Thanks again for all the great replies! BlueWingOlive, are you Joe from One More Cast? If so, I just got a lesson from you a couple months ago (I was the guy who just had a baby the day before). The gift certificate actually sounds like a pretty good idea - then I can keep my mouth shut and he can still benefit! Christmas is coming, so I'll give that some more thought!

Not to stroke Joe's ego too much, but anyone in the Chicago area interested in lessons (or just a great local fly shop), I highly recommend Joe and One More Cast in Countryside, IL. He's a great teacher.