Fly Casting Instruction

Mike Kelly with a nice Roaring Fork rainbow

I’m a Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) Master Fly-casting Instructor, one of fewer than 100 Master Instructors in the United States.  Why should you care? Because the FFF is a professional organization that takes fly-casting instruction very seriously. 

The Master’s written, oral and proficiency-demonstration exam is difficult, and tests not only fly-casting skills and knowledge, but teaching skills, as well.  As a student, it doesn’t really matter if your instructor can cast 110 feet of fly line. It’s much more important that your instructor can clearly explain to you, and demonstrate for you, how to perform the cast you want to learn.

Quite simply, I love to teach. Instructing is my full-time job.  In the winter months, when not guiding or teaching fly casting, I’m a snowboard instructor at the nearby, renowned Aspen-Snowmass ski area.

Beginners

Fly casting is an art, much like a graceful golf swing or a perfect turn on skis.  Learn from a qualified instructor how to perform it correctly, practice, and then you’ll become a good fly caster. The process starts with expert instruction, where we explain and demonstrate how to perform a fly cast.  We use time-proven teaching methods to help you “feel” and then duplicate the physical movements to cast correctly. 

In the beginning class, we’ll discuss fly-casting equipment and then teach you the definitions and essential principles of fly-casting. Once you understand the theory of how to make a great cast, we’ll demonstrate proper stance, grip and body movements. You’ll learn the pick-up-and-lay-down cast, false casting, the roll cast and how to shoot line.  We’ll allow ample time for practice, with personalcoaching from your instructor.

Intermediate and Expert Fly Casters

I’ve heard people say, “I don’t need to be a good caster. I can catch all the fish I want twenty feet in front of me.” And, I’ve seen days when that’s absolutely true. In my years of guiding, however, I’ve come to believe that 20 percent of the fishermen catch 80 percent of the fish. The guys and gals who consistently catch fish do it by correctly presenting the fly in exactly the right spot – they put the fly “on the dinner plate.”  The right spot may be 20 feet away and drag free, in the middle of a three-inch-wide current seam, or 75 feet away and “on the plate,” just in front of a cruising bonefish on the tropical saltwater flats.

In the typical intermediate class, we’ll briefly review the five essential principles of proper fly casting. Then, you’ll learn how to form good casting loops and to make your casts more accurate. We’ll also teach you several important presentation casts (reach, puddle, wiggle, and aerial mends), which will help you catch more fish!  We’ll teach the presentation casts in the context of actual on-stream fishing situations (casting upstream, across current, and downstream). Finally, we’ll address techniques for casting heavily weighted flies, and weighted lines.

In the typical advanced class, we’ll focus on techniques to add distance to your cast. The keys to distance are forming tight loops, drifting, shooting line, and mastering the single and double haul.  In this class we’ll also address the proper techniques to deal with windblowing from any direction. This is a great class to prepare you for a float fishing trip or a trip to the saltwater flats.

FFF Certification

If you are considering testing for FFF certification as a casting instructor or Master Casting Instructor, we can help you prepare properly. We are very familiar with the tests and examiners’ expectations and standards. We can make a realistic assessment of your readiness and will help you tune up any areas that need improvement.

Locations

We use several ideal locations that have large flat lawns, and we also can access private ponds where you can learn the roll cast. During winter, we reserve space at the local community-center gymnasium, so we can teach you indoors when there’s snow on the ground outside.

Upcoming Classes

We teach throughout the summer and look forward to scheduling a custom class for you or your group. For class details, please call or email me, Jay Cronk, at (captainj@aspenanglers.com).