What to ask instructor during first lesson

[askel]

I'm about to get first ever personal fly casting lesson. I used to believe I can somewhat cast a fly but I'm pretty sure it's not that at all.

Should I pretend I have absolutely no idea (which is pretty close to be true) how to cast or should I admit I have problems?

[Lasse Karlsson]

Would you tell your doctor your problem, or have him/her do a full exam to find out your left toe is hurting?

Its easier to be honest, and up front, we find out pretty quickly anyway, and we're there to help you get better!

Cheers
Lasse

[Graeme H]

Just tell him or her that you'd like to cast better than you do now, perhaps explaining a few of your goals for fishing (e.g. trout in streams or bonefish on the flats or snakehead in Malaysia).

The instructor will ask you to throw a few casts within the first few minutes. At that point, whatever you think you know now will be revealed and the instructor will work to build on that. The instructor will see your problems very quickly.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Paul Arden]

Just have fun. That's the most important bit

Cheers Paul

[Paul Arden]

How was it Askel?

[askel]

How was it Askel?

Hmmm. In a single word - frustrating.

In the beginning I stated that I need to improve my ability to cast in windy conditions. I demonstrated my "skills" and I was expecting some comments on what I have to fix and more importantly recommendations on how to achieve that. And it was more like "Ah, occasionally you're able to cast nicely. You need to work on making it more predictable. Practice.". Practice what? No follow up. He was making some notes but I didn't get a chance to see them. Honestly, I feel like I didn't gain anything beside probably some confidence in my ability to occasionally cast nicely .

I do understand that a single lesson is probably nothing and I expected too much from it. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take more lessons. And to be honest I didn't feel like taking more after the first day.

I still need someone to help me with my casting as it's way far from what I want it to be.

Thanks for asking

[Graeme H]

Hmm, that's disappointing. Especially since your question is a fairly simple one to deal with for most people.

Line speed and loop shapes rule in windy conditions. Improve your hauling and make your loops narrow. How you would do that is what the instructor should have been helping you with.

Paul has stated it several times in other threads, but if you were to post a link to a video here, quite a few of the regulars could point out some improvements and how to make them.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Boisker]

I should ask around and find a better instructor Askel.... that sounds pretty p!ss poor, at the very least if I’d paid someone to give me a lesson and they said I needed to practice I would expect them to suggest what I needed to practice and demonstrate it.

Your experience is the complete opposite of mine, I spent an hour or so with a casting instructor, he was really positive about my general casting, pointed out a couple of things that weren’t quite ‘right’ and showed me a couple of real simple things to practice. Don’t let a poor experience put you off mate

[Paul Arden]

That’s sad to hear. On the positive side it means that your ability is above what he can teach! So you are better than you think! Not all instructors teach high-level casting and there are few who teach elite level.

You definitely need to find another instructor. However as Graeme says, posting videos here will allow us to help. I do this all the time and I see the results.

Cheers, Paul