David,

In regards to fly casting.....I have worked hard to try and explain to beginners just how to use a fly rod in casting and have not been happy with the way I was trying to explain the technique to beginners. I never was happy with my explanation.

Well, that has changed after attending the Troutfest in Townsend last spring. Lefty Kreh was putting on a casting demo and he made a statement that I had never thought about and it has made teaching fly casting a whole lot easier and seems to help the beginner to understand more of what they are attempting to do. Lefty stated that with a spinning rod or casting rod, you cast the lure. He stated that you do not cast a fly rod. What you really do is unroll fly line. I have thought about this a lot and what he said makes it a lot easier for beginners to understand. They can see the fly line unrolling and have a better understanding. When they work on unrolling the fly line, it helps them to slow down their stroke and they concentrate on making the fly line unroll. Think about it. You cannot "see" a cast but you can see if you are allowing the fly line to unroll and it is a lot easier to work on unrolling because you can "see" it. I have improved my "style" with a fly rod by remembering to slow down my stroke and allowing the fly line to unroll behind me and in front of me.

I really feel it has helped me and I know it makes it a lot easier to explain to beginners and they do a lot better at presenting the fly.