So I've been fly fishing for a couple of years now and doing pretty well. I can cast accurately to around 30 feet without too many problems, with the occasional tree branch being a problem, but where I live, there aren't too many opportunities to make casts any longer than that unless I go out onto a lake, so my long casting is pretty much non existent.
Yesterday, an opportunity fell into my lap to take a free beginners casting class that took place this morning. I am visiting family in Florida for a couple of weeks for some pretty serious family business, and I thought this would be an excellent retreat for a couple of hours of relaxation and "me" time. I knew a lot of the things that were going to be taught were things I already knew and had experience with, but I learned a long time ago that if you look for it, and keep an open mind, you can ALWAYS learn something from someone else. I'm glad I jumped at this opportunity.
When I first considered sitting in on the class, I spoke with the instructor and asked him what he was going to cover. He told me that it was pretty flexible as only one other person had signed up, so I would probably be getting 50% of his time. I asked him if he could help me work on Double Hauling as I just can't seem to get everything working together correctly. His response was "sure".
I won't go into all the details except to say that I was right in believing that you CAN learn something from anyone if you keep an open mind. I didn't come to the class thinking that I knew it all, or that I was only going to work on what I thought I needed help with. I jumped right in with both feet and did all of the basic exercises with the other guy, who really was a beginner, and I had a blast. Before I even got to work on the Double Haul, I had already learned 3 cool (and simple) new tricks and tips, PLUS the instructor was able to extend my normal casting by an additional 20 feet, without using a Double Haul, just by fine tuning my normal cast motion. Brilliant!
Needless to say, I am extremely happy with my 2 hours in my "beginners" casting class. It was time well spent and it was also the nice little break from reality that I needed.
Mad props to Dick, the casting instructor at "Bill Jacksons" Outdoors Sporting Goods store in St. Petersburg, Florida. Thank you for all your help. I look forward to taking all my new Basics tricks out onto the water!
