Learning to fly cast on your local waters will be among the most enjoyable journeys an angler accomplishes! Your best teacher is the water you fish, since you will face many challenges to overcome in the early stages. The more challenges you solve, the faster you can tackle new ones down the road. If you keep at it long enough, you'll realize that most on-stream challenges end up repeating themselves. You don't need famous destinations to accomplish this task. Instruction will help you progress faster overall, but perfecting your skills through practice on the water will ultimately be up to you.
Fly Fishing Team North Carolina met on the chilly banks of the Nantahala River in mid-December 2010. We had a lucky break from cold weather, which made for great practice and camaraderie. We had an excellent discussion on loop planes, parallel and non-parallel legs of the loop for fishing casts, and the concepts of negative and positive force casts. The group of enthusiastic anglers constantly seeks new information. This desire for new tactics, patterns, and casting techniques has been a passion of mine for a long time now. I guess you could say it's the most important non-important pastime for me.
Past Experiences Open New Opportunities in Trout Fishing
I often refer to "dimension jumps" when learning new areas for fly fishing. New things learned often come as solutions to old problems on the stream. Our past experiences with various water types dictate the learning curve. You may get additional insights from other anglers, instructors, DVDs, books, and internet forums, which can fuel the explosion of new ideas and shared knowledge.
Over the years, many folks have asked about my favorite waters. I respond that I don't have one because goals change often, along with techniques and mood. Learning to fly cast on your local waters is probably the best advice that's helped me most as a fly fisher.
Paul Arden and Mac Brown at FFI Conclave in Bozeman, MT
Paul Arden and I met for the first time in Bozeman, MT a few years back (2005). We got into so many topics during the casting sessions in the parking lot late at night (3 a.m.). Carl McNeil, all the way from Kiwi Land, was right there staying up late and playing along. Al Buhr, Bruce Richards, Jeff Wagner, Clay Roberts, Sandi Roberts, Gordy Hill, Joe Libeu, Dusty Sprague, Mel Kreiger, and many others shared with us during the day in the field with discussion and casting. That conclave was one of the best I've attended in Bozeman, MT.
I met so many great guys at the IFFF Conclave that summer that I wish it could have lasted longer! Paul runs a website forum called Sexyloops, where I check out the latest news for casting geek topics (of which there are many). Instruction for trout fishing and fly casting has been a cool occupation for a long time now! The latest video call technologies are great for getting instructors together. You can assemble a group from many backgrounds of expertise around the globe and really work through things at light-speed pace.
Casting Demo in Winston-Salem at the Fly Fishing Show
I'm looking forward to the Fly Fishing Shows and Conclaves in the next few months! We're enjoying one of the best winters we've had in a very long time. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing have been the best in over 20 years! The Nantahala River tailwater has fished well because of the consistent water temperatures. I'm going to fish the South Holston River in Tennessee for a few days in a couple of weeks—one of my favorites in the Southeast. There should be some great midge fishing. Happy winter fishing to you!