Fly Fishing Class Starts Next Week

My wife, Lori, and I have been teaching our fly fishing class at Arkansas State University Mountain Home for several years now.  We are both proud of the way it has worked out.  Every time I see one of our students on stream, it gives me a deep sense of satisfaction, particularly if they are catching trout.  

This year’s fall class will be held every Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. starting September 5, 12, 19 and 26 on the ASU campus. The classes last until 8:00 p.m. You may bring your own fly rod or use one of ours.

Every class begins with a one hour casting lesson which is led by Lori. She surpassed me as a casting instructor years ago. She began teaching fly casting about ten years ago to help out in some fly fishing classes that my brother Dan and I were teaching for a sporting goods store in Memphis. She found that she excelled at it and has since worked with other fly casting instructors like Lefty Kreh and John Wilson to hone her skills. She improved further, when she taught classes for Becoming an Outdoor Woman, Casting for Recovery, Hooked on a Cure, the Sowbug Roundup and the Federation of Fly Fishers Southern Council Conclave. I do assist, particularly when we have larger classes but Lori is in charge.

After an hour of casting, we move inside for an hour of classroom instruction, which I lead. We cover fishing gear, fishing knots, basic rigging, entomology, fly selection, reading water and water safety. Lori assists me in all of the subjects and could easily teach it all herself.

I began teaching fly fishing well over twenty years ago, when I was the president of the Mid South Fly Fishers (MSFF), the fly fishing club in Memphis, Tennessee. We developed a fly fishing class and I taught fishing knots. I eventually became the education director for the MSFF and carefully refined the class over time. I was approached to teach it at Shelby State community College in Memphis, Mississippi Valley Community College in Blytheville Arkansas and the William Carl Garner visitor center in Heber Springs Arkansas (for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission).

After I moved here thirteen years ago I continued teaching fly fishing classes for Tommy Bronson Sporting Goods in Memphis. I found the commute to be a bit much, so I sought out a new venue and Arkansas State University Mountain Home was perfect. It has great broad lawns for the casting classes and well appointed classrooms for the inside instruction. There is ample parking and it has a great centralized location.

If you are interested in learning to fly fish in a comfortable environment, contact the Community Education Center at Arkansas State University Mountain Home and sign up. Lori and I look forward to working with you.