Well said Warren.

I agree many make fly fishing sound to difficult. I have taught fly fishing in many school districts around our BC Fraser Valley. When I got my first post I was faced with the task of writing both an outline and curriculum. With no background as a teacher the prospect almost made me walk away.

With nothing as a guide, I had to ask myself "If I was to go back thirty years to when I was first introduced to fly fishing, knowing what I know now, what would I like to be taught to shorten the learning curve?

In short:

I teach my student to separate fly casting from fly fishing. While fly casting is the best method to present a fly, it is not the only way. Flies can be presented with spinning gear or a hand line just like bait, also trolled. The object is catch fish with your flies. Yes I do teach fly casting, but focus more on accuracy (with both hands) than distance.

I cover all the equipment and it's purpose to help students determine their own needs. I find beginners need information on what is available so they can accumulate what works for them without the influence of other people's biases.

I also cover food sources, which is more than just bugs, and explain the methods of determining what is on the menu for the day. At the same time I also explain all the factors that govern fish feeding behaviour; weather, temperature, light, and moon phase.

It is all complicated and I take ten hours in the classroom with another two hours in the field to teach it. Since it is large amount of information to absorb I break it all up into two hour segments taught over a five week period. I have been asked, at times, to teach a shorter class and have always refused, since I believe anything less would be short changing my students.

Knowing that there is much to be absorbed and retention is never what we wish it could be all my students are supplied notes and diagrams, as reference material. I always encourage my students to begin by trolling wet flies in a productive lake, so that they are able to catch fish while assimilating what has been cover in the classroom.

The whole purpose of the exercise is to catch fish; if the person you teach cannot do that then all the teaching in the world is worth nothing.