Personal Tuition

 

Why do people go fishing?

 

For most of the time we humans have roamed this earth we were hunter-gathers. We had to catch fish to eat. So it is no surprise that our genetic make up today still drives us to seek a relationship with our environment. This can lead to regrettable excesses but it is also the reason we love gardens, watching wildlife and get obsessed with catching fish!

 

Currently, there is a resurgence of interest in fishing for a wide range of reasons.  It reflects increased wealth and opportunity and the joy of the ‘Sport-for-All’ philosophy. It is also true that, while observing the natural world is enough for some, many of us want more than being mere spectators.

 

Traditionally, entry to angling was difficult. Male dominated, and isolated from public support, there were many hurdles inadvertently placed in front of beginners, especially youngsters, if they did not have a family member or friend to guide them through the early days. Equally, fishing was not family friendly and there are many tales of crass behaviour towards women who expressed interest. In the USA and Canada over 40% of fishing licence holders are 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. On the other hand a session or two with a licensed coach can get you through the frustrations of having a go, learning to assemble tackle, casting, coping with jargon and simply being able to go fishing alone and with some confidence. The chances are you will also save a fortune when you do decide to buy fishing tackle of your own and can follow the coach’s sensible advice.

 

 

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 usually drives the new angler to rapidly learn new techniques, to explore new waters, to try for more difficult fish etc., etc. Of course, it is important that individuals develop at their own rate and a coach’s role is probably more guiding discovery than teaching new techniques. The coach’s contribution is helping the whole exciting process to accelerate if this suits and, just sometimes, to reveal a wider picture with the reminder, “there is more to fishing than just catching fish!” This is the stage when a coach has most fun too! Sometimes, pupil and coach have to revert to the earlier ‘Beginner’ stage if a new branch of fishing has to be learnt 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 like 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 usually rapidly turns the beginner into a rapid learner. Women usually get through this stage more quickly 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. Because individuals develop at different speeds 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. www.elinortf.co.uk

 

However, as confidence grows and skills and techniques are being learnt rapidly transferring attention to the large Midlands reservoirs is a wonderful part of the fly fisher’s development. These waters recreate challenging 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 just like the wilyest of wild fish. No fish weighing above 2lbs. are stocked but double figure monsters are not uncommon. Newly stocked fish can double their weight in the course of a season.  Stocking levels are kept to level which means locating them is not 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 on these waters for rapid learners 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, of course, is a licensed coach, certified as competent in fist aid, risk assessments, teaching standards and checked by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

 

Getting started is easy in coarse fishing and casting takes only a few minutes to learn. Setting up tackle is more complicated but basic skills are acquired surprisingly quickly so 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 fish. More importantly, they also discover so much so quickly 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, partly because 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. It is not, and 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 2010!!!)

 

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

 

All tackle and equipment 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.