with your dominant hand, it's a good idea to learn how to make at least a mediocre cast with your non-dominant hand. This will help you adapt to changing wind conditions as well as situations where your backcast is limited on one side.

If you ever go fish the salt, you are going to have to learn to cast in the wind. There's nothing like smacking a lead eye clouser into the back of your head to teach you to keep your casting arm downwind.

As you perfect your casting stroke, start learning how to cast sidearm and backhand. You'll learn whether because of wind, tall grass, trees, or even just boredom that sometimes your fishing spot determines the way you have to cast.

My usual response is on a windy day I grab the 6 or 8 wt to fish that day instead of the 3 wt.

It all depends....if I'm sitting on my back deck contemplating going out pond fishing, my wind tolerance is pretty low...like well less than 5mph. On the other hand, if I'm in the Sabine River fishing for huge spawning white bass on the fly, the wind is pretty much irrelevant.

Likewise, if I have invested $thousands to get to a primo fishing spot and have limited time available in the window, my tolerance is extremely high...if I can stand up, I'm fishing (and have been in places where I couldn't stand up, LOL). Not only depends on these factors, but also is it boat, small or large, plane, float or other, distance to cover, etc. Many factors to consider.

However, it is good to minimize one factor up front and that is your ability to cast effectively in winds from any direction and velocity...given that, the other factors are simply what they are.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I knew I'd get a good education from this forum.