Instruction
By visiting my site you have already made a great decision in seeking qualified fly fishing instruction, there are always well meaning relatives and friends out there who already fly fish, but very often they will just transfer their bad habits to you!
I have passed the Level 2 coaching exam in both the theory aspect and practical to gain my license, not all the current Level 2 coaches have taken the practical exam which is very difficult to pass and ensures your instructor is a very competent caster, can demonstrate faults, and how to correct them to you, the paying client.The practical part was assessed by the by the Game Angling Instructors Association in 2006 and I was awarded their certificate (see below), so you can rest assured you are in good hands.
You can only learn so much from fly fishing instruction books, DVD’s, and video’s, there is nothing better than physically getting out on the water with rod in hand and experiencing the feel of casting with a fly rod.
I structure your session according to your requirements, there is nothing regimented in the way I teach and it is always relaxed, flexible, friendly, and fun!
The fly fishing instruction is provided on a small still water or reservoir, where you can use your new found skills to catch a trout when we both feel you are ready.
Whether you are an absolute novice, or the more experienced fly fisherman looking to polish your casting, I will cater for all your needs.
You will learn the basics initially, safety, rod action, reels, lines, leaders, knots, fly selection and watercraft.
Once you are confident in your casting we can then approach the rivers for the next stage of your development if you so require.Here I can combine instruction, with the guiding aspect of fly fishing for trout on rivers,including useful casts for moving water and showing you how to 'read' the water and basic entomology.
But I don’t want to bore you with too much information; I intend to keep you interested, and awake!
As soon as possible I will get you started on the first cast you will need to learn, the roll cast, then move onto the basic overhead cast, and then ‘false casting’.
As a teaching aid I can use my DVD camcorder, sometimes it is actually an advantage to see where the errors are and then correct them.
Important, always wear sunglasses and hat whilst casting, even experienced fly fishermen can make mistakes, and safety always comes first.
For safety reasons (your safety is of the up most importance to me) when you are learning, the fly you will be casting will be a tag of wool, then as your skill and confidence increase we can tie on a fly and actually start fly fishing for trout, after all that’s what it is all about.
You will leave with a good foundation in fly fishing, now you will need to practice your new found skills, and when ready, I suggest you return to me for the next stage in your development on the road to becoming a successful fly fisherman.
From time to time little faults can creep in and need ironing out, or more advanced casts need to be learnt to cope with difficult fly fishing conditions, for example wind direction, river currents or perhaps the trout are rising just out of reach of you casting distance.
All the above can be rectified using variations of your existing fly fishing skills and learning new techniques.
Winter Fly Fishing 1 Nov 10- 28 Feb 11
Don't despair, fly fishing doesn't come to a grinding halt in the Winter months.
There are many private still water trout fisheries that stay open all year after the rivers season comes to an end.
In fact, this is a great time of year to learn fly fishing from scratch, or have some lessons to hone your skills ready for the start of the new season.
The sessions are cut down to 2 hour's in duration which is usually enough at that time of year!
See my fees page for details of rates.