Joe,

The quality of any school, Orvis or otherwise, depends on the quality of the instructors. I have worked as an instructor at both Orvis and LL Bean schools, and found myself in the midst of some very fine instructors in each case. LL Bean requires FFF certification for their instructors, and I did feel that the level of instruction was higher, certainly with the casting portions, at Bean because of that. Bottom line is that you will learn a lot at a school like this, especially if you are new to fly fishing. Yes, there are certainly less expensive options out there for instruction, a Fish-In being a great example. But the school setting is more formal and there is a set curriculum. I think some folks, myself included, learn more in a structured setting like this. Just my opinion.

Quote Originally Posted by Steven McGarthwaite View Post
Some people think (myself included) believe they misrepresent themselves to the public,
Really? How so? As for the "Orvi$" bit, I've got no issue with a company trying to make a buck. As far as I know, that's what businesses do - make money.

I've also heard the comment before that the FFF is all about money. I'm curious - why do you believe this? I can tell you this - the FFF instructors I know put in hundreds of hours of volunteer time teaching folks to cast and fly fish. Most of them are casting nerds who teach because they love fly casting and they love to teach fly casting. And if you're talking about the FFF as an organization being all about money, well, I guess I disagree. I happily pay my dues and recertifcation fees. Not many organizations I know run sans money. And I have received far more from my affiliation with FFF than I will ever pay in dues or fees.