Squigly Worm
03-15-2008, 02:50 PM
I'm sure that many of you already know I'm new to fly fishing. Today I met with Jeff Putman in his beginners fly fishing class. First off, it was perfect! Well, I am home now with a sore arm. The best part is I know why. I cast completely wrong. With 2 hours of instruction today, this soreness should be only a memory. It is amazing how even with as little as 2 hours of guidance can bring a "tight loop" to my line, I mean my pole, I mean from my arm!
I'm a bit excited right now, so I'll just ramble for a minute. I arrived thinking I had a perfect setup. I had been trying to cast the last couple of weeks on a 3wt outfit. Boy, I'm not sure if that was a good thing or bad, but let me say this. After learning on a 3wt, then trying the 5wt before I left this afternoon, I could easily connect with the concept of "loading" the rod. Specifically, during the forward and back cast. It is amazing when you tug the line with your left hand during the cast then release and then do it again in the forward cast how far the line just drives away from you. Well, I learned many things today, but just can't seem to describe them all. Bill Kiene, thank you for the referral to Jeff Putnam's Fly Fishing School. Today, I'm a better fly fisherman because of it. Jeff, thank you for being a great instructor; I appreciate your patience, softness, and confidence in my ability to learn to fly fish. My last words for this post are, anyone can fly cast!
Also, I brought my dad today as well. He had a blast! He also was able to learn the roll cast with never ever casting a fly rod before. What a great day.
Regards,
Shawn Hiatt
Squigly_Worm
P.S. I hate fish hooks!
I'm a bit excited right now, so I'll just ramble for a minute. I arrived thinking I had a perfect setup. I had been trying to cast the last couple of weeks on a 3wt outfit. Boy, I'm not sure if that was a good thing or bad, but let me say this. After learning on a 3wt, then trying the 5wt before I left this afternoon, I could easily connect with the concept of "loading" the rod. Specifically, during the forward and back cast. It is amazing when you tug the line with your left hand during the cast then release and then do it again in the forward cast how far the line just drives away from you. Well, I learned many things today, but just can't seem to describe them all. Bill Kiene, thank you for the referral to Jeff Putnam's Fly Fishing School. Today, I'm a better fly fisherman because of it. Jeff, thank you for being a great instructor; I appreciate your patience, softness, and confidence in my ability to learn to fly fish. My last words for this post are, anyone can fly cast!
Also, I brought my dad today as well. He had a blast! He also was able to learn the roll cast with never ever casting a fly rod before. What a great day.
Regards,
Shawn Hiatt
Squigly_Worm
P.S. I hate fish hooks!