Teaching Kids to Cast

Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. He is 16. We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

Paul

On Oct 12, 9:52*am, Family-Outdoors wrote:
Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. *Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. *He is 16. *We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. *Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. *It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. *He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. *It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. *We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. *He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. *He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. *Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

Paul

I have had the most success by taking the newcomer out fishing and
making sure they catch a fish on the fly in the first 10-15 minutes.
No matter how small the fish, it seems that once they get confirmation
that actual fish eat tempting insects, they "get" what the fly rod is
all about. The best place to do this in cold water is right under a
riffle, in oxygenated water, dancing a visible pattern on the surface,
with only a bit of line out. In warm water, still water go where the
sunfish are and dance a little popper.

Then move to fishing in the stream, across and down, with about 15' of
line out. The successive lifts and repositions across and drifts, will
give them the feel of how the rod and line works to propel the fly.
That is the big difference that someone coming from spinning needs to
feel.

Then casting, as they need it. Best approach Ive found is to fish
within sight of the newcomer after the above exercise. Most folks pick
up allot by watching, . . . the 12 o'clock business and the rest.

This "softer" approach is especially useful when you are teaching your
own kids and family members. And before I start I commit to "no
yelling at em" no matter what. That's the hard part, being patient.
Good luck
Dave

"Family-Outdoors" wrote in message
...
Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. He is 16. We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

Paul


Good stuff Paul,

Not seeing how your son is progressing, it's difficult to suggest pointers.
However, when teaching my son, he said one of my best suggestions I gave was
when I told him to throw the fly line and not the fly. In his case, he also
wasn't allowing for the backcast rollout. Shortly after the suggestion, you
could see the loops getting tighter and less tailing loop issues.

This might be way to basic given your sons casting level?

hth,
JT

Family-Outdoors wrote:
Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. He is 16. We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

The old school teaching method was the metronome. 10,2,12, 10,2,12
and on, and on, and on until finally it's embedded in muscle memory.
I'm glad I didn't learn that way. ;-)

One tip I like is the rubber band. Hand someone a rubber band and
tell them to throw it as far as they can. Mark the spot and then
tell them to stretch it over their finger and *shoot* it as far as
they can. Explain that the fly line is a rubber band and the fly
rod is your finger. That mental image seems to help some newbies
get the idea.

And kudos to you for teaching the youngun' to fly fish. I'm jealous.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Oct 12, 11:55*am, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
Family-Outdoors wrote:
Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. *Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. *He is 16. *We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. *Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. *It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. *He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. *It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. *We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. *He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. *He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. *Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

The old school teaching method was the metronome. 10,2,12, 10,2,12
and on, and on, and on until finally it's embedded in muscle memory.
I'm glad I didn't learn that way. ;-)

One tip I like is the rubber band. Hand someone a rubber band and
tell them to throw it as far as they can. Mark the spot and then
tell them to stretch it over their finger and *shoot* it as far as
they can. Explain that the fly line is a rubber band and the fly
rod is your finger. That mental image seems to help some newbies
get the idea.

And kudos to you for teaching the youngun' to fly fish. I'm jealous.

--
Ken Fortenberry

They have cat toys, usually a plastic stick with a long length of
thin fleece or thick string attached. Same motion and mechanism
as fly-fishing, but a whole lot easier. Once they *get* the motion,
it's just a matter of practice.
- Ken

On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:52:55 -0700 (PDT), Family-Outdoors
wrote:

Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. He is 16. We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

Paul

It seems a safe assumption, based on your question, that you aren't an
instructor, nor an expert caster yourself. If that is incorrect, pardon my
assumption. There are all sorts of tips, tricks, etc. in teaching another to
cast, but I've got to say, if the budget allows, get a pro. If not, see if you
can find an "expert" level caster to help him out. There are several reasons
for this recommendation, but two biggies are that often, a moderate caster has
"ingrained" deficiencies that they pass along when teaching, and those can get
magnified when passed along. The second is that, again often, not always, that
parents teaching children, one spouse/partner teaching the other, etc., be it
casting, driving, or similar things, doesn't end well. It's not the fault of
the people and/or lack of skill of either, it's the overall dynamic of the
relationship.

Long story short, you both might be better off having a pro or expert outsider
teach him casting. You can have the fun of teaching him fishing...

TC,
R

On Oct 12, 2:36*pm, wrote:
On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:52:55 -0700 (PDT), Family-Outdoors
wrote:



Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. *Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. *He is 16. *We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. *Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. *It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. *He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. *It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. *We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. *He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. *He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. *Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

Paul

It seems a safe assumption, based on your question, that you aren't an
instructor, nor an expert caster yourself. *If that is incorrect, pardon my
assumption. *There are all sorts of tips, tricks, etc. in teaching another to
cast, but I've got to say, if the budget allows, get a pro. *If not, see if you
can find an "expert" level caster to help him out. *There are several reasons
for this recommendation, but two biggies are that often, a moderate caster has
"ingrained" deficiencies that they pass along when teaching, and those can get
magnified when passed along. *The second is that, again often, not always, that
parents teaching children, one spouse/partner teaching the other, etc., be it
casting, driving, or similar things, doesn't end well. *It's not the fault of
the people and/or lack of skill of either, it's the overall dynamic of the
relationship.

Long story short, you both might be better off having a pro or expert outsider
teach him casting. *You can have the fun of teaching him fishing...

TC,
R

All great suggestions. From everyone. I will try to incorporate
all. I think the idea of getting him a few "outside" lessons is a
good one...whether I am an expert or not. For the record...I would
never claim to be one...even if I was...nor would I admit that I was
not...even if I am not. Truthfully, I can put a fly where I want in
most any conditions, but I cannot say I do anything by the book.

On the subject of positioning on drifts, we fished a lake the other
day and are planning a trip to a smallmouth stream where we will
mostly drift fish but will wade some. I believe when fishing from the
boat I will leave the fishing to him and wear my sunglasses at all
times hoping for the best. Will work on the drifts there.

I like the rubberband analogy.

The backcast rollout was the initial hurdle and seemed to be the snafu
each time he started going bad.

We did get on the water pretty quick after initial lesson. He caught
a couple of sunfish and a small bass stripping a beaded bugger in
olive. The first one he caught when he lifted his line to make
another cast and nearly flung a small sunfish behind him. He got a
kick out of that. I mentioned I have caught quite a few fish by
lifting gently and eliciting a strike at that moment..so being aware
of that moment as a fish catching possibility.

Thanks Again,
Paul

On Oct 12, 12:36*pm, wrote:


It seems a safe assumption, based on your question, that you aren't an
instructor, nor an expert caster yourself. *If that is incorrect, pardon my
assumption. *There are all sorts of tips, tricks, etc. in teaching another to
cast, but I've got to say, if the budget allows, get a pro.


Having tried to teach my lovely bride to cast this past summer, I
agree with this. As rdean points out it is VERY easy to teach your
own bad habits. ( I'm self taught and a ****ty caster ... I blame my
instructor for my problems )

Towards the end of the summer ( and after my bride had already flown
home ) I ran into a troutbum friend that is a certified casting
instructor, chatted with him about my wife and prices. His
personality would mess well with hers and the price is very
reasonable. I called home, suggested she spend a few hours with Jim
before next year's adventures and she instantly agreed ... apparently
very willing to admit my shortcomings as a teacher G

My advice? Find a pro to help him learn to cast ... then let his dad
take him fishing.

P.S.
Both my old Usenet servers are apparently gone .... and I hate this
google thing. I hope I'm getting this into the correct thread ...
even

P.P.S. I had my best summer ever from a big fish caught perspective
as well as other, more important, vantage points ... I'll mention it
here since I don't want to bother figuring out how to post a separate
'TR'

On 12-Oct-2009, Family-Outdoors wrote:

Spent some time teaching my youngest some basics. Started on grassy
field and worked about a half hour as he was pretty adamant about
wanting to get on water. He is 16. We tried this process several
years ago but he really was not ready. Did not have patience to
contend with various aspects of process and learning curve involved.
Also, like his Dad was (me) at that age, he was a little lacking in
the coordination department. It went much better this time.

He really wants to learn. He wants to guide some day and has the head
knowledge to do it, but knows he must learn to handle a fly rod in
addition to spinning gear. It seems like the hardest thing for me to
get across to him is the feel of allowing the loop to roll out behind
him. We got it down a bit, and then we went fishing. He'd go good
for awhile, then start regressing. He would then ask me to look and
see what it was he was doing wrong. Except when he asked, I tried to
not even watch him.

If anyone has any tips on this process I'd love to hear.

Paul

When I teach a relative newcomer I stress the timing in terms of beats and
clock movements

Up to 11:00 - be firm w this
Then up to 1:00 not 1:30 ,2:00 or 3:00 - 1:00 it is and allow an ectra beat
for the loop to firm
Then forward to 1:00 again not 2:00 or 3:00 biut 1:00 and an extra beat as
you follow your fly by pointing the rod where it lands or where you it it ti
land on the water

So
ready and Up to 11:00 boom,
then to1:00 boom with extra beat for the loop to form - boom:

back to 1:00 boom

Follow your fly with the rod tip as it lands boom fadout on next boom

If you can't crtique your son ( I can uderstand that- I have the same
problem w my wife) you ay then want tio get an outside instructor

But any decent flyshop will let him play & practice w ctitique - if they
think you may buy a rod

Fred

Paul, you've received some good advice from all. I taught my two
grandsons when they were 14 and 13 how to flyfish. They took to
casting right off, just by watching me. With kids that age, you have
to make sure they catch fish - they tend to lose interest. Catch a
fish and you've "got" 'em. I took the two of them to the Rapid River,
what I consider my home water, and within a day they were casting
fairly well and catching fish on dries.

Within the week, they were casting *very* well. I took them to
Labrador and Idaho where they continued to improve at their own pace.
The guides that we had along the way gave them valuable info on their
fishing. Remember it is more than casting. Mending was the hardest
thing for them to do, but they eventually got it. Tuck casts, aerial
casts, mending casts where tricks they picked up watching me and other
fishermen (and with help from professional guides). They also had
trouble with knots, but after much practice, they stopped relying on me.

Their casts are probably not classical and with many faults, but they
cast accurately and catch fish. Catching fish is very important.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot: When the pretty little females start to get
their attention and the hormones kick in, forget fly fishing. Girls
become more important. Sadly my two oldest grandsons, now 25 and 24,
haven't fished for several years. The oldest just married, and has
promised to go to the Rapid with us next June, so maybe.......

Dave (with fingers crossed...)