Last year i was lucky enough to meet up with an old friend of mine Mark Patterson a fellow game angling instructor.
After a long chat about teaching fly dressing it was put to me about becoming a fly dressing Instructor with the organisation, As an advanced instructor here in Ireland i decided that i would take up the offer to take the assessment.
A few weeks my exam pack arrived arrived and boy!! the work involved was enormous, but lucky enough i had quire a few of the requirements on place which meant i only had to concentrate on the two main parts which was a 1 hour presentation of my choice then a 1 hour tying demonstration.
I was lucky to be assessed by one of the best assessors in the UK Philip White and any one who knows Philip can vouch that this guy is a wealth of knowledge anda fantastic fly dresser and caster.
To cut it short my presentation consisted of several subjects which included teaching techniques, entomology, child protection and an hour on fly tying materials and their uses.
The final part of the presentation was about dyeing techniques and how to dye CDC and why it floats, lucky enough i had microscope photos of the cdc and i was able to explain why it floated.
The main tying exam was tying up the Jock Scott fully dressed,something i had not done in years. but lucky enough after tying half a dozen up the previous evening i got back into the swing of things.
The last demonstration was my technique of tying up traditional Irish flies and i ended up tying my Peachy Dabbler, gold octopus and the gold george.
Within 10 minutes the main assessors came back in with a big smile on their faces and announced my pass of the examination.
So now on reflection i should have gone for the examination with them years ago.
So now as a newly qualified advanced instructor doors have opened and my next major workshop will be next October in Springfield USA.
Which i am really looking forward to, and meeting up with old buddies.
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