# Fly fishing... class?



## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Okay, so here's the scoop. I feel like a marginal fisherman at best, but whenever I talk to someone on the mad, or about the mad, it seems I'm a little better than marginal...

Guy asked me the other day when I was leaving the river "did you have any luck?"
me: "Yeah, a fair bit. Caught 4, lost probably 15 or so... you?"
him: "....... it doesn't matter, it's a beautiful day to be out, isn't it?"

This happens pretty much every week :-\ and I'm not trying to brag or anything, it just kinda confuses me. To me, trout fishing comes pretty easy. I've only been trout fishing for about 6 months but I've soaked in all the knowledge I could as fast as I could  I always do.

I also saw a few college-age looking people fishing, who didn't seem to fully understand trout. Their casts looked nice enough, but the bright red shorts and white shirts, with old bright red tennis shoes, told me they weren't quite focusing on what the trout saw from them beyond the fly. Again no offense if you guys read this, but the trout will TOTALLY see that.

So then I get to my point (finally!). I'm currently an OSU student, and the rec center here offers a class on fly fishing, but I don't know how in depth it is. I talked to someone who was trained to teach it and she seemed to not really care about fly fishing... if the person who teaches doesn't care, what can you learn? 

So I was thinking they oughta do an advanced class. And thus my question to you (at last): If you were in college and there were an advanced fly fishing sorta seminar / class thingy you could go to (one time) and learn how to actually hook up with fish and various ways to rig and fish flies... would you go? Would you pay to go?

Just wondering


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

I would go in a second, if it were actually an advanced class, but even if it wasnt it is amazing how much you can learn from even the most novice fisherman, because they dont conform to the classic styles or fall into ruts, they havnt had time. they can teach you the real secrets to catching fish that they dont even know they have.
and if your catching fish in the mad your going to always be doing better than most, it is a tough stream. but you are doing the right thing, many people dont catch fish on the mad because they either overestimate how smart a trout is, or simply do foolish things, like wear red shirts ect. keep it simple, they are simple creatures.
Why dont you try and organize a fly fishing club there, I'm sure on that campus there are enough people who have seen the light that you could start a club, theres probably some good fisherman that go there too.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

What constitutes an 'advanced class', exactly?  

I thought about a club, but it kinda takes a lot of effort at OSU to get a club off the ground, I think, and I'm not the best at networking. None of my friends flyfish and I dunno where to start haha.


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## gadabout (Jun 24, 2008)

don't expect to learn everything in a classroom. not saying you think you would but some that wear those white shirts and red shoes might. when I started there were no clubs flyshops dvds or anything except a book or you watched another behind a tree and when he saw you it scared the hell out of him. anyway if I were taking up the sport today yes I would be taught by an instructor. I don't think I would pay for it cause theres always a Tu chapter teaching fly tying classes and if you go to one of them Im sure you will find most who will take you under there wing and teach you. then again why the rush you have all your life to learn this great past time of fly fishing weather you catch anything or not. gadabout just my opinon


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Gadabout, I tend to agree with you  i'm totally self taught other than a few youtube casting videos and looking over lefty's casting principles and a few descriptions of how to cast, and reading some mags  

I just try to think about what the fish are eating, and how to pretend I'm that  I don't propose to teach everything, but just some advanced sort of basics like presentation and how to dress to hide from the fish, how to approach water to have the best chance at it, etc.

If I had managed to get a good hookset on every fish that took, I would have had more than 20 fish on the mad yesterday. Granted I was swapping it up between nymphing and streamer swinging depending on my direction of travel and what I saw out of the river (I could never win the "One Fly" tourney haha). 

Pretty much every time I go to the mad, I can catch fish... The mad's an hour drive for me though. if I drove out there 3 or 4 times and never caught any trout, it wouldn't take me too long to stop going at all. I'd hate to see people give up on fly fishing after getting frustrated due to a lack of info, you know?


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

put a stinger on those streamers!!
and you should be able to find someone in one of the clubs or on here that can help you with an advanced course on the mad


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## fishing pole (May 2, 2004)

Clayton said:


> What constitutes an 'advanced class', exactly?
> 
> I thought about a club, but it kinda takes a lot of effort at OSU to get a club off the ground, I think, and I'm not the best at networking. None of my friends flyfish and I dunno where to start haha.


Try Clearfork Chapter of TU or Buckeye flyfishers. 

I went to OSu back in the 80's. Didn't have a car so I fished the "Old and Grungdey" all the time. Did okay up near the park of roses. Also rode the bike over to Scioto a few time to fish below the spillway.


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## RonT (May 4, 2008)

If you can make it to Bellville, Ohio, on the Saturday,the 9th of May you may find a Mohican Flyfishers club member that will offer some tips. They are having their annual Buckeye Bamboo Bash and most of the members are fairly proficient casters. In fact, I believe one of them teaches at the ODNR's Castalia "Learn to flyfish" program and in the past taught flyfishing classes at Mansfield OSU, and Ashland Univ.. 
Just sayin'.
R


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

gadabout said:


> don't expect to learn everything in a classroom. not saying you think you would but some that wear those white shirts and red shoes might. when I started there were no clubs flyshops dvds or anything except a book or you watched another behind a tree and when he saw you it scared the hell out of him. anyway if I were taking up the sport today yes I would be taught by an instructor. I don't think I would pay for it cause theres always a Tu chapter teaching fly tying classes and if you go to one of them Im sure you will find most who will take you under there wing and teach you. then again why the rush you have all your life to learn this great past time of fly fishing weather you catch anything or not. gadabout just my opinon


I agree completely. now it's take a class, instant fish. someone on another board mentioned if there were no classes, no dvds or anything like that, 75% of the flyfisher people wouldnt be flyfishing. when I began, I dont even think there were such things as "indicators". you learned by doing. the learning process was part of the experience. ow its just a speed bump for people to get through as fast as possible.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I think, in general, there's a lot to be said about fishing water you are familiar with, too. I, like you, admit that I am no master angler. That being said, I am flyfishing at lakes around home, fishing around a lot of other folks, and I am out-fishing them. What does that mean? Nothing, to me. The opposite happens to me when I go to an unfamiliar water. I'll get out-fished by a kid with a $30 WalMart special setup who is fishing the same stretch of water. Local knowledge is a huge part of it, I believe. 

All that being said, I think a class can give you good knowledge and experience with the basics and fundamentals. However, for that knowledge and experience to be beneficial to you, it has to be applied to bodies of water that may look similar to what you are used to, but are in fact very different. That is where and when local knowledge and subtle factors become important and make the difference. In my experience, you get that kind of knowledge in 2 main ways:

1. Someone kind enough to share knowledge provides you with vital information for success, "takes you under his/her wing," so to speak.

2. Learn it by going through the motions on your own, learning from your own mistakes.

When you first fished the Mad, did you have the same success rates early on that you do now? Most likely, no. The first few times I fished one of my favorite local lakes, I got skunked. Now I go out there and hammer fish all night long. It's sort of an evolution, learning from my mistakes, my successes, my failures, and applying that knowledge.

There's only so much you can get from a book or a class, in my humble opinion.


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## brhoff (Sep 28, 2006)

Next time you need a some gear or flies, swing by the Mad River Outfitters on Bethel and describe the hook set issues you want to correct. I'll go out on a limb and say, you'll get good advise.

They can also provide casting, tying and other fly fishing lessons/classes...individual or group.

MRO will probably cost much less than university credit hours and you should get the help you need.

I fully intend to take an hour or two casting with them as soon I decide to part with the money....could be this year as I don't intend to buy any more gear for a while.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

I was over at MRO the other day, and they did help with the hookset issues  Hopefully I'll be able to put their advice to good use, I'm getting out of bed at FOUR on saturday morning haha. I think MRO is the best, really... I don't get fly fishing gear anywhere else anymore. They cost more than most internet places, but i'd rather be able to try things on, feel them in my hands, and in general have someone standing behind him. And I highly recommend getting some casting work from Brian. He's the man, and was able to fix like 3 things I was screwing up in... I dunno, 2 minutes of talking? No more trailing loop... I now like fly fishing that much more 

To do a ridiculous amount of clarification: The class idea I was discussing would cost about $15 dollars, be a one-time event, and would presumably be taught by me haha. It wouldn't be a credit-hour kind of thing, just an adventure center day seminar. They have em on white water rafting, fly casting, backpacking, and a few other adventuresome things. I was thinking something more along those lines with some basic information... you know, things like "don't wear red shoes if you want trout and are wading downstream", various places to cast for more regular success, and how to vaguely read a stream. I'm no expert, but I remember blind-casting to nothing for hours and it was kind of disheartening. Then again, I DID manage to make it to where I am today so it can't have been too bad


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