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I consider myself a pretty competent fly caster. I've been teaching others to cast a fly rod for better than eight years and figure the total number of folks I've taught is well into the hundreds. Still, due to the fact that I oftentimes operate alone up in the north woods of Wisconsin at Seven Pines Lodge, how could I be sure I was consistently promoting the industry standards and not in fact teaching casting heresy?

I just returned from an intensive fly casting and instruction workshop this past weekend held at Moose Track Adventures, a family resort and BWCAW outfitter located a few miles from Ely, MN. I was one of ten students from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois that received instruction from two Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) master casting instructors and two FFF certified instructors.

Our group of students was there to begin the first step in a journey that would hopefully prepare us for the FFF certified casting instructor exam. I know you're probably thinking, Wow, that's sort of over the top and geeky, isn't it? After all, it's only about waving a fly rod back and forth and casting fly line, right?

Well, I managed to survive this nerve-wracking weekend and I'm here to tell you that there is a whole other world to fly casting. We're talking some really heady stuff, complete with terms like deviation from straight line path, casting stroke, casting arc, stored and kinetic energy, rod loading...eek, I think I pulled a brain muscle. I had my suspicions, but I really didn't know the vastness of stuff that had to be completely engrained and fully comprehended. As you can imagine, the Ely weekend wasn't exactly a vacation. I'd tell you that I never even fished while I was up there but that would just depress me. I won't go there. You have no idea how may people I know have said, "You mean to tell me you drove all the way up to Ely and back and never even fished while you were there?"

I did come away from this weekend feeling somewhat validated that I have not been spreading bad casting information. Like I said, I can think back on many happy customers over the years and that is a good thing. However, I did soon discover during the course of the Ely weekend that a few of my teaching methods were in fact discernibly different than the FFF model.

With regard to the teaching methods I've been using for the years I've been instructing, the Ely weekend revealed to me that I've been doing a lot of things correctly and plenty of things incorrectly. By incorrectly, I don't mean completely wrong, it's just that I've been using teaching techniques that aren't in lock step with the prescribed FFF methods. I'm not going to penalize myself for that because now that I've learned (in no uncertain terms) what those methods are, you can bet that I'll revamp my lesson plans and, more importantly, the teaching techniques I intend to use in the future.

Until this past weekend, I think I would've described the relatively small group of master and certified instructors as being something of a good old boys' network - tough nuts to crack, so to speak. I say that because it seemed like in the past they were a bit hesitant in sharing a lot of their casting knowledge. This past weekend demonstrated very clearly to me that what's between the ears of a certified casting instructor cannot be extracted in little bits and pieces, so I can completely understand their hesitancy in doling out their knowledge in that way. It takes quite an investment in time and effort to share what they know in a logical and concise manner. Even more to the point, I realize that it takes a real commitment from a certified instructor candidate and an organized forum such as the workshop I attended to receive all there is to know about casting mechanics, casting theory, the physics of fly casting, and, most importantly, effectively teaching others to cast a fly line properly.

It really was neat to be a part of this past weekend. Once the instructors had their students on board and knew the students were dead serious about pursuing certification, they didn't hesitate for a moment to fully disclose and reveal what they knew. Best of all, we as students came away knowing exactly what we needed to know in order to pass the exams. It felt like we had been accepted into the fold and we were each given lots and lots of individualized attention.

I'll admit that prior to the Ely weekend I wasn't aware of how these master instructors operated. They've paid their dues and spent decades acquiring their knowledge and skills and they don't share this information freely. They need to know that the information they share will be put to the best use possible - in this case, the pursuit of instructor certification. One of the master instructors at the end of the workshop put it best when he said, "Now we have a personal stake in your success. How well you do - or don't do - on your exams is a refection on us as your instructors and mentors. Don't take this lightly. It will require a lot of work on your part to pass the exams, but from now until you take the exams, we'll be here for you."

I'm going to take my exams this October. The vast and comprehensive information I took away from the Ely workshop was invaluable. I now clearly understand why the pass rate is less than 8% for those that don't participate in a comprehensive workshop prior to attempting the certified instructor exam. Wish me luck. I know I'll need a small measure of it come this October.

Dan Brown's weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie's Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.

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