I believe the hardest thing about learning to fly fish is practicing. Very few people want to take the time to practice and want to experience the "catching" and "relaxing". That comes, but it takes time, patience and practice. I think the other thing that seperates people from fly fishing is the determination to try it and stick with it.
I'm in my early thirties and didn't start fishing until maybe December '06. I was working in a paddling shop in S. Houston selling kayaks like hot cakes to fisherman. I had fairly good background for someone my age in paddling, but fishing never really appealled to me. Fly fishing did, but I had no exposure. So I decided that I would get my 60yo dad out kayaking and I would try fishing so that we could go together. I used a spinning reel and when we got back to the guide's shop, someone asked who was out with the long rod. To my embarrassment, I admitted it was me playing with the spinning rod. I was trying to figure casting out.
Well, he enjoyed kayaking more than he expected and I was frustrated as hell with fishing. But with determination, I've started catching fish. As things work out, the shop I worked for closed and I eventually found myself working at Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston. Well, I was going to gleam every bit of knowledge I could from everyone I could. Well, you all can guess how that went. It's hard to distinguish the BS from the knowledge. But there were two guides/flyfisherman who I asked to teach me to cast and they told me to be careful cuz it was expensive and addicting. So, I had a couple informal lessons at the casting pool and I was off. I spent every lunch break practicing, getting feed back. Just about every other employee made comments about me wanting to be an elitest fly fisherman, but to me, it was about versatility and learning something that I always thought looked cool.
I've never had great luck in the salt and I don't think I've ever landed a red, but I've been hooked up and that was enough to keep the desire burning. When I moved to WNC, I took up trout fishing which was a huge learning curve, but again, I had a desire and determination to learn. When I came up against a dry spell, my wife was wonderful enough to send me out with a guide for my birthday and I broke the spell and learned some really good stuff. I put that stuff to work a couple weeks ago and caught a nice brown on the Ark in Salida while my wife and son were sitting in a hammock. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face because I caught the fish using a technique I learned from my wife's gift.
I'm back on the TX coast now and I miss trout fishing immensly. It's in my element. I still try to get out on the coast, but it's so much more work and all I ever seem to catch is bait fish which bugs the hell out of me, but it won't keep me from trying.
So, I don't think "we" make it too hard. There are a lot of elements, techniques, gear, etc that make it appear daunting, but what stops most people is the determination, desire and lack of instant gratification. I don't think that is something we should or can change. It's a form of meditation and that must come from within.
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