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Walter & Group...
[GH] From Phil Gay:
Gordy,
One of my favorite subjects so I'll start the discussion with some of my thoughts.
I generally discourage parents from starting their children before age 10. Children younger who are muscularly better developed and have been coached at some other sport do the best and some can start before 10.
Of course parents always think their child is special so if they insist I will do the teaching.
I get right on my knees in front of them so I can look them in the eye at their level. I demo from that position as well. I make a quick evaluation of their arm strength and if they are having trouble holding the rod and controlling it I have them put their non-casting hand on the butt of the rod for extra strength.
You must keep it fun. I use thinks like picking up a telephone and putting it to your ear and then handing it to me as a description of the casting motion. No physics required!
They have incredibly short attention spans so don't stay with anything too long.
One thing they all like is taking the rod and moving the tip in a circle while turning in a circle. This gets a series of rolling loops on the ground and is a source of great fascination. My older clients at Spruce Creek even get a kick out of it.
Use fun targets like fish cut outs and even better the Lefty trick of putting a mouse trap on the fish which snaps shut when hit. You must use a weighted fly to make this work.
They tend to hit the rod into the ground so be prepared to have a rod broken. Try to teach them one on one so you can avoid things like sword fights with fly rods.
In summary keep it fun and varied or you will quickly lose them.
Phil
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[GH] Ahhh, yes. The sword fights and broken rods. Some real World experience, there !
Happens with boys ..... but I've not found that when teaching girls.
Gordy
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[GH] From Michael Gallart:
I have an approach that I have had success with. In my own family's case I started my Grandson Liam when he was 5 with a Micro Practice Rod. I never mentioned Flyfishing. We just played games, hitting targets and keeping the line in the air and feeling the rod. 6 months later I gave him a picture book that illustrated basic equipment. 3 months later he asked me for a Flyrod for his Birthday. I gave him a 4wt 7ft TFO Bug Launcher. It took a year to come full circle. In the meantime we went spin fishing. Now we do 15 min lessons on the lawn. We do circles and figure eights. We pick up and laydown on targets. We also cast to our dog and let "Summer" chase the yarn fly. I've told Liam the we will spin fish this year. As we go we'll practice on the lawn. Tie knots and a few flies. We always wear our eye protection, hats and check our surroundings.
Just as an instructor strives for their explanation to match the demonstration, my feeling is that when his listening matches his action we'll be ready to take the long rod and sharp hooks out on the water.
Michael
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[GH] Kids love the "CIRCLES, STRAIGHTS & EIGHTS" ! Girls like to get them "perfect". Boys like competition...
Who can make the biggest circle ? Who can make a really big 8 ? Who can make the smallest 8 ? Who can make the straightest straight, Who can do it fastest? Who can do it slowest? etc.
At that age, games "rule". They later lead to line control.
When older, many girls want "to look good on the stream" Other's want to outdo the boys.
Boys, then, want distance. Some want to catch the most fish. Later, they want the biggest fish.
Years ago, when I attended Joan Wulff's course for instructors, I was amazed at the answers two of the young ladies came up with in answer to Joan's asking each of us what we hoped to get out of her course. One of them said, "I want to teach women to cast as well as their husbands". The other, " I want to look the look, walk the walk, and cast the cast ,so the guys will respect me". They had become adults ..... but not much had changed.
Gordy
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[GH] From Ernie French. Check out his attachment of an accomplished young salty fly fisher:
RJ is a true fisherman. Against my stated prejudiced opinion he came to fish Montauk with his dad in late September when he was 5 yrs. old. The weather was raw and wet. RJ changed my way of thinking. He understands and appreciates the sport more than most of my clients and I'm sure there are many others like him. I look forward to the three days he and his dad spend with me each year and I'm sure the memories will be with him his whole life. He will be involved in this sport for the next seventy years and I'm sure many years from now, long after I'm gone he will remember me. Teaching this pastime to young people is a way to live on in this sport.
Gordy
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[GH] Ernie,
I'm sure many are wondering ..... How did young RJ learn to fly cast ?
Gordy
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[GH] From Harry Boyd:
At age 10 or 11 my family vacationed at Roaring River State Park in southwest Missouri. We were spin fishing for the stocked rainbows. Even at that age I was the most devoted fisherman of our group. After a day or two, I noticed that those fly fishing were catching more fish and nagged my folks into getting me a fly rod. Thankfully my folks went first class. They bought me a $100+ outfit (semi high-end in those days) from Jim Rogers (MCI) who ran the lodge at Roaring River at the time. Jim took me out for an hour or two and got me started, working with me till I caught my first trout on a fly. Today, 40+ years later, I'm thankful for a good start.
Harry Boyd
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[GH] From Gary Eaton:
Gordy,
Good overview that your experience provides. I also suggest Dr. Philip Brunquell's book on fishing with children (Fly-Fishing with Children: A Guide for Parents) .
His advice on simplifying gear and other issues come through the filter of a pediatric neurology specialist.
In my array of fly rods are a couple of 3-weights 8-feet or shorter and an Orvis one-ounce outfit in 2-weight. I consider them essential for the small muscle mass of pre-teens. Slightly over-lined with targets at closer distances create an environment for success.
I figure attention span at their age in minutes, maximum! That conveniently matches with the amount of time that they can perform casting motions before their stored energy in those smaller muscles becomes depleted. It takes at least twice that amount of time - without effort by those muscles - to replenish the glycogen that provides energy for movement.
One approach is to have alternating activities to intersperse between rod-moving sessions.Remember that each of these intervening activities needs to be equally short and interesting. Some things I interject include:
- learning to tie ONE knot
- identifying fish foods
- matching flies to the fish foods identified
- watching a SHORT video clip
- identifying fish species
- drawing a picture of a fish on a fly
- learning to tie the hook on the tippet
- safety - flotation, protective eye wear, sun exposure, etc.
At the end of the session ALWAYS give "kid" a tangible award that they can hold in their hand or hang on their wall or attach to the family refrigerator. Photos are exceptionally good for this.
Provide unlimited snacks and drinks (fruit juice?) and bathroom breaks. Provide shade and air-conditioned space for the non-casting activities. Be extremely positive and separate parents from the kids by several rod-lengths to deter parent-coaching. Be straight-forward in keeping the parents aware that this session is the time for their child to receive input from YOU, not the parent.
Ultimately, the student determines the effective duration of the session, nothing else.
Gary Eaton, MCI
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[GH] Yes. Dr Brunquell's book is an excellent resource. It is expensive, but available used for a lot less.
Gordy
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LOTS MORE TO FOLLOW ON TEACHING YOUNGSTERS !!
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