On Oct 27, 12:39 am, "Larry L" wrote:
"riverman" wrote

Too many kids ...... spend their time playing video games or shopping
in malls and not making a relationship with the natural world
give them some reason to want to
preserve healthy, green natural places for life. So I get to take 17
kids to the North Island in March for a 5-day canoe/fly fishing trip

This is absolutely wonderful ....applause, applause

My only thoughts are to make sure the camping and relationship with the
natural world remain the priority and don't get buried under too much B.S.
about casting and mechanics. This might be as much about picking an exact
destination as classroom instruction. The kids that fall in love WILL
learn to cast, you won't be able to stop them, be a match maker not a task
master.

--------

Last summer while fishing the Firehole, a woman without waders or fishing
vest and waving the rod in a manner that suggested no previous practice
worked down towards me. When she got close she asked, "How long is your lead
line supposed to be?"

Being nearly deaf, I asked her to repeat, which she did, and I then realized
that "lead line" was leader. I got out and as I walked to her she explained
that she had just bought a "fly fishing kit" at the Old Faithful store but
didn't know anything about the knots and how to rig it. She had simply tied
an overhand knot in the fly line, leaving a couple inches of tag, around a
piece of fine level mono for a "lead line."

I dug out a new Rio 7 1/2 ft 4X leader, undid her efforts, and tied on the
leader with a nail-less nail knot. Then I looked at the #12 EHC she had been
sold and replaced it with a #18 Entjes Emerger. I gave her a tip or two on
what tippet to get and how to tie a surgeons knot and then some brief
instruction on down and across wet fly swinging, encouraging her not to try
to get it out too far and to worry about fishing, not casting.

I took her a short distance to some good water to fish from the bank, told
her I'd be right downstream if she had questions and went on my way.

Within minutes a yell turned my head and she was fast to an 8 inch Firehole
Brown Trout, her smile wide as the Yellowstone sky.

--------

The purpose of that little story is to point out that she was an absolute
newbie, but it took very little "teaching" to get her into fish and have her
hooked probably for life, because the Firehole in early June is a generous
river. Find the kids a generous river.

Excellent advice Larry, the 'generous river' advice is right-on. We'll
be fishing the Mohaka, fairly generous by NZ standards. Roger posted a
TR about the lower stretch a few years back where he and I fished. He
was casting a copper john from shore down the length of a long riffly
rapid, and caught about a dozen of the biggest browns of his life on
the first walk-through. We'll be about 50 miles upstream of that
stretch but using the same technique. I'll get the kids some CJs,
GRHEs, WBs, EHCs and maybe some upwing dries, then show them how to
let the nymph swing around. Before we get to the river, to get them
used to the feel of setting the hook, playing the fish, and releasing
safely, we will visit and fish a hatchery pond near Taupo.

My next big task is the gear. Of course, choosing gear is a topic for
endless discussion, but Bean's is giving me a 30% discount on their
catalogue rates, so unless I can find a better rate for equivalent or
better quality stuff, I'm going to order from them. I'm getting a good
quality beginner setup, and allowing anyone who wants to upgrade
components to do so if they pay the difference. So far, the kit I have
put together is this:

9ft 5wt Quest II 4pc rod (its not listed on the online catalogue, but
the rep in Maine said they had them in store. Travel rods are a
necessity)
Quest II LA reel 5/6 wt (I hope this doesn't turn out to be a tin/
plastic POS)
SA Headstart WF5F line (actually 5.5 wt, for beginners; its also not
on the online catalogue)
Stocked Lanyard (with nippersm, 3x and 4x tippet, floatant, strike
indicators and forcepts)
Bean's standard 1x3x5 fly box
Assortment of a dozen flies from Bean's, plus another 10 or so from
NZ.
Extra 3-pack of 4x leaders, since beginners tend to mangle these.

The total cost (pre-discount) is $250 pp. With the discount and
shipping, its just at $200 each, and I think the quality is good
enough to allow them to continue to develop their skills. If anyone
has any suggestions for better line, or a better rod for that price,
I'm glad for suggestions. Or if any of you can offer pro-deals or
discounts, I'm happy to put in a several-thousand dollar order.

Anyone interested in tying up sets of 10 (0r 20) flies for the kids?
I'll send you a "Thank You" certificate from the school. :-)

--riverman