Who tought you to fly cast?

[Tropicaltrout]

Hi all

Was wondering who tought you the art of casting a fly. The lucky one's that can put a fly out learned the art from all different places from going on guided tours to dads to casting demos at boat show's etc.

I grew up in Tassie and learned to cast from dad. I also picked up a few tips from my uncle at Borumba John Rowe.

So how about you guys where or who gave you the best form of fishing?

[Feral]

Leanne Payne at a sports tuition father/son weekend. I was amazed how simple it was.

[fishphile]

Didn't know anyone else who waved the wand when I started out so had to teach myself through watching people on television and trial and error. My technique is probably not perfect but I'm happy with it.

Cheers Dave.

[robyoung2]

I'll have to blame my dad for that.
So you're John Rowe's nephew huh?
How is he these days? Is he still living up at the dam?

cheers
rob

[Luc]

Harro.

He makes it look easy and after some help it is easy.

It's all about technique and timing. If you're working hard, you're not doing it right.

Luc

[Tinlegs]

A good bloke by the name of Brendon Rolt taught me to fly-cast in Cairns about 10-11 years ago, catching tarpon in a tidal lake there on poppers.

I'll never forgive him... ;)

[Tropicaltrout]

Hi Rob Johns good, him and shirl are closer to town, He still gets up to the dam but he's not guiding it anymore.

[rivermanau]

A question that I have been asked often when sharing a boat!
Who taught you to fly cast!!!!
Seriously, I like to fly fish but as someone else said, I like to take it easy. I dont beat myself up about my ability and try to use a easy relaxed style.The best advice I have heard is if you can't cast that far, move the boat closer!
Rob

[bdowdy]

self taught but a few videos helped, have caught a few species such as barra , silvers ,barcoo grunter, yellas, eel tailed cattys, sooty grunter,its all good fun and i hope to catch more species .its amazing how many people think its too hard , when its not that hard at all.cheers bdowdy...brett

[NAGG]

Hi all

Was wondering who tought you the art of casting a fly. The lucky one's that can put a fly out learned the art from all different places from going on guided tours to dads to casting demos at boat show's etc.

I grew up in Tassie and learned to cast from dad. I also picked up a few tips from my uncle at Borumba John Rowe.

So how about you guys where or who gave you the best form of fishing?
:D :D Self taught ...... not too bad but lots to learn (river craft) .... & that is the real art (Trout) ..... NAGG

[robyoung2]

Rivermanau, my old man taught me on very small creeks fishing for trout with dry flies. His theory for casting is just as you said, and I can testify you don't have to be a poster boy to succeed. dad never said "move the boat closer" of course, but his concept of why cast further than you can see your fly is just the same. Or he'd encourage me with comments like "surely you can't see a trout that far away" when I'd whine about not getting much distance.

Of course it does all get a bit different walking the lakes with wet flies, or understanding how to balloon the line out to catch the run of the water in fast creeks so the fly will appear propperly to the fish, etc.. tight casting on bushy creek banks, and a thousand other neat tricks a good fly fisherman (which as said, I am not) picks up over the years. But still, it does all come with a whole lot less drama than many think I reckon.

Good to hear Mr. Rowe's well. Not that I'm a close freind or anything. I used to just drop in and see him when I visited the dam, and always found him a great bloke. He did wonders for the dam, I wish his attempts to get back roads opened for walking based fishing had succeeded though.

cheers
rob

[coola]

Hi, I grew up in TASSIE as well . Mainly self taught but fished with some of tassie best, Bert Blackwell, This bloke would have to be the best stalker & hunter I have known both fishing and hunting deer. Barry Tattersall (dec) an Englishman, a trout perfectionist. I have FF for 30+ years
ps; keep it simple an enjoy the sport.

[lock]

Myself from watching other people now always ask questions of other people who have better techniques

[Tropicaltrout]

yep the river stuff take a bit to get used too buy you will get Nagg its flicking the under loop or plenty of roll cast in the tighter streams, love that style of fishing it real stalking fishing use to fish the nive back in tas and the tyanna river that was great fun. anyhow its good to see how you fellas pick it up.

Thanks for all the replies, cheers TT

[Ken+]

Ah, one discussion I can finally participate in ;D I taught myself to fly cast after reading websites, watching fishing shows and watching people on the river. I'm not great at it...but I can get my flies out to fish and I've caught a few brown trout and brook torut so far.

Still trying to learn the haul and double haul :-[

[Toddy_again]

Was lucky enough to be taught by Harro.
Dont do a lot now but still love to go down to the park and have a cast now and then.
I even get to go on the water sometimes.:)


Toddy

[LeeannP]

Harro gave me a 30 second lesson at the Royal Pines Boat Show a million years ago. John Rowe was also kind enough to give me a few pointers and all the time in the world. Rob and I stayed with him while he was still living at Borumba Dam. Bloody nice bloke! It's good to hear that he and Shirl are still going strong!
Harro then gave me heaps of help over the years. Another good bloke :)

[Jeremy87]

I did, hence the reason you see so many reports of fish being caught on fly coming from me, got a cheapy 6 weight under the house that i look forward to flicking at some baby bonito and mac tuna before the seasons out, might hit some bass with it one day aswell.

[flyfisho]

I first shown by Gavin Platz down the side of his shop ( as I think 90% of sunnycoast fly anglers have been shown ) ,then got some proper lessons of him and Nial Logan .We are pretty fortunate in SEQ to have the only two FFF qualified instructors in Australia.
Sure makes leaving conventional gear at home a lot easier

[Crumbo]

I taught myself fishing for trout back in South Africa. Also it helped watching my uncle and I blame him for indroducing me to the sport.:D

[shin25]

self taught but watched and listened to a cpl old timers on the trout streams of bright vic
havnt done much salt fly flicking since moving back to qld yrs ago to scared that the trevas and jacks will smash my 5wt to peices

[Duck66]

Got my fathers rod when he past away, have had it for nearly fifteen years, am noe trying to teach myself the art of fly fishing, had some pointers in my cousins driveway other than that have only caught acouple of small bream and a couple of english perch around 2" long if you can call them fish.

[bassbuster]

We put on a kids fishing clinic through fishcare ant victoria point and a chap came along to demonstrate fly casting durig the lunch break. Had a crack at the wand while we were packing up and the reas is history. Vids, books, casting days at fishhead with duncan, joined the SEQFYFISHERS. I'm very garden variety with my casting, but for now it does me fine.
The old story, whe you stop learning your dead.

Bassbuster.
PS. My wife is still looking for the chap who can down to demostrate flycasting to the kids.

[aus2045]

Self taught, but refined with a few tips by Nat Bromhead.

[Dan5]

peter hayse the best and graham williams who fished with lefty

[pennsenator]

i taught myself when i live in nz i use to fish the 3 streams

[aus2045]

I have been taught how to cast a fly, and thats great. Wish there was a fish somewhere out there in the water willing to eat it.

[roydsy]

Plenty of fish on fly. Grab a loaf of bread....... stale or fresh..... doesn't matter.

Some small fly hooks, some cotton wool or make some bread looking flies....

Burley up and the bream, mullet, whiting will come......... and you will catch plenty.

I used to catch the train from brisbane to surfers, walk up to the spit, catch the water ferry over to wavebreak island and spend the day catching heaps and having fun practicing casting my flys.

Now I haven't the time... ***reminisces of says as a Uni student****

lol sigh

Oh and on topic.... I taught myself to fly cast after receiving a 5 minute instruction from my local tackle store guy.

[bigbadja]

In the early 60's Mr. Carter from Carters Fishing, Glenhuntly, Melb. organised a mob of his experienced clients to offer beginners classes on the dams on Caufield Racecourse during the winter.
Bless those grand folk that are still with us, and those that aren't.
One important thing they taught me, that I still pass on to learners, is to begin by standing sideways so the caster can see the fly on the backcast and see the exact moment to snap forward. Once proficincy has been gained you can stand however you like.

[tunaticer]

I was self taught like a lot of people here. I did learn a lot of subtleties via practicing landing a fly into a potplant in all sorts of positions after a few lousy days scaring the hell outa fish with bad methods.

I suppose the biggest thing anyone will learn about fly casting is to dance with the cast, to move as smoothly as you want the fly to. All the crash and bang movements you make will result in less than perfect deliveries every time. Relax and flow with it and watch your strokes and timing.

Some flyfishing requires no delicate presentation and if I was learning all over again I would avoid this style until ive mastered delivering a fly delicately. Once a bad habit is learnt it is with you for a very long time.

Jack.

[minno]

I,ve never tried fly fishing, and have no intentions of doing so. I have watched flyfisho doing it, and it seem like a lot of hard work.;D

I guess its horses for courses.

minno

[Maxg]

Any one who fly fishes and wants to know more about the subject should get Mal Kriegars DVD. Basically because he covers ALL of the casting styles that are on offer to fly guys, with short or long rods.
The first thing you need to realise is that a 9 foot rod is just another fly rod and the casting style used, like false casting, is very inneffecient, and is very limited in use. Mostly the rods are very ineffecient as well, because they are generally designed to cast fly lines and not catch fish.
Which is why most fly fishing, one handed fly fishing revolves around low rod angles. If you try giving the rod a real bend it will most likely explode.
On rocks and when casting to fast fish, you need a very fast presentation, and if you waste too much time the fish is gone. This applies to many boat situations, wading on flats and off structures like bridges, wharfs etc.
This needs a one shot cast, like one backcast and a shot at the moving fish.
There are limits to the use of one handed fly rods, basically because of the one handed technique, which puts limits on the ability of the anglers to cast the thing.
And funnily enough that is also dependant on the users build. Godzilla casts further than Mickey Mouse, because the system, in heavy classes, or any class, is strength dependant.
Not only is it strength dependant its "room" or space dependant. You need lots of room to cast a fly line with fase casts.
If you fish rivers/creeks you need to learn the Spey casting style, because it allows you to fit your fishing into the terrain around you, and if you are into heavy class fishing you need to understand how two handed casts reduce the "Godzilla" syndrome by making it possible for you to cast 17# rods very easily.
And using two handed long rods makes it easier to fish estuaries, because it gives longer casts and greater coverage of the available water.
Generally speaking the casting distance for fly rods is detirmined by the length, like a 9 foot fly rod willl cast to a distance relating to 10 times the length. 0r about 90 feet.
If you equate this to a 12' rod its overhead casting distasnce is 120' and for 15 feet its 150 feet.
It requires a very good casting technique to put a practical fishing system to 100 feet on a regular basis, and if you don't believe this measure our the distance and have a few hucks at it.
For the record this 17# Shimano Surf rod that I have modified into a DH 9 footer can be cast to 80 feet with big flies and a big sinking head, its designed for boat and rock fly fishing. Like "dredging" VBG.
And lert me say that it does take a Godzillar to even get the fly 40 feet one handed. Its a fishing rod, not a noodle.
I know I'm wasting my time but all I am trying to do is get anglers to understand that fly fishing is about fishing with one and two hands, wth rods between 6 and 15 feet in length and from 2# to 17# in all sorts of areas and with wide range of castingf styles, Spey as well as any other available to the angler.
Two handed casting is there to make it easier for people with disabilities and for kids or even just fit and healthy guys.
As an example I suggest borrowing a 12/14'DH rod and taking it to your local estuary or creek whatever and just roll cast it. You will find its easy to do, takes about a few seconds per cast, does not require a LMD, since you have no running line to mess around with and covers a very wide stretch of water if you just side step before each cast.
Piece of cake stuff and covers the water almost to your feet, and the fly zips along because of the rod length, lift from the horizontal to the vertical on retrieve.
Give it more than a passing thought. It might suit you down to the ground.
MaxG.

[flyfisho]

I,ve never tried fly fishing, and have no intentions of doing so. I have watched flyfisho doing it, and it seem like a lot of hard work.;D

I guess its horses for courses.

minno
;D ;D it is and you go without for a while while you are learning ,
there is definatly a real feeling of accomplishment when you pin your first one on fly
but we do have one advantage overe slugs Minno and thats when the Tuna are on Micro stuff , but a lot of boat work comes into it then for Tuna

[Maxg]

Minno..... Yes and thats exactly my point. It becomes very hard work when you are operating the least efficient, shortest distance, size limited system invented for fly fishing.
But whether you do it or not, thats your choice. I know a lot of very good anglers, a dam sight better at what they do, than most fly guys are at what they do, who simple say it isn't their thing.
I suggest a good look at what fly fishing really is, not what you are watching because its not the true story, its just a sort of diversion from reality.
Have a look at a few web sites, just Google "Spey Clave" "Sexyloops" "Dan Blanton" and "Bob Meiser".
That should get you moving.
MaxG.

[minno]

Yes I hear you flyfisho and having to wait for the big one on fly, I don't think I have the patience. I,ll stick to the slugs! I beg the diffa on the micro stuff, The 27 I nailed when you were there, all the bait was micro. But theres are ways to tease them with 40gm,s in tow. When there in feed mode, they will attack anything within eating range and its takes less energy for the tuna to hunt a larger meal than the smaller stuff, and a bigger bait fills the belly.



minno

[minno]

Maxg. Thank you for your insight and invitation, but no thanks mate. Maybe one day in my latter years. I guess Iam just lazy.;D




Minno

[Tropicaltrout]

Your honest minno, It is a technical type of fishing and take time to pick it up but nailing a big dolphin fish or tuna, marlin, or a big Toga,Bass or Trout nothing comes close, NOTHING, Most of us guys are in it for the sheer beauty of it flicking a creation out into the water without causing a splash and watching that fish thats been working scoff it down, its a awsome feeling. We all got inspired from others and now we all do it and the only other thing we may get out of it is that we may inspire someone else!

[minno]

Thanks Tropicaltrout. You wrote that so well, and not only was it inspiring, its also a fact. The skill needed for fly and the patience required, can only be respected at one of fishings highest levels. Old habits are hard to break and when it comes to trying something new, it can be a little daunting. Scary in fact! I will take a closer look.



minno

[aussiebasser]

A gentleman named Ron MacKenzie taught me in the late '60's. He was involved in the Fresh Water Fly Assembly in Victoria then. Tweed Jacket, Deer Stalker and pipe. We learnt with split cane rods, then updated to solid fibreglass, now they were heavy. Tubular, hollow glass rods were then released, Jarvis Walker had a pretty good 7 weight however we upgraded when Abu brought out the Feralite series which had glass to glass ferrals instead of brass. Hardy then released a pretty neat 5 wt hollow glass blank that was a nice little trout. Now I use G Loomis IMX 4 and 5 weight for Bass, and I just got a nice 10wt Reddington for Barra.

[bugman]

Hello guys,

I was given a couple of early casts from an old bloke who lived across the roasd called Mr Eastly, when I was about 13.


Today I recieved a full day tuition from Tassie guide Mike Tenner.

The problem is - I LIKED IT::)::)

I've already ordered my first setup and waiting to hit the Highland Lakes as soon as the new boat arrives.

Just what I need another fishing bug;)

Brett