Family Fly Fishing Introduction

One of our most popular fly fishing activities is the half day 'Introduction to Fly Fishing'. The day begins at 10am with tea/coffee and cakes to greet the guests and to discuss the format of the day.
Many people are complete beginners who have always wanted to go fly fishing but don't know how to begin. Some guests may be coarse fishers and wish to learn a new style of fishing. Often we have fly fishers who wish to learn more about the methods and flies we use or to improve their casting, we can teach to any standard, for example learn a more advanced technique of 'double hauling' to get extra distance or learn new casts ie Spey, double Spey, snake roll etc.
I am a fully qualified fly fishing coach and level two licenced instructor, and for 10 years I've been introducing hundreds of newcomers every season to this wonderful sport.
It all begins with a welcome to Rutland Water, the largest man-made lake in western Europe and arguably the finest Stillwater trout water.
Rutland is famous for the quality of it's trout which quickly grow to become pristine, silver, hard fighting specimens. To give an idea of what this water can produce, the record was smashed last season with a superb 17 pound plus brown trout. to put that into perspective, there are many smaller Stillwater in the UK where trout of that monstrous size are grown in tanks and stocked at that weight, only to be caught perhaps a few days, or even hours later! Rutland is different, that large trout was stocked about 10 years ago at around 2 pounds, but with the perfect water quality, the enormous space and the vast amount of natural food available it grew to that massive size.
However, they don't grow that big by being caught so while Rutland Water is certainly one of the best in the UK, it's not always the easiest. Far from it. Many things need to be right before a good fish is caught. the weather, the location, the depth and using the correct fly is so important to be successful.
You also need to be able to cast a fly without 'whipping the water to foam' and present your fly with delicate precision.
During the morning we are based in our fishing cabin overlooking the lake. Pine panelled walls covered with fishing pictures, tackle and mounted fish give the feel of a Canadian Fisherman's log cabin and there are displays of huge fish caught over the years by myself and my guests: silver rainbows, large brown trout, pike, Atlantic Salmon, giant sturgeon and fighting sailfish and marlin.
First of all we discuss the 'concept' of casting a fly, to get my guests to understand that strength and power is not needed, it's all about timing and technique. In fact, rather like golf, the harder you try, the worse the casting becomes.
After explaining and demonstrating the tackle needed; the lines/leaders/rods and so on, with the help of interesting projected slides, I explain all about the flies used on this and other stillwaters. My fly box may look like 'witchcraft' or an explosion in a Christmas decoration factory but it's not as complicated as it may seem. Again with visuals, I explain the different types of flies and why we use them at different times of the year. Fascinating and informative, and information which they have for the rest of their lives.
Patient, and above all, fun 'Step by Step' casting instruction on the grass soon enables anyone to be able to cast a decent line. good enough to GO FISHING. So, out we go for the rest of the time, fly fishing from the banks of Rutland Water. Why we choose a particular place in certain conditions and times is also covered in the morning's 'teach-in'.
Catching a trout can be difficult for a beginner, and the most difficult aspect of my job is to try and enable them to catch, every morning I look over the lake and wonder, 'how are the conditions today; which direction is the wind; is it too strong/not strong enough; is it too sunny? However, often, the gods smile on us and a miracle happens....then all is right with the world :)

Yesterday I had a lovely English/Japanese family group who really wanted to catch a fish or two to take back home for a tasty meal. Well, the fish played their part admirably, in fact I cannot remember a day when so many fish were hooked, lost, landed and kept or returned. everyone caught fish from the youngest son to Mother Mayumi. Daughter Hiko was a 'natural', casting and catching several lovely trout.

The best part of my job is when a novice catches their first trout, it often does happen and yesterday the family returned to London with big smiles and some lovely trout.

Smiling faces and Bending rods is what Rutland Fly Fishing Adventures is all about... hope to see you soon.