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Walter & Group...
[GH] Younger CCI and MCI candidates tend to get their information from interactive media as well as video renditions of fly casting and fly fishing. As the years progress this tendency will increase. A necessity as new information on casting and the teaching of fly casting emerges at a pace which cannot keep up with that of publication of texts.
In the past 11 years, I have learned mountains of information from you as I host this Study Group. Stuff which isn't in the "books". Information from our members in different countries has exposed me (and you) to ways of approaching subjects different from my own. Some of the words and topics we tackle are not even to be found in the older texts.
While this is a fine way of acquiring information on any subject or discipline, there is a vastly different and supplemental approach which has worked well for me.... and should at least be considered by even some of you younger CCI's who are preparing for your Master exams.
We must first be reminded that all new fly casting information is that which compliments the teachings of the past. These past developments form the very foundations of fly casting. To disrespect them would be sheer folly.
My personal study method has been to acquire and study all the pertinent written material on fly casting and fly fishing I can afford. It complies with a personal recommendation to me by Gary Borger years ago as I prepared for my own MCI exam. Gary recommended starting by building a library of acclaimed books. He gave me a list of recommended texts. (Interesting... and a testimonial to his ability to suppress his own teaching ego, he omitted his, PRESENTATION.)
Floyd Franke was one of my mentors. He gave me assignments. One of them was, "Study Lefty Kreh's material on fly casting. Then study Joan Wulff's. When you have done that, send me a detailed list of their differences with respect to the basic casting stroke."
I took it one step further.
After reading each one, I would pick a particular subject ..... say, roll casting. Then I would study what each author had written on the subject. I'd tally their DIFFERENCES. Then I'd go back and tally their SIMILARITIES. Having given all this careful thought, I'd go out and cast with this information in mind and come up with my own CONCLUSIONS. Thus entered the VARIABLES which made it work best for me.
Often, I could see that even though these experts appeared to disagree on many issues, they were really writing about the same thing... just looking at the subject from a different angle and using different ways to accomplish the same presentations. Gaining an appreciation of style vs. substance, was my key to understanding all this.
Gordy
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[GH] On Gary Borger's PRESENTATION from Jim Bass:
Gordy this is my favorite book. It gives you a treasure trove of information about trout in all types of water. After you learn so much about trout then you learn how to cast to them. I think those of us who can should have a copy.
Best Jim
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[GH] As some of you know, Jason and Gary Borger have been working on a series of updated publications to compliment their original books. This message string resulted from my request to Jason for an update on this project:
[JB] Gordy,
The series is on-going, with 3 to 4 books to be released each year. I am working through the last aspects of the third book now (I do the layout and illustrations), and GB (my father) is already most of the way through writing the fourth. We are guessing at a 2016 completion for all 20 titles. The books are printed as each is finished, and they can purchased via catalogers, shops and through my father's site (he offers a signed/personalized book via his eBay store). There are two out there now: FIshing the Film and Reading Waters. Long Flies is next (the book I am currently plowing my way through). If you asked yourself what Long Flies means, think streamers, bunnies, leeches, mice and more (approaches, tactics, plus some patterns, too).
2012 should see the start of the casting books in the series. It will very likely also see Nature of Fly Casting "version 2.0." I am guessing that there will be plenty of overlap (how could there not be, frankly), but Nature, as you well know, is its own beast, and will have my modular approach to teaching casting. The series casting books will basically be all GB, and while we do indeed share some of your teaching approaches, GB is GB and he writes/explains in his own way. Personally, I think it will be pretty interesting to see us both with new casting books at the same time—a side-by-side comparo to how we are approaching the subject. Then again, I dig casting in a way that's probably one step away from therapy, so others may find our dual-edged casting thing to be a whole lot of excess words about some stick-waving!
In any case, I hope that makes it clearer as to the new book series situation.
Jason
[GH] [GB = Gary Borger]
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[GH] Jason,
Many thanks. Over the years, your book and Gary's have provided valuable help to the Master candidates who study them.
As you know, I continue to use them as reference books despite the dates of publication.
Best wishes with this new venture !
Gordy
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[JB] Thanks very much for your kind words, Gordy. The re-write of Nature has been a rather significant process, with all that has happened in casting in general and in my own approaches in the last 10 years. Here's to hoping that the new book proves to be useful, as well.
And as for GB, expect his casting books in the series to be much like Presentation, but stretched out and much more detailed. GB still writes like GB, so the voice should be familiar.
Jason
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[GH] Jason,
I hope the technique of using lemming patterns for "mousing the bank" for big bows is included in GB's LONG FLIES. One of my favorite ways of fishing on my Alaska trips. Works in the salt, too for fly fishing mangrove shorelines for lemon sharks as they hunt along those edges.
Gordy
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