Structuring multiple lessons

[John Waters]

There you go; you are the ideal chap to talk about structuring multiple lesson formats! Although most of my students are not beginners. And that definitely has a bearing on the case. My most typical caster is self-taught, has often been fly fishing for decades, can throw 70’.

Being able to hit a target randomly placed between 8 and 15 metres requires loop control, trajectory adjustments, a well positioned backcast, and straight tracking. Would these be useful casting skills to have?

Cheers, Paul

May I add line length judgement, roll casting variations, hauling, hover and managing variations in rod plane to your list Paul.

John

[VGB]

Being able to hit a target randomly placed between 8 and 15 metres requires loop control, trajectory adjustments, a well positioned backcast, and straight tracking. Would these be useful casting skills to have?

Absolutely.

Being able to do it sitting, kneeling or chest deep in water with any rod and line combination from 5-10ft rod length for single handers, lines #2 to 12 could come in handy. Using leaders up to 25ft with nymphs, dries and streamers on the end would be incredibly useful, maybe even combinations of those flies. I agree with being able to do it all planes 90 - 180 and if you can do it with either hand would be good, accuracy shots off the backhand can be a life saver.

I guess the saltwater guys would be very keen on having fast moving targets and landing your shot in a couple of seconds as well.

My most typical caster is self-taught, has often been fly fishing for decades, can throw 70’.

2 out of the 3 I taught last week were like that, both wanted pocket water techniques. Teaching them to transition from fishing in fast streams water to efficiently presenting the next cast was covered in the latter half of the lesson. They’ll need to practice that in the wild though, it’s not easy to simulate in the field. The 3rd was a novice that I first taught a month ago, we went fishing and I was delighted with his ability to adapt to casting off the bank and dealing with the assorted shrubbery.

Regards

Vince

[VGB]

May I add line length judgement, roll casting variations, hauling, hover and managing variations in rod plane to your list Paul.

In reality these are skills not objectives. How often do you guys teach the objective of “Being able to hit a target randomly placed between 8 and 15 metres ” with bamboo rods with the target occasionally being under a bush?

In running water, we are often looking for static presentations of the dry fly. In a mountain or moorland stream being able to have a static presentation for 2 seconds will bring you a fish. This was the objective of the 2 guys I had midweek, the 3rd wanted basic dry and nymph fishing techniques.

In both cases, I had to decompose the top level aim into multiple sub-objectives and I used or modified the kit that they had brought with them. What top level objectives are you guys picking up in lessons?

Regards

Vince

[Paul Arden]

For a long time now, certainly since before I first came to Malaysia, when I get a new student who is an experienced fly fisher, the first thing I do is set out some targets and ask them to play around and hit them. Before Zoom I could just say “I’m just going over there to set up; have a play” and then spy them from behind the rose bushes. That really doesn’t work any more and they *know* I’m watching them!

Depending on what I see will determine what I need to do next. A few will need loop control exercises. Eg triangle method. However many can actually be given some to help to improve their stroke while trying to hit a target. And then there are others who can probably teach me a thing or two!

For most of my students I teach them the game. It’s a hell of a lot more interesting than just casting into space. And it’s measurable… so improvements can actually be measured over time. I think that this is all excellent stuff.

But I also use targets for just about everything else too; Roll Casts, Presentation Casts and Mends, Shots, different deliveries… you name it. So this is also a prelude to that. It’s an introduction to the idea that we need to control where the fly lands and that this is one measure of the cast.

I’m all for drills and exercises. But we also need to introduce games to keep things fun. Training and learning should be fun, then you’ll want to go outside and cast.

There is another part to this too. It’s quite well documented here I think, that I didn’t fully appreciate target casting until I first saw Steve Rajeff throw in Norway. His first round of 78 was a particularly inspiring moment for me. This would be 16 years ago. There are a few casters that have really impressed me in life. Rick Hartman’s 5WT loops are breathtaking. But what Steve did stunned me. Not just hitting the centre of the ring but the loops were like chisels. I never knew accuracy could be that dynamic.

And so I started training. And I now know that as a direct result of this I am a much better caster, I’m a better shot taker and I have a control element, particularly over the backcast, that I never had before. So I recognise what it’s done for me. And of course I also get to see first hand what it does for my students nowadays too. That’s why I think it’s one of the cornerstones of flycasting.

But once again, it’s not for beginners. But not just for elite level either. It’s also for the sort of person who has plateaued in their progression and now wants to be better. This is my third (or middle) group of coaching students! This is also where I start to gradually introduce pattern and form. Prior to this I’m in total agreement with Vince, surprisingly . Yes the constraints are tighter. But that’s what happens as we progress; the constraints get narrower which is how to develop our performance.

Here Jonny Wilkinson trains by hitting the crossbar (and wearing the right deodorant)



Cheers, Paul

[Paul Arden]

How often do you guys teach the objective of “Being able to hit a target randomly placed between 8 and 15 metres ” with bamboo rods with the target occasionally being under a bush?

I haven’t had anyone come along with a bamboo rod for a long time. I was given one by Christian Strixner many years ago that is a truly wonderful rod. Quite similar to an XP in action actually.

Under a bush or mangroves or dock… every student. I teach the full complement of casts to all (including the B&A Roll!). And I tell them how to train them too. Mind you by this time they know what I’m going to say in this regards

And I agree — sitting down, wading, crawling, backhand and so on — it all needs to be adaptable.

Cheers, Paul

[Paul Arden]

2 out of the 3 I taught last week were like that, both wanted pocket water techniques. Teaching them to transition from fishing in fast streams water to efficiently presenting the next cast was covered in the latter half of the lesson. They’ll need to practice that in the wild though, it’s not easy to simulate in the field.

Yep it would be good to get on the river with them in this case. Particularly for other essential skills such as line management, wading, reading currents and stealth. Did you build an assault course

It will be interesting to hear how Mika got on up Sungai Tiang tomorrow. I hook about 1/3rd of my fish there on B&A casts. Always exciting what happens after that. I love the contrast between the super stealthy approach and the chaos that immediately ensues!! Particularly if it involves “getting in!”

Cheers, Paul

[John Waters]

Yes Vince they are fly casting skills. Fly fishing comprises many casting skills for use in different environments, using multiple skill sets with different types of gear. Fishing dry flies on a moorland stream with a cane rod is one environment only. I’m sure many instructors “decompose the tip level aim into multiple sub-objectives and used or modified the kit they ( the students) bought with them” when teaching competition or open water casting skills. My objective in short line casting is put the fly in the desired area, with the desired delivery line layout.

What top level objectives do you pick up on when instructing a student in open water, long line casting skills and objectives?

John

[VGB]

I have a bamboo one on Wednesday, all he knows is that it’s 8ft long and has asked me to tell him what line he should use because the rod has no marking. The last time I did something like this it turned out to be a saltwater spinning rod.

I’ve also been working on some drills to simulate fast water presentations on grass. After landing the fly, they have to do a full arm strip slowly without the fly moving to demonstrate that they have put the slack in, the presentation has the line as high off the ground as they can manage. Then 2 or 3 fast strips to get the fly to about 2 rod lengths away with the fastest transition into the next cast that they can manage. Occasionally, I’ll shout “fish” during the strip and they have to get the fly off the ground quickly.

Most of these students are missing up to 90% of the takes in environment because they switch off after delivering the cast because they are conditioned to the presentation being the objective. The fishing goes on in between the casts and it takes them a long time to cover water because they don’t practice the transitions from casting to fishing and back to the cast again. It’s not even in their mental model of what they should be doing. I want to see them become sufficiently adaptable to become problem solvers.

Regards

Vince

[Paul Arden]

The nice thing about these casts is you can practise in your garden (if you have a garden), even if it’s small. In fact you can probably practise indoors.

[VGB]

My objective in short line casting is put the fly in the desired area, with the desired delivery line layout.

That’s good John, lots of potential solutions - curves, mends, piles and the opportunity to improvise casts.

What top level objectives do you pick up on when instructing a student in open water, long line casting skills and objectives?

My sub objectives would be the ability to generate controlled wide loops, reduce the dependency on the rod arm to generate distance, line control during fishing, to recognise the symptoms of overhang and ticking, and be able to correct them. Unfortunately, this is not possible in a single lesson.

Regards

Vince