Teaching Kids to Cast

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.

Forget practicing on the grass. Take him somewhere he's
guaranteed to catch fish. Get him hooked and then worry about
pretty casting. You can catch panfish or small trout with less
than 10 feet of line out. Start with only a small amount of line
out and with a shortened leader to make things easier.

My kids are 16 years old, but my guess for a 16 year old is
that you need to keep him from trying to boom out 100 yards
of line and then getting frustrated.
- Ken

On Oct 12, 11:52*am, Family-Outdoors wrote:


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

The best advice you've gotten so far is to teach where catching fish
is as certain as is possible. After all, the point of the whole
exercise is to look cool......while catching fish, right?


The stuff about family members/loved ones versus disinterested
professionals? eh. Depends on who the people are. Those who are
incapable of behaving like civilized human beings with people who are
close to them do not necessarily speak for the world.

As for propagating bad habits, everyone does that to one degree or
another. And fly casting ain't rocket science.
There's many a weekend duffer who will outshine many a "pro."

Toys are fun. They are also almost invariably instructive. One of my
favorites is a wooden dowel with a bit of yarn, light cord, or heavy
string tied to the end. Actually, it's a good idea to vary among
them. During commercials or, better yet, during the boring parts
between commercials, the student simply plays with the makeshift whip/
flyrod, the object being to make the string fall in a nice stright
line, dead ahead. Easy enough. Now increase the length of the
cordage. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat........

And watch, front and rear, to see what the stuff is doing.

giles.

On Oct 12, 7:03*pm, Giles wrote:




The best advice you've gotten so far is to teach where catching fish
is as certain as is possible. *After all, the point of the whole
exercise is to look cool......while catching fish, right?

The kid wants to be a guide ( according to original post ) and I'd,
therefore, assume he's well past the "getting him hooked" stage. One
thing guides do is teach and therefore the chance to be taught well is
a chance to learn more than the casting, it is a chance to get a
glimpse into how to teach this particular topic.


As for propagating bad habits, everyone does that to one degree or
another. *And fly casting ain't rocket science.
There's many a weekend duffer who will outshine many a "pro."


I think that this is like any other education we try to provide for
our children ( and other loved ones ). The higher the quality of
that education, the better. The father/ son team spending time
together in the outdoors is great and important, as a family bonding
deal. But if my son expressed the desire to "be a guide" ( any
potential trade ) and wanted teaching, I'd try to afford a quality
education. Sure that could be a "weekend duffer" if that duffer
actually outshines the available pros. Sure he's young and the guide
thing likely a passing notion ... but supporting passing notions is
part of the parenting gig, imho.

FWIW, I would not spend the bucks on lessons for myself ( lord knows I
suck and could use them ) but wouldn't bat an eye at spending on them
for my kid or wife.

And not because ( as rdean suggested) of potential strife caused by
trying to teach someone close. My wife and I got along just fine,
but it soon became clear that I don't really understand casting
mechanics well enough to explain why, for instance, "that tailing loop
was different than that other one, different cause" I could often
'see' what was needed, could often take the rod and first duplicate
her problem then show her a better cast that 'fixed' it, but I was
poor at putting it into words that she could translate into physical
acts. I used to teach dog training to others as part of making a
living and know that practice ( at teaching ) improves results, and
regardless of skill level at the task being taught, since teaching it
is a separate skill ... good casting teachers need to know how to
TEACH casting, not just cast, ime.

With my wife and I, the end result of my teaching was she caught fish
at places like the Henry's Fork Ranch, the Missouri, Firehole and
Madison and she's 'hooked" .... but she and I both feel she needs
better casting instruction than I am able to give, if she is to avoid
many future frustrations, progress quickly, and come closer to
reaching her potential, as an angler. I'd think that coming close
to true 'potential' would be even more important for a kid with
guideglitter in his eyes.

On Oct 13, 12:54*pm, Larry L wrote:
On Oct 12, 7:03*pm, Giles wrote:



The best advice you've gotten so far is to teach where catching fish
is as certain as is possible. *After all, the point of the whole
exercise is to look cool......while catching fish, right?

The kid wants to be a guide ( according to original post ) and I'd,
therefore, assume he's well past the "getting him hooked" stage. *One
thing guides do is teach and therefore the chance to be taught well is
a chance to learn more than the casting, it is a chance to get a
glimpse into how to teach this particular topic.

As for propagating bad habits, everyone does that to one degree or
another. *And fly casting ain't rocket science.
There's many a weekend duffer who will outshine many a "pro."

I think that this is like any other education we try to provide for
our children ( and other loved ones ). * *The higher the quality of
that education, the better. * The father/ son team spending time
together in the outdoors is great and important, as a family bonding
deal. * But if my son expressed the desire to "be a guide" ( any
potential trade ) and wanted teaching, I'd try to afford a quality
education. * Sure that could be a "weekend duffer" if that duffer
actually outshines the available pros. * Sure he's young and the guide
thing likely a passing notion ... but supporting passing notions is
part of the parenting gig, imho.

FWIW, I would not spend the bucks on lessons for myself ( lord knows I
suck and could use them ) but wouldn't bat an eye at spending on them
for my kid or wife.

And not because ( as rdean suggested) of potential strife caused by
trying to teach someone close. * *My wife and I got along just fine,
but it soon became clear that I don't really understand casting
mechanics well enough to explain why, for instance, "that tailing loop
was different than that other one, different cause" * * I could often
'see' what was needed, could often take the rod and first duplicate
her problem then show her a better cast that 'fixed' it, but I was
poor at putting it into words that she could translate into physical
acts. * *I used to teach dog training to others as part of making a
living and know that practice ( at teaching ) improves results, and
regardless of skill level at the task being taught, since teaching it
is a separate skill ... good casting teachers need to know how to
TEACH casting, not just cast, ime.

With my wife and I, the end result of my teaching was she caught fish
at places like the Henry's Fork Ranch, the Missouri, Firehole and
Madison and she's 'hooked" .... but she and I both feel she needs
better casting instruction than I am able to give, if she is to avoid
many future frustrations, *progress quickly, and come closer to
reaching her potential, as an angler. * * *I'd think that coming close
to true 'potential' would be even more important for a kid with
guideglitter in his eyes.

Sorry I haven't gotten back to this in a day or so. I'll be damned if
I don't believe I have the pig flu. Ironically, I got my seasonal flu
shot last Wednesday and about Friday started feeling like crap. Came
home yesterday from work and did not even try today. As a school
teacher it is a real drag to miss days as I feel like I am letting
kids down...but not as much as spreading this...

I think I am gonna spring for a lesson or two and I know just the guy
to do it. He is a local guide himself in the Ozarks and is good and
reasonable. A funny drawback, and for all I know this may divulge
somehow my son's true identity, he has the problem that he helps me
run a website (which I used to promote via spam regularly here and
elsewhere and got plenty o' grief for my efforts which I now realize
were misguided and corresponds regularly with all these guys on
forums, emails, ... He didn't think he'd be credible as a "punk kid"
and so I think he has perhaps, shall we say, inflated his age. Anyway,
this guide is one of the guys he corresponds with, though I believe
not using his actual name. I will allow him to figure out how to deal
with that if he even so desires.

I mention all this in regards to him being already hooked on fishing.
He spends ALL his free time fishing or learning about fishing or
talking about fishing. He gets involved in stream conservation, fish
stocking issues, access issues,... Sometimes it gets a bit much. All-
in-all I can think of a lot worse things he could be doing, plus I
never lack a fishing partner. He really does want to learn to fly
fish and I think the only reason he didn't sooner, as I mentioned
before, was that like his Dad the coordination thing is a little bit
of a hurdle.

Here's a quote from a blog entry he wrote to give an idea of his
passion (no link provided:
"The Ozark streams in Missouri are a Godsend. They take your mind off
of all of the present concerns on your mind, and, if you let them, can
make you happy in a more elemental way than any man made attraction.
These streams are what they always have been, and God-willing, always
will be. They are natural, they are free flowing, and they provide the
healing water needed to make us feel like everything is right, if only
for a little while."

As an aside, we fished the Madison and Firehole a couple of years ago
(you mentioned those 2 rivers). We spent a month in MT, WY, and SD
and got on a lot of the great rivers out there as well as many smaller
streams. Probably my favorite was the North Tongue in the Wyoming
Bighorn Mountains. Another awesome area was the Cabinet Mountains
area in NW Montana. This isn't a fishing story, but we rented from
the FS a firetower for 4 days. My kids were running behind my truck
(they are XC runners) in the mountains one day when a sow and cub ran
between them and my truck. My wife jumped out of the truck with her
enormous cannister of pepper spray and gave those poor bears a heart
attack (without even loosing her pepper fury upon them). She was a
bit more restrictive of their running endeavors afterwards. This trip
was put together after I realized that the trip I had planned to
Alaska (where I grew up...Sitka) would be in lieu of them going to
college. Perhaps I am just looking on the bright side of things, but
I don't think we missed out on anything.

Obviously I am rambling in a fever induced stream of consciousness so
I'll end there.

All the Best (and thanks once more for all the great advice),
Paul

On Oct 13, 12:54*pm, Larry L wrote:
On Oct 12, 7:03*pm, Giles wrote:



The best advice you've gotten so far is to teach where catching fish
is as certain as is possible. *After all, the point of the whole
exercise is to look cool......while catching fish, right?

The kid wants to be a guide ( according to original post ) and I'd,
therefore, assume he's well past the "getting him hooked" stage. *One
thing guides do is teach and therefore the chance to be taught well is
a chance to learn more than the casting, it is a chance to get a
glimpse into how to teach this particular topic.

As for propagating bad habits, everyone does that to one degree or
another. *And fly casting ain't rocket science.
There's many a weekend duffer who will outshine many a "pro."

I think that this is like any other education we try to provide for
our children ( and other loved ones ). * *The higher the quality of
that education, the better. * The father/ son team spending time
together in the outdoors is great and important, as a family bonding
deal. * But if my son expressed the desire to "be a guide" ( any
potential trade ) and wanted teaching, I'd try to afford a quality
education. * Sure that could be a "weekend duffer" if that duffer
actually outshines the available pros. * Sure he's young and the guide
thing likely a passing notion ... but supporting passing notions is
part of the parenting gig, imho.

FWIW, I would not spend the bucks on lessons for myself ( lord knows I
suck and could use them ) but wouldn't bat an eye at spending on them
for my kid or wife.

And not because ( as rdean suggested) of potential strife caused by
trying to teach someone close. * *My wife and I got along just fine,
but it soon became clear that I don't really understand casting
mechanics well enough to explain why, for instance, "that tailing loop
was different than that other one, different cause" * * I could often
'see' what was needed, could often take the rod and first duplicate
her problem then show her a better cast that 'fixed' it, but I was
poor at putting it into words that she could translate into physical
acts. * *I used to teach dog training to others as part of making a
living and know that practice ( at teaching ) improves results, and
regardless of skill level at the task being taught, since teaching it
is a separate skill ... good casting teachers need to know how to
TEACH casting, not just cast, ime.

With my wife and I, the end result of my teaching was she caught fish
at places like the Henry's Fork Ranch, the Missouri, Firehole and
Madison and she's 'hooked" .... but she and I both feel she needs
better casting instruction than I am able to give, if she is to avoid
many future frustrations, *progress quickly, and come closer to
reaching her potential, as an angler. * * *I'd think that coming close
to true 'potential' would be even more important for a kid with
guideglitter in his eyes.

Well, this appears with quoted text that I wrote, so I'll assume that
it was directed to me.

As to your first paragraph above, I don't recall saying anything about
getting anyone hooked on fishing and, certainly, nothing of the kind
appears in the material you quoted. Still, I allow that what I wrote
could be construed as suggesting something of the sort. On the other
hand, maybe it was just a response to something someone else said and
should (or at least could) be read keeping that context in mind. Or
maybe not. I dunno. Don't remember who said what and ain't
interested enough to go back and look. In any case, I'm sure that
many guides do teach, but unless we include pointing and saying
something like "cast there" as teaching.....somewhat too broad to be
useful, in my opinion.....no, they don't all teach.

Aside from that, not much in the rest of it that I'd take a great deal
of trouble to disagree with.

giles
oh, one other thing. Paul did say that he can put a fly pretty much
anywhere he wants to under pretty much any conditions.....or words to
that effect. i believe him. i think it might be advisable for you to
approach him with a moderately generous offer for further instruction
in fly casting for your wife.

On Oct 13, 2:38*pm, Family-Outdoors wrote:


..."The Ozark streams in Missouri are a Godsend. They take your mind off
of all of the present concerns on your mind, and, if you let them, can
make you happy in a more elemental way than any man made attraction.
These streams are what they always have been, and God-willing, always
will be. They are natural, they are free flowing, and they provide the
healing water needed to make us feel like everything is right, if only
for a little while."....

Might want to employ the services of a fact checker (all the best
writers are doing it these days) with regard to the pristine nature of
the streams but otherwise not a half bad bit of wordsmithing. Maybe
you should encourage him the sling more ink.....just in case the
fishing guide thingy doesn't work out. Hell, it pays just about as
well.....and it isn't seasonal.....and it's every bit as
respectab.......um.....well, never mind about that.

giles