Casting Classes.....A MUST for beginners!!!

[COMike 0]

Hello Everyone,

 

Sorry for lack of attendance here for a couple of weeks but life happened and things NEEDED to get done here at the house.

 

I am probably someone who tackled fly fishing in the REVERSE method than many of you.

 

Being a fisherman for over three decades, I always thought of fly fishing as a pastime that was for very "rich" people or hard core backwoodsman...LOL! I simply passed on that area of fishing for decades and I am saddened that I did not give it a chance.

Fast forward to the beginning of this year when I started with Project Healing Waters ( a program for disabled Veterans that teaches EVERYTHING about fly fishing). I began with building my first fly rod, then learning to tie flies, and now I am casting. Kind of the reverse of how folks might do things but I was at the mercy of the schedule between doctors appts and life stuff....

 

I JUST started three weeks worth of Casting Classes last week. Let me tell you, I am SOOO THANKFUL that I started them without poorly ingrained habits! Being brand new to this sport, I simply wanted to go out and FISH! Hell, I KNOW how to fish!!! Tourney Bass fishing, Saltwater events....etc....however, fly fishing is a different animal all together!

 

I attended our first 5 hour session up in Denver last week and I must say I am so very fortunate to have PROFESSIONAL casting instructors in our area that donated their time to us! I never realized that there was a whole certification program for fly fishing instructors!!!!!

 

It was a bit intimidating at first as I only have fly fished ONCE last month but I think that it paid off that I had no bad habits for fly casting...aside from trying to POWER the line like a lure and it ending up in a pile of loops 15' from me....LOL!

 

I have two more weeks of sessions and am so very excited to have had the opportunity to experience this first hand!

 

My BOTTOM LINE for new folks.....if you have the chance...TAKE A CLASS! Whether at a fly shop or at a local fly fishing club in your area. It will pay off DIVIDENDS in the future! Trying to break poor habits is a hard thing to overcome...both for an instructor and a student.

 

In two days I will be back up in Denver for another 5 hour session and I am so excited! I won't be a pro at the end of the classes but I will have built a foundation that should not fail me!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

 

PS....All of our mentors are master casting instructors and certified guides.....here is a site I discovered AFTER being taught by them and was surprised that there is actually a training and certification program for folks who fly fish!

http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Home.aspx

[mikechell 0]

I'll take casting lessons when April comes to Florida.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

I'll take casting lessons when April comes to Florida.

Agreed!

[ditz2 0]

April who? Don't think I know her

[Fisherboy0301 0]

i think he is talking about April Vokey.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Mike,

 

Glad you're having a good experience with the casting classes, and I think you're right on the money when you say that it's better to learn how to do it right before developing bad habits. I learned to fly cast from reading, observing others and watching videos, plus a LOT of trial and error. I eventually developed my own "style" and I do very well for the type of fishing I do, but I know I have some of those bad habits too.

 

"Backwards" or not, I think you're going about the whole fly fishing learning experience very intelligently. You do your research and seek the help of experts to help you learn, and that will give you a solid foundation that you can build on for years.

 

Good to see you back on here.

 

Bryon

[mikechell 0]

Yep ... April Vokey. I know it makes me a dirty ol' man ... but I'd fake terrible casting just to have her help me more.

[COMike 0]

Thanks Bryon!

 

I attended my second class last week and OMG it was even MORE helpful than the first! Simply building on the skills learned in the first class went a LONG WAY!

 

I have another class up in Denver tomorrow so will see how that goes!

 

I set up the flower pots in the yard and can actually get my "fly" to them with pretty good accuracy now! I had some serious issues from going to the 9' 5wt during classes to my 7'6" 3wt at home for practice. Two TOTALLY different animals but the principles are the same. My instructor gave me some tips for the 3wt prior to class last week and now it is simply a pleasure to cast the 3wt now.

 

Essentially, I was trying to make the 3wt cast as far as the 5wt.....NOT happening for me. Once I was instructed on the 3wt prior to class I am very happy! As a friend told me years ago..."use the right tool for the job".....the 3wt and 5wt are two different tools but have the same basic principles in their use!

 

Mike

[Bryon Anderson 0]

".....the 3wt and 5wt are two different tools but have the same basic principles in their use!

 

 

Very true--true of all fly rods, really. Rule #1 is "let the rod do the work." I once loaned a rod to a student in a casting class I was teaching, and he gripped the rod so fiercely and whipped it around so hard that he split the cork rings on the grip apart. I literally had to take it away from him before he hurt somebody! (or damaged the rod any further )

 

Your practice method of casting into flower pots is a good one. You're smart to focus on accuracy. Most new casters are all worried about how far they can cast, which in my opinion is a waste of energy. 90% of the fish you ever catch will be less than 40 feet away, with a big chunk of those within 20 feet. Learning to consistently drop the fly within a foot of your target at those ranges is going to be much more practical than trying to make huge long casts. I use frisbees turned upside down on the lawn as targets when teaching my kids to cast. This year I've come up with a way to help them practice throwing weighted flies--I'm going to set a mouse trap in the center of the frisbee and have them try to trip the trap by hitting it with the fly. Should be interesting--I'll let you know if it actually works.

 

Cheers,

Bryon

[mikechell 0]

This year I've come up with a way to help them practice throwing weighted flies--I'm going to set a mouse trap in the center of the frisbee and have them try to trip the trap by hitting it with the fly. Should be interesting--I'll let you know if it actually works.

 

 

Cheers,

Bryon

 

Could be interesting ... but you might want to have the casters wear face shields. I can just see someone who's still false casting hit the trap, snap it shut on the fly and snatch the whole thing through the air like a small hooked fish. That little wood and metal projectile could put someone's eye out !!!

[JSzymczyk 0]

 

 

Yep ... April Vokey. I know it makes me a dirty ol' man ... but I'd fake terrible casting just to have her help me more.

 

You can have your turn after me. Get in line Marine!

[Spanky29ca 0]

After throwing on my sink tip line and a streamer last week for the first time this year I seriously felt like going back for lessons, nothing pretty about what I was doing out there

[mikechell 0]

 

Yep ... April Vokey. I know it makes me a dirty ol' man ... but I'd fake terrible casting just to have her help me more.

 

You can have your turn after me. Get in line Marine!

 

I AM in line ... Marines are ALWAYS first.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

 

This year I've come up with a way to help them practice throwing weighted flies--I'm going to set a mouse trap in the center of the frisbee and have them try to trip the trap by hitting it with the fly. Should be interesting--I'll let you know if it actually works.

 

 

Cheers,

Bryon

 

Could be interesting ... but you might want to have the casters wear face shields. I can just see someone who's still false casting hit the trap, snap it shut on the fly and snatch the whole thing through the air like a small hooked fish. That little wood and metal projectile could put someone's eye out !!!

 

Yikes--hadn't thought of that! Maybe it would be a good idea to drill a hole through the trap and whatever it's sitting on and use a tent peg or something to pin it down to the ground.

[mikechell 0]