Teaching experiences

Our first message should serve as a TEACHING QUESTION for you to help Steve White solve :

I got a call from two gentleman asking for a one hour casting class to brush up on their casting. Both are in our fly fishing club. When they arrived we put our rods together and headed out back. I asked them to

do a couple of false casts so I could see where to start. These guys have been fly fishing for a long time.

I was shocked both looked like spin casters. I could not find any part of a fly cast. The only thing to do was

start from the beginning. I have a flip chart with all the basics.[ Casting stroke, parts of the cast, how a loop is formed, etc.] It takes 15 min. to cover the chart. I have found that this information helps my students better understand what I am teaching. We went outside and I demonstrated everything I showed them. I showed them the right and wrong way to cast. I spent extra time on the back cast stop. We started

with a basic pick up and lay down. I could not get the gentleman to stop the rods in a upright position. I found that a good stop was not possible. After 2.5 hours one of the gentleman started to cast a loop. The other never came close. He did nothing I asked.

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One of the biggest problems you encountered was failure to achieve a decent STOP.

Our physicists have taught us that the fly rod will unload whether or not we have a true stop. In fact, a "brick wall stop" will introduce harmful vibrations of the rod which will ruin the cast. The reason for the stop, then, becomes that of forming a base for the rod in order to place the rod tip where we want it to be at RSP. This is extremely important to the development of loop control.

While Paul Arden and others have pointed out that there are other ways of achieving effective loops without a true "stop", the easiest way is to have the best stop (rapid deceleration) the caster can achieve.

I'm sure some of our members will have advice as to how you may go about solving this problem for your two casters.

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Teaching problem solved by Peter Morse. (I highlighted his "cure" in bold color)

I got to fish with a fellow I'd been communicating with on fly fishing
matters for a number of years. He was a guy who bought fast rods and
had a big collection of them, but he'd told me he always uplined them
by one or two weights. That was OK because the fish we were fishing
for require BIG flies. For 2 days he didn't pick up a fly rod and when
he finally did it was not on the water but in the camping ground and I
had to really cajole him into doing it. The moment I saw him cast (it
was my rod, an 8 with an 8 weight line) I learned something very
profound (in fly casting terms anyway) about where we load the rod. He
was trying to throw 30 foot casts from the butt of the rod and that
was why he had always needed to upline - so he could generate some
"feel". His stroke was long and domed as well.

I got him to lay the rod out horizontally at waist level and to push
the rod against my hand which was placed about 2 feet up from the
grip. I said "that's the section of the rod you're using to try and
throw a 30 foot cast - that's the bit you should be using to throw 90
foot cast". Then I moved my hand to the middle of the rod and asked
him to push against that "that's a 50 foot cast" I said. Now against
the tip. "OK - that's the bit you use for a 30 foot cast". I got him
to start from the tip with a much tighter stroke and work down the rod
as he false cast so he could understand better what loading the rod
meant. It worked wonders. What has made this exercise even more
effective is to load the same rod with a line many sizes lighter than
the ideal, then you HAVE to use just the tip to make a loop, and then
over line it by many weights when you can feel it work deeper in the
blank.

I now do this exercise with anyone I see who is using the wrong
section of the rod to throw a cast of a certain distance. The
difference is immediate and profound. What is required to use the rod
correctly is immediately understood. Its probably a well known
exercise and widely taught and used but having put the two and two
together myself the lesson was VERY well learned by me as well.

Peter Morse

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Prime example of what happens when we fail to match the casting arc with the application of power / rod bend . Of course the application of power and therefore rod bend will perforce be related in turn to the inertia of the particular fly line carried.

Had you explained the physics of the cast to him, you probably would have lost him in the mire. Here is the way Tom White used to describe it :

" 'Tip casting' for small casting arc : 'Butt casting' for great casting arc."

I really like the way you helped solve his problem ... couldn't resist highlighting it. I'll remember it and use it at the next opportunity.

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Something to be learned about teaching / guiding, especially in the wild by Jim Phillips :

(In the past, Jim has been helpful in lending us teaching tips from a different discipline.... teachings by advanced ski instructors.)

This is down your alley but lightly discussed as part of our instructor responsibilities.

Some of my biggest concerns as a raft and stream guide in the Rockies are medical problems from allergies( e.g. bee stings), heart problems, diabetics, altitude adjustment, extremely cold water(hypothermia), etc. My Shop's standard practice is to ask about any medical conditions that could affect this lesson or trip. Many are reluctant to mention their problems so I ask that if they don't want to mention in front of others, see me privately off to the side. My toughest challenge was on a corporate booking of 40 guests with 20 rafts and guides and I was the Trip Leader to organize the guests, guides, boats, and itinerary. We picked up the guests at the hotel in our cars(4-6 guests in each car) and transported them to the Shop for licenses, releases, equipment, and guide/guest matching. During the car trip, we were to explain the day's logistics and ask about medical problems. Once at the Shop, Guest A pulled me aside, said he wanted to fish with me, and said he had a heart problem and if he fainted(passed out), I was to reach in a tin box in his pants and put a pill under his tongue. I tried to talk him out of the trip as we would be in a canyon with no phone service and 2-4 hours from a medical facility. He was adamant he was going. Five minutes later, Guest B came up to me and said his guide should know he had a heart problem and if he fainted, the guide should (yes, you guessed it) pull the tin box from his pant's pocket and put a pill under his tongue.

With this second major complication I went to the Shop owner to explain about Guests A and B. He promptly turned a sickly shade of white. Taught, in the Air Force, to bring solutions and not problems to your Boss, I told him my solution was to take both Guest A and B in my boat and to stay in the first third of the boats down the river in case I needed help from other guides. My reasoning: I had just finished re-qualifying for First Aid and CPR, both guests should know what to do if the other became ill, and, as trip leader, I could give direction to the other guides if necessary--Plus, I trusted my experience and knowledge more than many of the younger guides.

Complications: Extremely cold water conditions might trigger an attack if one fell in. I gave them both safety instructions at the river and told them to move slowly in the boat, keep me informed if they had a problem, and not exit the boat until I gave them permission. I put the most experienced angler in the back(Guest A) so I could keep my eyes on the least experienced. When we pulled to the bank for a rest stop, I told Guest A not to get out until the raft was against the bank and the anchor set as it was a steep drop off. You guessed it, Mr Adamant (Guest A), jumped out three feet from shore and submerged over his waders. I was able to get the raft and the guest to shore. Luckily, the cold water did not trigger an attack. The trip was a success and all were happy--especially me, and the Shop's owner when we returned safely!

Lessons Learned: What if the guests were not asked about medical problems? What if the guests did not feel comfortable admitting their problems? What if the guide did not have solutions to possible problems that could arise? What if the guide was unfamiliar with Epi pens? What if.............????

Thanks for the Forum, Jim Phillips

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Jim .... Great entry. Thanks.

I've long taken the position on controversial matters that it is far more effective to be PART OF THE SOLUTION rather than being PART OF THE PROBLEM. You did exactly that.

Gordy

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