have to fly combos and a few fly but still dont realy know how to fly fish. lived on the coast most of my life, just a few yrs ago moved to the dfw area. always want to learn how to fly fish. does anyone know where i can get some lessons or best way to learn the bacis. so i can get out there. as much info as possible will be great...... YALL DONT CATCH ALL BEFORE I CAN GET OUT THERE......

Head on over to one of the big stores, see if they have lessons. There are clubs that meet monthly that are good to go to for learning and fellowship of the fly. Also, just get out there and start chuckin' flies!

I'm wussing out on this heat for now.

THANKS FOR THE INFO

I took up fly fishing last year after guiding for 20+ years.The second most frustrating thing I have ever tried.Golf is #1.After a while I found Steve Hollensed and took a 1 on 1 lesson.Best money I ever spent. Wish I had met him before I ever picked up a rod. Great guy and even better instructor ( FFF Master Instructor)Ph 903.546.6237

No matter what Certified Casting Instructor people talk about working with, I hear this comment over and over again. The amount of frustration and time you'll save yourself by finding a good casting instructor will pay dividends for the rest of your fly angling career.

Don't put it off like the rest of us did. Do it now before you forge bad technique into your muscle memory and it takes extra time and frustration to iron those bad habits out.

Better than your 1st lesson in my back yard - huh???
...

Also don't try to learn on a academy cheap starter rod. I took a guy out last week to teach him to cast. I could barely cast his starter rod.

Hey George Remember my first lesson?

I'm going to offer some counter advise... but these guys are all better casters than me so take it for what it's worth.

If you can get a lesson and a nice setup, go for it. BUT

If you just want to fish, get out there and do it with the setup you have. There are a lot of videos on youtube that will give you the basics. Some of them are really good. Watch all you can and get out and try it. Try to fish with as many people as you can. Most of these guys are excellent fisherman and are more than willing to help out. Try to spend as much time on the water as possible, and don't bring other gear. It's not magic, it just takes a bit of practice. You can miss a lot of fishing trying to get a perfect cast. Most of the time around here presentation isn't all that important.

Post your location and see if anyone wants to go fishing. I bet someone will take you up on it and show you a few things.

Bass Pro over by DFW airport usually has a free one hour fly fishing class on Saturday mornings. It is free and it is not a bad place to start. You'll learn the basics.

Orvis was offering some more in depth fly fishing classes this summer. The Orvis Dallas location was hosting some of them. This was a special set of classes that Orvis offered this year and I think they were free.

The Dallas Fly Fishers and the Forth Worth Fly Fishers clubs both help a lot of people learn to fly fish.

Steve Hollensed was mentioned earlier and he is one of the best casting instructors you'll find anywhere. He is located in Tom Bean, which is near Lake Texoma.

Tailwater's fly shop in Dallas has some good casting instructors. And there are several good FFF Certified Casting Instructors scattered across the DFW area.

Getting some help at the beginning to learn to cast will shorten the learning curve significantly.

Good Luck,
Rex

Backwoods in FW is having a class on August 13. $75. Limited to 6 people. Their fly guy seems to really know what he's doing. He took an hour the other day to teach my son the basics at no charge.
www.backwoods.com

Rex gives good advise as always. He is modest guy and not known for tooting his own horn, but he is one of the best certified casting instructors around. If you can hook up with Rex for a lesson or just for a group practice event in the park - go for it!

A casting tip I can give to any beginner is to first understand the basics of fly-casting, be it from a video or from a guy at a big box store. I would suggest that understanding the basics of fly-casting is important before taking lessons. When I began there was no one in the North Texas area to help me, so I am self taught. Hunter Bradley had closed its doors and Orvis and West Bank Anglers were yet to appear on the scene.
My first instructor was Lefty Krey on an audiotape.
I next acquired Mel Krieger�s VCR tapes and then Lefty Kreys and learned the fundamentals. That�s when I should have had a lesson � now I only teach the fundamentals and instruct to do as I say- not as I do �

Almost everyone that I have helped get started in fly-casting has shown up with a mismatched fly rod and line and without a clue that you are casting the fly line and not the fly.

Learn the fundamentals and then find a good casting instructor.
My .02 cents worth..

come to a club meeting. the fort worth's club meeting will be on august the 2nd. les, keebranch, will be going over fishing local creeks. a good topic. also, upon joining our club, you will get FREE casting instructions from Jim Bass, a certified CCI. check out our website, and if you have any questions, email me or call. hope to see you at the meeting!!

You can learn anything by trial and error, you will just beat your head up against it more. Fly casting is not hard, but if you insist on not getting a casting lesson from a GOOD instructor, someone who is good at teaching and knows the fundamentals of casting, not just your buddy who done did it once before, you'll find that you spend less time tangling leaders and more time having fun.