Been there done that...
Thanks Neil for a bit of personal nostalgia.
When I was, I suppose, 10 or 12 in a small town in NW Iowa my Dad decided I should have a shot at fly fishing so we went to the little shop and he bought me a bamboo South Bend rod...reel etc....I don't recall any flies, tippet ..etc.
Now, I knew nothing about fly fishing / or casting and I guess Dad didn't either because he just handed me the rod without instructions.
I can't wait to get to the local sand pit and get to fishing...promptly tie on a pear shaped sinker...hook...and worm...afterall that's how I did it before.
Fling that thing from behind with all the force I could muster...[and no JC I didn't stop the rod].
Well, after the third time getting hit in the back of the head with that overweight sinker I sheepishly folded my tent and headed home... glad no one else was at the pit that day.
Anyway, I didn't take up "real" fly fishing for years and don't remember ever using that bamboo rod.
But I still have that rod and cherish it. I remember my Dad!