Casting Lessons

[shallowist]

I have been noticing several post where improving the cast and or fly fishing knowledge has been mentioned. Two things that I want to say here. First of all, every one of us needs to be at FTU this weekend, Saturday the 12th. They are doing a fly fishing seminar that will include the two best distacnce casters in the WORLD!!!! Steve (not me) Rajeff, and Rick Hartman. Also, you will find Casey Smart, of Gulf Coast Connections fame (great guy who took my spot when I quit writting for GCC) and John Carpenter, teaching fly tying. The event is from 9am -6pm, and I'm sure will attract many other top notch guys from the area. Andy Packmore is always there, he runs the travel section of FTU, and is a very knowledgable fly guy, who ran the Houston arm of WestBank Anglers for many years. I will attend, probably not the entire day but at least for an hour or two.

Second comment for those who are looking to improve their casting, or flyfishing skills or knowledge, I am available for casting lessons in the Houston area. I had gotten away from doing these a few years back but will be involved again this year and beyond. I teach from the Federation of FlyFishers booklet. The Essentials of FlyCasting, and learned from the Author bill Gammel. In The 90's when he was competitive, he was one of the only guys to ever beat Steve Rajeff, and probably still one of the top 5 casters on the planet. If anyone is interested I can share not only casting help but also local knowledge about techniques and flies, but some about locations up and down the coast.

Hope to see you guys this Saturday, and would be happy to help anyone out there who is interested in improving their fly game.

[Nwilkins]

Yeah, I heard about this on Pike's show Saturday, wish I could make it, I teach every Sat

[shallowist]

I'ts all day long!! 9a-6p, anyone who wants to see the most amazing distance casters in the world...... I'm pretty good, but couldn't even sit in the same room with these two. Rajeff have met him several times, great guy. Hartman, met him back in the late 90's on a trip to South Padre. He was better then than I was when I practiced every day!!

[Nwilkins]

I teach 8 to 5 on Sat, impossible to get there.
Did you ever look in the garage for any salt reels? Do you think I want an 8 wt or your garage sale 9 wt?

[lurefisher]

Shallowist im sorry would love to be there but i have nothing to do with ftu,they are a rip off.I have been screwed by them with some waders i bought and they leaked the first time in the water,and they would not exchanges them .I have alot of friends that have had trouble with them way over priced dudes.

[shallowist]

I could sell you a 9wt, they are incredible casting rods, but i think that you would be better off with an 8. I only have one 8wt left and want that for myself. I have two old Lamson reels that I probably won't part with just yet. You might check out the Bass Pro reel, large arbor version is a pretty good reel with a simple disc drag, light weight. I think that you can pick them up for about 150$. I have an older version of that reel with my 7wt line on it. Only thing that I remember is that the drag on the older one doesn't like being dunked in the briney stuff.

Too bad that you can't make the Fly Seminars this weekend, should be very cool.

[shallowist]

Shallowist im sorry would love to be there but i have nothing to do with ftu,they are a rip off.I have been screwed by them with some waders i bought and they leaked the first time in the water,and they would not exchanges them .I have alot of friends that have had trouble with them way over priced dudes.

I'm not going to say that I haven't heard similar stories over the years. I have bought from them and known the owners for years, no ties here. It boils down to the spoiling that we have all recieved from the Big stores, primarily Academy, but Wally world as well. The independants can't compete with their return policy. Heck the manufacturers have a hard time upholding what they do. It's the cost of having your goods in the big guys stores.

You don't have to buy anything, but the guys that they have there are worth stoppiing by to see. My good friend Captain Chris Phillips had been there for a long time, and I have known Andy Packmore for at least 10 years. They have a new kid working the fly department, who I think can be very helpful, Jared. When I do a seminar there I won't accept any of these excuses that I'm hearing, but if you can't make this one then I understand. Probably try t get set up to do some at Marburger's as well, Todd is an outstanding guy, who loves to fisha nd talk fishing with anyone who walks through his doors! Small fly selection but he fishes weekly with what he sells.

[lurefisher]

I'm not going to say that I haven't heard similar stories over the years. I have bought from them and known the owners for years, no ties here. It boils down to the spoiling that we have all recieved from the Big stores, primarily Academy, but Wally world as well. The independants can't compete with their return policy. Heck the manufacturers have a hard time upholding what they do. It's the cost of having your goods in the big guys stores.

You don't have to buy anything, but the guys that they have there are worth stoppiing by to see. My good friend Captain Chris Phillips had been there for a long time, and I have known Andy Packmore for at least 10 years. They have a new kid working the fly department, who I think can be very helpful, Jared. When I do a seminar there I won't accept any of these excuses that I'm hearing, but if you can't make this one then I understand. Probably try t get set up to do some at Marburger's as well, Todd is an outstanding guy, who loves to fisha nd talk fishing with anyone who walks through his doors! Small fly selection but he fishes weekly with what he sells.

your right i dont have to buy anything i can still come check you out shallowist,You changed my mind i will come see ya there.

[WestEndAngler]

Sounds fun Steve... Just out of curiosity what do you mean by "distance" how far are these guys throwing the fly out there? I'm fairly accurate to around 60' w/ my 9WT but have never learned or mastered the double haul.

[shallowist]

Well Coe, The distance deal is a competely different cast. The competetions were done in the past using a 9wt, with a shooting head system. The running line was typically about 15 pound mono. When you cast with this system there is no carrying long line, you would be lucky to see the shooting head and about 5 feet of mono outside the rod tip. These guys cast this systemin the 150-200 foot range. It's a different world. I tried one time with a professional setup(rod that Rajeff uses) and was able to get in the 140-150 range with a few casts.

Again this is different than casting a fishing set up and these rods would snap under the pressure of a fish. I'm sure they will cast some typical fly gear there as well, where they should be able to hit the 110 mark fairly consistently. Regular weight forward fishing lines can carry more line in the air, so you will probably see some demonstration from one of them holding 80 feet in the air while false casting.
I'm telling you that both guys are nothing short of amazing!! I will try to post up the approximate time that I plan to be there, since I have a family that won't let me stay all day either.

Glad to see that people can put aside hard feelings to enjoy this demo..

[FlatoutFishin]

I have been noticing several post where improving the cast and or fly fishing knowledge has been mentioned. Two things that I want to say here. First of all, every one of us needs to be at FTU this weekend, Saturday the 12th. They are doing a fly fishing seminar that will include the two best distacnce casters in the WORLD!!!! Steve (not me) Rajeff, and Rick Hartman. Also, you will find Casey Smart, of Gulf Coast Connections fame (great guy who took my spot when I quit writting for GCC) and John Carpenter, teaching fly tying. The event is from 9am -6pm, and I'm sure will attract many other top notch guys from the area. Andy Packmore is always there, he runs the travel section of FTU, and is a very knowledgable fly guy, who ran the Houston arm of WestBank Anglers for many years. I will attend, probably not the entire day but at least for an hour or two.

Second comment for those who are looking to improve their casting, or flyfishing skills or knowledge, I am available for casting lessons in the Houston area. I had gotten away from doing these a few years back but will be involved again this year and beyond. I teach from the Federation of FlyFishers booklet. The Essentials of FlyCasting, and learned from the Author bill Gammel. In The 90's when he was competitive, he was one of the only guys to ever beat Steve Rajeff, and probably still one of the top 5 casters on the planet. If anyone is interested I can share not only casting help but also local knowledge about techniques and flies, but some about locations up and down the coast.

Hope to see you guys this Saturday, and would be happy to help anyone out there who is interested in improving their fly game.

Shoot me an email with your prices Steve. I got a 9wt, that i'm having heck getting used to. I usually throw 4wts in Colorado. Maybe you can get me started in the right direction, so I quit getting frustrated with it all.

[WestEndAngler]

Shallowist im sorry would love to be there but i have nothing to do with ftu,they are a rip off.I have been screwed by them with some waders i bought and they leaked the first time in the water,and they would not exchanges them .I have alot of friends that have had trouble with them way over priced dudes.

You need to visit Roy, Mike and Reuben at the I-10 location. They know their stuff and the store is 1/4 of the size of the Fuqua location. Much more personable and will sit there and bs with you.

I buy a lot of my reels from them and a lot of my terminal tackle.

[shallowist]

Here's what I can do for anyone on the FWE board. Usually would charge 100$ per hour for casting. Will level this off and tell you that I typically would spend 1.5 to 2 hours working with someone for the first time. this includes the lessons on The "Essentials of FlyCasting" There are 5 elements that have to be taught. From there depending on your skill levels, will go into various casting situations and adaptations to the cast to accomodate. Things like wind direction, larger flies..... Also for those ready for the advancement, will work on double haul cast and some very specific techniques to improve both distance and accuracy.

For any FWE memeber I will do a full 2 hour session for 100$ and guarantee you that I can add at least ten feet to your cast if not more like 20 in that time frame, along with giving you some fundamentals that will allow you to proctice and improve on your own. Also can assure you that you will know techniques to achieve pin point accuracy.

[shallowist]

You need to visit Roy, Mike and Reuben at the I-10 location. They know their stuff and the store is 1/4 of the size of the Fuqua location. Much more personable and will sit there and bs with you.

I buy a lot of my reels from them and a lot of my terminal tackle.

Good guys, all of them. Rueben isn't there anymore from what I know. Moved into the world of being a fishing guide. I know Mike is still there, not sure if I know Roy. don't make it to that side of town too often. If you go to the big store ask for Andy or Jared, both are knowledgable and very friendly!!

[shallowist]

let's add another forgotten detail. I will work with two for the price of one, so if you have a buddy that is interested in splitting a lesson with you, you will get 2 hours for 50$ per person!!