Personal Tuition

 

Why do people go fishing?

 

For most of the time we humans have roamed this earth we were hunter-gathers. We needed to fish to eat. So it is no surprise that some of us are still driven to seek a relationship with our environment. It is the reason we love gardens, watching wildlife and get obsessed with catching fish!

 

There is a resurgence of interest in fishing for a many reasons.  It reflects the joy of the ‘Sport-for-All’ philosophy. Observing the natural world is enough for many, but some of us want to be more than mere spectators.

 

Until recently, entry to angling was difficult. Male dominated, and isolated from public support, many hurdles faced beginners, especially youngsters, without a family member or friend to guide them through the early days. Fishing was also not family friendly! There are tales of crass behaviour towards women who expressed interest. In the USA and Canada over 40% of fishing licences are held by women while the figure in England and Wales is only 6%……so there is a long way to go. The prices for personal tuition detailed below reflect a desire to encourage whole family involvement.Women are invariably quicker learners than men! And, kids really enjoy learning along side Mum and Dad.

 

Why coaching?

 

There is no other sport where personal coaching is so valuable. There are three stages of development which require different approaches. These are –

 

Beginning

 

Getting started is not easy. A visit to a fishing tackle shop or fishery can be overwhelming and unhelpful. An early session or two with a licensed coach gets you through the frustrations of learning to assemble tackle, of casting, and gives you the confidence to go fishing alone. There is also advice that will save you a fortune when you buy your own fishing tackle.

 

 

Learning Rapidly

 

The second stage is great fun! Once you have mastered the basics of fishing the development of new skills can be fast! This is the stage when enthusiasm drives the new angler to learn new techniques, to explore new waters, to try for more difficult fish etc., etc. It is important that individuals develop at their own rate and a coach’s role is more about guiding discovery than teaching new techniques. The coach helps this whole process to accelerate. The coach has most fun at this stage! Sometimes, pupil and coach have to revert to the earlier ‘Beginner’ stage if a new branch of fishing is being explored e.g. from trout to salmon fishing. But, if the basics are sound, such transitions are inevitably painless.

 

Reinforcement and New Tricks

 

In the end any coach becomes redundant when the pupil knows as much as the master! But even old hands sometimes need help. It may be a desire to refine a particular technique, to test new equipment, to learn to Spey Cast or to try something entirely new such as bonefishing in the tropics for the first time. The great joy of fishing is that there are always new frontiers. As in most of life, a team approach often works!

 

Fly fishing

 

You cannot really learn to fly fish until you can cast………but being able to cast does not mean you are an expert fly fisher! It does take some time and practice to get through stage one but personal, one-to-one tuition speeds the process up and quickly turns the beginner into a rapid learner. Women usually get through this stage faster than men because they listen and value technique more than strength! It is also true that being coached from the beginning prevents the development of bad habits that are difficult to eradicate later. Individuals develop at different speeds so I will only coach small groups (up to 3 individuals together) at this stage.

 

I do not advise those new to fly fishing to start on big reservoirs like Rutland or Grafham. It is much easier to become confident about the basics on smaller fisheries like Elinor Trout Fishery in Northants,see www.elinortf.co.uk

 

However, as confidence grows transferring attention to the large Midlands reservoirs should be a part of the fly fisher’s development. These waters recreate exciting fishing for wild fish of a quality that was once limited to Scotland and Ireland. Stocked rainbow and brown trout rapidly adapt to natural feeding in the rich waters. They become challenging to catch and demand specific skills and techniques. Newly stocked 2lb. trout can double their weight in the course of a season.  Stocking levels are kept to level which means locating them is not always easy. It also maintains a catch rate of about 3.5 fish per angler (i.e. only one fish every 3 hours) on an average day. And, of course, there are not many average days! Coaching 'rapid learners' on these waters really accelerates their ability and enjoyment.

 

Coarse Fishing

 

The Cambridgeshire Fens probably provide the best, natural coarse fishing in England and Wales. East Anglia is also rich in commercial coarse fisheries that provide wonderful venues for beginners and experts alike. There is no tradition of personal tuition and coaching in coarse fishing partly because the sport, until recently, was rooted in local clubs who owned or rented fisheries and created a strong local network that often encouraged ‘juniors’ and beginners. Unfortunately, the club system is now breaking down and parental fears, usually unwarranted, about risks to youngsters discourage informal tuition.

 

The answer is a licensed coach, certified as competent in fist aid, risk assessments, teaching standards who has been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

 

Getting started at coarse fishing is easy! Basic skills are acquired surprisingly quickly. It is easy for beginners to catch fish. But, as there are so many different species of fish to catch, many different methods and many venues the rapid learning stage can be quite a journey! I always advise that youngsters under fifteen or so start out in angling by learning coarse fishing even if their parents are ardent game anglers simply because it is so easy to get going and to catch some fish. They also quickly discover so much about the wily ways of fish and the environment they inhabit. And, they are always just as keen to try fly fishing too when they are a little older!

 

Fly Tying

 

Learning to tie your own flies is a ‘no brainer’!  Even the simplest trout flies retail at £1.00 or more yet the hook and materials involved cost pennies. More importantly, as every fly fisher knows there are times when only one particular fly seems to work and it is not in the shops! For example, I have developed my own variants, or style, of well accepted fly patterns such as Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear nymph and Dai Bach and would hate to have to depend on their shop bought equivalents. The problem is that fly-tying enthusiasts over-egg the skills involved. They revel in tying complex patterns, and this puts beginners off. In contrast, I enjoy fly tying only because it is an indispensable fly fishing skill and I know all the short cuts. Do not let anyone tell you it is difficult. The basic skills can be learnt quickly. After that it is simply a matter of practice and the benefits are enormous!

 

I can provide all the equipment so that you can have a go at my house or yours. Friends can learn together. It fills long winter evenings. And, you develop a macabre interest in ‘road kill’.

 

Charges and Concessions ( with reductions for groups and families in 2012!!!)

 

Personal tuition costs £35 per hour per person.
Groups (up to three persons) cost £50 per hour.
Family Groups [parent(s) and any number of child(ren)] cost £40 per hour.

 

All tackle and equipment from Snowbee (www.snowbee.co.uk) is provided if required.

 

Getting started at fly fishing usually takes a couple of hours coaching, plus

practice. After this stage, individual coaching needs and agreed, personal plans depend mostly on where the participants are going to fish.

 

After only a single hour’s coaching most coarse fishing novices have got started and, with practice, will rapidly improve their techniques. But they may need more coaching, carefully planned and agreed, as they develop to enable them to cope quickly with the many options for fishing that are available.

 

Usually, a couple of hours coaching will turn the absolute beginner into a competent fly tier.